THST 111 Midterm Plays

Death of a Salesman

Miller. Willy Loman, at the beginning of the play, has come home from a business trip because he has had trouble with his driving. His son Happy has a job and lives in his own apartment, but his son, Biff, rambles from job to job, as a farmhand, never making much money. Willy has been demoted to a commission employee at his job. This means he makes less money. He begins to hallucinate. He thinks he is living in an earlier time in his life. He speaks to people who aren't there and he disturbs his friend, Charley, who comes over to play cards with Willy. During the game Willy thinks his dead brother, Ben, is in the room with them. He is talking to Ben and Charley at the same time, which causes Charley and Willy to have a disagreement about the card game. Charley leaves, but Willy is still talking to Ben asking him how he made his fortune. Ben had gone to Africa and worked in the diamond mines, this is how he became rich. Willy also needs Ben to tell him he is proud of Willy and his sons. During this hallucination the boys are teenagers and Biff is the sports star at his school. Biff and Happy are surprised at the turn their father has taken. Happy knew his father would often talk to himself, but did not know he was so loud about it and how often it occurred. Biff, meanwhile had no idea his father was behaving in this manner. Now their mother tells them the car accidents Willy has been having, are in fact attempts at suicide. The boys agree to try to stay closer to home and start a business together. Biff decides to ask his former boss for a loan to help start the new business. At the beginning of act two, Willy is going to talk to his boss, Howard, and try to change his job. They are also hopeful about Biff and Happy's future business venture. If Biff can receive the loan from his former employer, than it will mean a bright future for the boys. Willy tries to talk to Howard about the job change, but Howard tells him he just doesn't have a position open for him in the store. Willy becomes angry with Howard and starts to yell at him. Willy gets fired. Biff waits for Bill for six hours, Bill doesn't remember him and Biff steals his pen. In the restaurant, Willy refuses to believe Biff. The boys meet some girls and leave Willy in the restaurant and he has a hallucination about a woman he slept with. At home, Linda is angry at the boys. Willy and bigg tell each other how they feel. Willy talks to Ben and decides to kill himself because the insurance money would help. Linda cannot bring herself to cry, she now has a house with no husband.

A Doll House

Ibsen. Christmas Eve. Nora enters with gifts and Torvald comes out and chides her for spending money, reveals Torvald's new position. Helene announces that Dr Rank is here. Kristine enters. Kristine's husband passed away a few years earlier and she has no children or money. Nora says that in her first year of marriage, she was also v poor and Torvald was sick and they had to go to Italy. Kristine says she had to take care of her mum till she died and now she has no job and wants Torvald to help her get a job. Nora tells her that she'll get Torvald to help. Reveals that she illegally borrowed money for the trip and that she lied to Torvald that the money was from her father. For years, she has been repaying the debt. Krogstad enters and Nora reacts uneasily. Dr Rank says Krogstad is morally sick. Torvald comes in and says he can hire Kristine. Kristine, Dr Rank and Torvald leave. Nora plays w the children until she notices Krogstad. Krogstad says that Torvald wants to fire him and threatens to reveal that Nora forged her father's signature if she doesn't help him. Krogstad leaves and Torvald enters, Nora tries to convince him but he won't be persuaded. Christmas day, Nora is filled w anxiety and Kristine comes to mend her dress. Nora tells Kristine that Dr Rank has a fatal illness. Kristine thinks that Dr Rank is the source of Nora's loan but she denies it. Torvald comes and Nora begs him to let Krogstad keep his job. Torvald sends Krogstad's letter of dismissal. Torvald exits. Dr Rank comes and tells Nora he is close to death. Dr Rank tells her he loves her. Dr Rank leaves and Krogstad comes. He tells Nora that he has to be rehired at a higher position then puts a letter revealing her forgery in the letterbox. Nora tells Kristine everything and Kristine tells her to delay Torvald while she speaks with Krogstad. Nora practices the tarantella to distract Torvald and manages to make him promise not to open his mail until after she performs. Next night, during the costume party, Krogstad meets Kristine and we learn they used to be in love but she married a rich man. They get together. Krogstad wants to get the letter back but Kristine says they'll be better once the truth is revealed. Torvald and Nora come back. Dr Rank says goodnight and leaves, Torvald finds Dr Rank's visiting cards in the letterbox w black cross. Nora knows Dr Rank is going to die. Nora insists Torvald read Krogstad's letter. He gets angry then Helene brings another letter and he's overjoyed. Nora leaves, comes back, and says she is leaving him and walks out.

