PLAYHOUSE OF THE DAMNED
"My Brother's Keeper"
by Richard Nathan
All the stage lights are out except for a spotlight
on our host, GUS THE GHOUL. Gus
introduces this story, which takes place in the living room of a small apartment
which is shared by two brothers, JOHN and STEVE NOLAN.
It is inexpensively furnished, but nicely maintained.
The only essential pieces of furniture are two chairs.
GUS
Do you ever worry about losing your
sanity? If so, please check the lost and
found in our lobby.
If you can't find your
sanity there, you can probably find mine!
And if you've never worried about losing
your sanity, don't be concerned.
Our
show is just getting started! This
schizoid
skit is called "MY BROTHER'S KEEPER."
Imagine that you are in the home of John
and Steve Nolan.
You don't see this stage.
You
see their small, modestly furnished
apartment.
Can you see their apartment?
You
can? Really?
Then you're hallucinating!
You've
gone stark, raving mad!
Gus exits. The
spotlight goes out, and during the blackout John and Steve enter.
They sit in their chairs. As
the lights come up, Steve is trying to read a newspaper, but John, who is
insane, keeps interrupting his brother.
JOHN
I had trouble sleeping last night, with all the
rabbits screaming. I think they
must have
been frightened by the demons. Did
you
see the demons last night?
STEVE
I didn't even hear the rabbits.
JOHN
You are lucky. I
thought they would drive
me crazy. Perhaps you will see the demons
today.
STEVE
No, John, seeing demons is your specialty.
JOHN
The air will be filled with screaming demons
this
afternoon.
STEVE
The paper predicts rain.
JOHN
They will be inside. I will let them in.
STEVE
How kind of you.
JOHN
The demons like me.
STEVE
Why doesn't that surprise me?
JOHN
They do not like you. I like you. You
are
my brother. But I must let the
demons in,
even if they do not like you. The
moon
has insisted upon it.
Steve can't take it anymore.
He snaps his paper down and glares at his brother.
STEVE
John, I'm trying to read the paper!
JOHN
Does it say what time the world will end?
STEVE
I'm reading the classifieds, trying to find a
decent
job so I can get us out of this dump!
I thought we had no stay here forever.
That is what the demons told me.
STEVE
No wonder you call them demons.
JOHN
Anyway, I like it here. Did you know
there is a man on the first floor who also
sees
the demons? I think you will see
them soon.
STEVE
Knock it off John!
There are no demons!
JOHN
Dad said there are.
STEVE
Oh right. Dad!
Dear old Dad. The man
who
kept telling me there were bugs pouring
out of my ears.
I was only eleven years old,
and he scared me spitless!
JOHN
He could not help it. It was his turn.
STEVE
People do not take turns going crazy.
JOHN
Dad said they did.
STEVE
Dad was a loony.
You are a loony. I am
not a
loony!
Steve settles down and resumes reading his newspaper.
JOHN
Not yet.
Steve throws down the paper.
STEVE
If you don't stop talking like that, I'm going
to
call Dr. Thompson and have her take
you back to the hospital!
JOHN
If you stare too long at Dr. Thompson, she
turns to
blood.
STEVE
John, I don't want to send you back there,
but I hate
it when you talk like this. What
happened to you? You used to be so
normal.
JOHN
I know. That
was before my turn.
STEVE
There are no turns!
I don't care what Dad
said!
JOHN
How do you know?
STEVE
Because I am rational! And I will stay that
way because I will never let myself get
like
you or Dad. I will not give in
to insanity,
not to the bugs in my ears, or the demons
or the screaming rabbits!
JOHN
Can you do that?
STEVE
Almost everyone does it! Every day.
JOHN
I do not like being crazy. I do not like my
turn.
STEVE
Then your turn is over, okay!
I declare that
your turn is over!
Steve snaps his fingers. Joy and relief shine on John's face.
JOHN
It is? It's
about time! I can't tell you how
long I've been waiting for this!
STEVE
What did you just say? You just said a
whole bunch of contractions.
JOHN
So?
STEVE
You never use contractions!
JOHN
I do too!
STEVE
You do not! Dad
never used them either!
JOHN
Sure he did!
STEVE
No! Not
at the end! The whole last year
of his life, when he had to be straight-
jacketed, he never once used a contraction!
JOHN
I hadn't noticed.
STEVE
He used to scare me so much I'd go to
my room and say
every contraction I could
think of!
JOHN
Just because you can say contractions
doesn't mean
you're sane.
STEVE
I know! I
know! But why is it you can
say them all of a sudden?
