UnScripts:A Number

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This article is based on the theatre play by Caryl Churchill. For other use see Number bases.

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Characters

HALTER, a man in his early sixties

NUMBER 2, his son, forty

NUMBER 1, his son, thirty-five

1

NUMBER 1 and NUMBER 2

NUMBER 2

A number

NUMBER 1

What is it

NUMBER 2

"A Number" strange

NUMBER 1

what number strange

NUMBER 2

title

NUMBER 1

is it

NUMBER 2

yes

NUMBER 1

NUMBER 2

a theatre play

NUMBER 1

who wrote

NUMBER 2

who wrote?

NUMBER 1

who wrote the

NUMBER 2

Caryl Churchill a dramatist she is, writes about human cloning and all that everyone will tell you it might be quite the

- Not that kind of number - a number of clones not of numbers

NUMBER 1

quite the what?

NUMBER 2

odd but not odd queer but not queer peculiar but not peculiar you know what I mean not everyone might comprehend what she is saying

NUMBER 1

really why not

NUMBER 2

Hmmm....

NUMBER 1

Oh, punctuation!

NUMBER 2

what

NUMBER 1

never mind

2

NUMBER 1 and NUMBER 2

Reception

NUMBER 1

fine and what about

NUMBER 2

considered great by the critics

NUMBER 1

but

NUMBER 2

but?

NUMBER 1

yes but

NUMBER 2

does not really tell anything

NUMBER 1

about the problem but it does

NUMBER 2

then doesn’t provide any solutions

NUMBER 1

for the characters but it does

NUMBER 2

does not present all the aspects?

NUMBER 1

of the issue but it does

NUMBER 2

as if you have read it

NUMBER 1

what if I did

Author

NUMBER 1

Caryl Churchill, see?

NUMBER 2

so

NUMBER 1

normally writes about sexual politics one of her greatest works is Objections to sex although she herself has three sons

NUMBER 2

well

NUMBER 1

well

NUMBER 2

were there any more

NUMBER 1

what?

NUMBER 2

incidents of such a kind

NUMBER 1

not much except for she wrote "Seven Jewish children" when she was around seventy

NUMBER 2

you think that

NUMBER 1

I have no idea

NUMBER 2

a dog?

NUMBER 1

how do I know

NUMBER 2

a husband?

NUMBER 1

yes, married and lived happily but wrote another play called Drunk enough to say I love you

NUMBER 2

well?

NUMBER 1

still seems to be rather happy

Characters

- These are the main characters basically but not going to talk about all of them sometimes it seems that some of them are not very different from the others

NUMBER 1

A family

NUMBER 2

a normal one?

NUMBER 1

not really like a father a mother a child

NUMBER 2

but

NUMBER 1

well I am not saying it is particularly unusual the father is drunk the mother commits suicide the father clones his child that happens often you know

NUMBER 2

and the clones

NUMBER 1

yeah a number of them a father with plenty of sons he does not know what to do

NUMBER 2

son's name was something

NUMBER 1

Bernard - the father gives the same name to all his sons of whom he is aware

NUMBER 2

so they get angry and kill themselves

NUMBER 1

not all of them

NUMBER 2

seriously stop cutting me off if you do that again I will

NUMBER 1

clone me?

NUMBER 2

no stop I didn't finish talking I was

NUMBER 1

clone me?

NUMBER 2

why would I

NUMBER 1

why not?

NUMBER 2

I’ve not been lucky with dogs. Not that they all died - they did, as a matter of fact, but this isn’t the point. I had a pit bull that basically killed all my friends not friends I meant acquaintances sometimes you meet a person at a bar and he throws a beer into your face and you start to know him you understand you have the same preferences and tastes or not exactly or or

NUMBER 1

I’ve not been lucky with cats. Let’s talk about something else.

Plot

- reading it in paperback might be better for you know comprehension and you know more aesthetically appealing so why not a book

NUMBER 2

So cloning, huh?

NUMBER 1

no

NUMBER 2

no

NUMBER 1

no

NUMBER 2

yes

NUMBER 1

yes

NUMBER 2

many of them at the same time

NUMBER 1

the father was often mean with his son

NUMBER 2

he had many

NUMBER 1

it was not possible to be mean with all of them he would die of tire

NUMBER 2

what did he do with that many

NUMBER 1

oh I thought you were talking about

NUMBER 2

then for God's sake let me finish my

NUMBER 1

sure then I won't

NUMBER 2

Then you don’t. So what happened?

NUMBER 1

lies

NUMBER 2

yes

NUMBER 1

tried to deceive everyone but

NUMBER 2

what

NUMBER 1

failed

NUMBER 2

failed, this is a word failed a life

NUMBER 1

failed lives

NUMBER 2

failed to deceive or failed a life

NUMBER 1

those are just the same

NUMBER 2

no

NUMBER 1

yes

NUMBER 2

so they failed?

NUMBER 1

yes all of them yes yes maybe except for one

NUMBER 2

who?

NUMBER 1

another clone

NUMBER 2

the one who

NUMBER 1

seems to be happy with his life

NUMBER 2

and

NUMBER 1

his greatest interest in life is his wife's ears

NUMBER 2

well

NUMBER 1

then he probably failed as well

Theatre

- Here he is - standing behind hiding his identity not showing that he is a Bond

NUMBER 1

First performed by Michael Gambon and Daniel Craig

NUMBER 2

I remember a book I once read

NUMBER 1

the James Bond one who always wears a suit no matter what

NUMBER 2

It was a pretty bad and boring book actually.

NUMBER 1

played all of the sons

NUMBER 2

About an elephant, don’t you remember? We read it together

NUMBER 1

If it was real, this would give us a lot of James'es Bonds, which is not always a good

NUMBER 2

An elephant at sea

NUMBER 1

solution

NUMBER 2

It was an elephant in red socks, was it?

NUMBER 1

because clones may have different personalities you know perceptions

NUMBER 2

Red trousers!

NUMBER 1

perceptions of life and the Universe

3

NUMBER 1

NUMBER 1

Wait, did he wear a suit on that play?

Silence

NUMBER 1

Hello hello hello.

4

HALTER and NUMBER 1

HALTER

I am your father.

NUMBER 1

Where is NUMBER 2?

HALTER

I don’t want a number of sons, thank you, you’re plenty, I’m fine.

NUMBER 1

Why don’t you just let me leave?

HALTER

My darling

NUMBER 1

I want to go away

HALTER

I love you.

NUMBER 1

That’s something you can’t help.

HALTER

I'm sorry.

NUMBER 1

I'm not saying you should be. Just let me leave

HALTER

I still am. I am sorry.

NUMBER 1

Leave leave leave

HALTER

For what for a week or two a holiday

NUMBER 1

Forever

HALTER

no

NUMBER 1

yes

HALTER

yes

NUMBER 1

yes?

HALTER

yes

NUMBER 1

no, no, no, wa-

Silence

5

HALTER

HALTER

Ah, I miss him so much. I miss them both.