Letters Of Last Resort (Excerpt)

Synopsis:

One of the very first duties of a British Prime Minister upon attaining office is to write four letters in his or her own hand.

Each of the letters is made out to the Commander of a nuclear-armed Trident submarine that forms a part of the British Fleet.  Upon having been penned, each letter is placed in a separate envelope and sealed with an official, Prime Ministerial seal.

The only person who is aware of the contents of each letter is the Prime Minister him- or herself.  Each of the letters is then delivered by hand to each of four Commanders.

Once aboard their craft, the letters are locked in a safe which is locked within a second, larger safe.  The Commander holds half the combination to each safe whilst the First Officer holds the other half.

In the event of a nuclear attack upon the United Kingdom as a result of which the executive arm of government is no longer able to govern, the safes of the patrolling vessel are to be opened and the letter read by the Commander, whose duty it is to act upon the contents of the letter.

As regards those contents, there are ultimately only two possible courses of action:  Retaliate.. or do nothing – the understanding being that retaliation may well result in the end of human life on this planet.

Should the sitting Prime Minister leave office for any reason, each of the letters is destroyed without being opened, and a new set of letters written by the incoming Prime Minister.

To date, none of these letters has ever been read.  Which means, in effect, that their main function lies in forcing the PM to consider such questions in depth – in an atmosphere of relative calm and in the spirit of measured circumspection – before unleashing the rabid dogs of war.

Collectively, these instruments are referred to as the Letters Of Last Resort.

Beatrice has just been elected PM.  She takes us on her journey as she pens four letters of a very different kind, though each is predicated on much the same contingency.

Character Breakdown:

BEATRICE       70

Setting:

BEATRICE is in the process of moving into her office at No 10 Downing St.

The set, therefore, is a mess of sealed, open and half-opened boxes, with bits and pieces strewn over the desk, shelves and floor.

Throughout the play, at the discretion of actor and director, BEATRICE will handle certain objects – a book, a framed photograph, a desk-set, etc. – as part of the unpacking process.

Some of these items will find their way onto a shelf or the desk, others into a large ‘charity’ garbage bag and others, yet again, into a garbage bag in order to be disposed of.

BEATRICE will also spend a certain amount of her time at the desk, writing, or simply musing.

In addition to this, she might well engage in other activities, such as making a cup of tea, filing her nails, applying lipstick, munching on a biscuit, sucking on a clandestine cigar, checking herself out in the ‘mirror’, etc.

The nature and timing of such stage ‘business’ is at times specified in the text but, as often as not, left to the devices of the actor/director.

Running-time:  80 minutes.

Production History:  Not yet produced.

Excerpt available to download for free.