JOHN
I guess it's because my turn is over.
I'm
sane now.
STEVE
No, I have bad news for you, little brother.
If you still believe in turns, that means you
are still a lunatic.
JOHN
No, that means you are a lunatic.
After all,
if my turn is over, and you said it was, then
it must be your
turn now.
STEVE
There are no turns!
JOHN
Then why did you say my turn was over?
That's a pretty crazy thing to say if there are
no turns!
STEVE
I was humoring you!!!
JOHN
I don't need to be humored!
I've been
perfectly calm all day. You're
the one who
keeps getting excited.
STEVE
Why am I trying to talk rationally to you?
JOHN
Beats me. It's
not your turn to be rational.
STEVE
Do you want us both to be crazy and helpless?
JOHN
I'm not crazy.
STEVE
Yes you are! Because
you still believe in turns!
JOHN
You know something?
You're absolutely right.
I
don't believe in turns anymore.
STEVE
Good.
JOHN
Now it's your turn to believe in turns!
STEVE
I do not! I
will never believe in turns! And
you do, or why would you tell me to take
my turn believing in turns!!!
JOHN
What are you raving about now?
STEVE
You told me to take my turn believing in
turns!
JOHN
I don't want you to believe in turns!
I want
you to be rational.
STEVE
I am rational!!!
JOHN
I'm very happy to hear that, Steve.
And I
think Dr. Thompson will be happy to hear
it too.
STEVE
Dr. Thompson is going to put you away.
Steve picks up his paper and tries to read it.
JOHN
May I please have a section of the paper?
Steve hands John a section of the paper, and they
both read in silence for a moment, until Steve throws down his section and
screams at his brother.
STEVE
You have always hated me for staying sane!
JOHN
I don't hate you.
Steve erupts, letting out all the pain and anger he
has kept bottled up inside.
STEVE
Well I hate you!
I hate all the years I lost
looking after you!
I hate all the years of
living with your demons.
JOHN
Please, Steven, I am trying to read the
newspaper.
STEVE
Do you want me to see demons?
All right!
I see them!
There they are! Fluttering
and
swooping through the air on their pink and
green leather wings!
Look at them, stabbing
at my eyes with their claws.
There's a knock at the door.
John goes to answer it!
STEVE
Wait!
JOHN
Why?
Steve can't answer.
He runs to the door and stands in front of it. John calmly pushes him aside and opens the door.
DR. THOMPSON, a psychiatrist, enters.
Steve goes back to his chair.
JOHN
Dr. Thompson! How
nice to see you!
DR. THOMPSON
Good evening, John.
How are you feeling
today?
JOHN
Quite well, thank you. But I'm afraid Steven
isn't any better.
Dr. Thompson goes to examine Steve, who is covering
in his chair.
DR. THOMPSON
Oh? I
thought he was doing very well last
week.
JOHN
It's time we faced the truth, Doctor.
Steven
has been insane for years, and he's never
going to get any better.
DR. THOMPSON
I see. It's
his turn now.
JOHN
There are no turns, Doctor.
DR. THOMPSON
There don't have to be, But that doesn't
seem to stop
you two from taking them!
JOHN
I don't know what you're talking about!
Are you going to take him back to the
hospital?
STEVE
No! No!
I will not go there again!
DR. THOMPSON
You don't have to.
You can both stay here
in the halfway house. That's what it's here
for.
JOHN
Maybe Steven can stay, but I'm going to find a
job
and get out of here!
Dr. Thompson moves closer to Steve, and takes his
hand.
STEVE
Please help me, Dr. Thompson.
I do not want
to see the demons.
DR. THOMPSON
You don't have to, Steven. Not if you don't
want to.
STEVE
I cannot help it.
It is just my turn.
DR. THOMPSON
No, Steven! It
is not your turn! Listen to me!
It is not your turn!
STEVE
It isn't? Then
it must be yours!
BLACKOUT! Steve,
John, and Dr. Thompson exit in the darkness, and GUS THE GHOUL comes back on.
A spotlight picks up Gus.
GUS
Get it? Steve
and John have been sharing
a psychosis for years.
You might call it a
bi-psychosis. You
might even call it a
bi-psychosis built for two!
THE END
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© 2000 by Richard Nathan. All rights reserved
The author grants all internet users to print these scripts for their own, personal, non-commercial use. No other use may be made without the author's permission. Without limiting the foregoing, the plays may not be staged without the author's express permission.
Send e-mail to the author at Richard-Nathan@att.net.