21 Down (excerpt)

Synopsis:

21 Down consists of a series of five scenes which take place on the 16^th, 12^th, 9^th, 5^th and Ground Floors of a 21-storey apartment block.

The scenes overlap in time, and the narratives that play themselves out on each level, whilst seemingly unconnected, are ingeniously interlocked in a manner that becomes apparent only as the play unfolds.

The central thread that connects all of these stories is the descent of Harry Lime who, at play’s opening, leaps to his imminent and inescapable death from the 21^st floor past the windows of each of the residents on the levels mentioned above.

21 Down is a vertical farce – a play about the reality and the illusion of urban isolation – the notion that hundreds (if not thousands) of individuals can cohabit in a single apartment block without ever crossing paths or affecting one another’s lives.

It is a play about the line between caring and intrusion, between privacy and isolation, between love and estrangement.

All of this – played out in the blackest of humour – is lent a piquance and a sense of urgency that grows almost unbearable as Harry, in some four seconds of real time, descends to his death.

Character Breakdown:

The play is a four-hander:  Two females, two males.

SUSAN

LIAM  SUSAN’S husband

BEV The Journalist

FELICE

CARL   FELICE’S Psychiatrist

BURT  The Fedex Courier

MYRNA

LLOYD   MYRNA’S husband

JORGES  The Building Super

SOFIA  The Sex Worker

GREGORY The Cop

SPENCER  The Doorman

Setting

A series of high-rise apartments.

Monologues are spoken by each of the characters in neutral accents, as if they themselves were Harry Lime.

Running-time: 140 minutes.

Production History: Public reading at Parnassus’ Den 2012

Awards:  Short-listed Mitch Matthews Award (Old Fitz) 2013

Excerpt available for download for free.