Ubu Roi

Jarry. Act one: Papa Ubu and Mama Ubu plan to kill the King of Poland with Bordure. Ubu poisons Bordure's men by giving them a toilet brush covered in shit. Ubu demands that the conspirators swear to kill the king properly. Act 2: Ubu kills the King, the Queen and her youngest son escape to a cave but the queen dies. The dead ancestors appear to Bougrelas demand vengeance and give him a sword. Ubu throws gold coins to the crowd and some get trampled. gold for whoever wins the footrace. Ubu invites everyone to an orgy at the palace. Act 3:Ubu and Mama talk about what to do, puts Bordure in the dungeon but he escapes and allies himself with Tsar Alexis. Ubu executes all of the nobles so he can take their properties. He then kills all the magistrates and financiers, claiming a reform in law and finance. Ubu has killed everyone so he goes door to door to collect taxes. Bordure sends Ubu a letter and says he will invade Poland and re-establish Bougrelas as the rightful king. Ubu sobs in fear. With the cardboard cutout of a horse's head, he goes to battle. Act 4: Mama Ubu goes to the crypt and finds the Polish treasure. When she says she'll get the rest tomorrow, a voice from the tomb says 'never, Mere Ubu',. Bougrelas wins the first battle. Mama Ubu escapes. Ubu loses and escapes with two men to a cave in Lithuania A bear attacks and the soldiers kill it, then Ubu sleeps and the men desert. Act 4: Mama Ubu comes to the cave, she pretends to be a ghost to make him ask forgiveness. Instead, Ubu tells her all her faults. Ubu throws a dead bear onto her and then says the our father. Ubu tears Mama Ubu to pieces then plans to escape to Paris and be Finance minister.

The America Play

Parks. A black man who resembles Abraham Lincoln performs an act where customers pay to play opposite him in a reenactment of Lincoln's assassination. The man, who goes by the name of the Foundling Father, explains his life and work to the audience. Years later, his wife and son dig up the hole where he performed and share memories. They find several relics and eventually his body, and plan a funeral.

A Streetcar Named Desire

Williams. Blanche DuBois, arrives at the New Orleans apartment of Stella Kowalski. Blanche tells Stella that she lost Belle Reve, their ancestral home, following the death of their relatives. She also mentions that she has been given a leave of absence from her teaching position. Blanche's social condescension wins her the dislike of Stanley Kowalski. Stella is pregnant with his baby. Stanley immediately distrusts Blanche to the extent that he suspects her of having cheated Stella out of her share of the family inheritance. In the process of defending herself to Stanley, Blanche reveals that Belle Reve was lost due to a foreclosed mortgage, a disclosure that signifies the dire nature of Blanche's financial circumstances. Blanche's heavy drinking, which she attempts to conceal from her sister and brother-in-law. Stanley hosts a drunken poker game with his friends at the apartment. Blanche gets under Stanley's skin, especially bc Mitch likes her. After Mitch has been absent for a while, speaking with Blanche in the bedroom, Stanley erupts. When Stella yells at Stanley and defends Blanche, Stanley beats her. The men pull him off, the poker game breaks up, and Blanche and Stella escape to Eunice's apartment. Later, Stanley is remorseful and cries up to Stella to forgive him. To Blanche's alarm, Stella returns to Stanley and embraces him passionately. Mitch meets Blanche outside and comforts her. The next day, Blanche tries to convince Stella to leave Stanley for a better man whose social status equals Stella's. Blanche suggests that she and Stella contact Shep Huntleigh ; when Stella laughs at her, Blanche reveals that she is completely broke. Stanley walks in as Blanche is making fun of him and secretly overhears Blanche and Stella's conversation. Later, he threatens Blanche with hints that he has heard rumours of her disreputable past. While Blanche is alone in the apartment one evening, waiting for Mitch to pick her up for a date, a teenage newspaper boy comes. Blanche doesn't have any money but she gives him a kiss. Mitch arrives. When Blanche returns, she is exhausted and clearly has been uneasy for the entire night about the rumours Stanley mentioned earlier. Blanche reveals to Mitch that her husband committed suicide after she discovered his homosexuality. Mitch describes his own loss of a former love, and he tells Blanche that they need each other. One month later, it is Blanche's birthday. Stella is preparing a dinner for Blanche, Mitch, Stanley, and herself, when Stanley comes in to tell her about Blanche's sordid past. He says that after losing the DuBois mansion, Blanche moved into a fleabag motel and was a prostitute. Also, she was fired from her job as a schoolteacher because was having an affair with a teenage student. Stella is horrified to learn that Stanley has told Mitch these stories about Blanche. Mitch doesn't come to the birthday dinner. Stanley indicates to Blanche that he is aware of her past. For a birthday present, he gives her a one-way bus ticket back to Laurel. Stanley's cruelty so disturbs Stella that it appears the Kowalski household is about to break up, but the onset of Stella's labor prevents the imminent fight. Several hours later, Blanche, drunk, sits alone in the apartment. Mitch, also drunk, arrives and repeats all he's learned from Stanley. Eventually Blanche confesses that the stories are true. Mitch tells Blanche says that he can never marry her bc she isn't fit to live in the same house as his mother. Having learned that Blanche is not the chaste lady she pretended to be, Mitch tries to have sex with Blanche, but she forces him to leave by yelling "Fire!" Later, Stanley returns from the hospital to find Blanche even more drunk. She tells him that she will soon be leaving New Orleans with her former suitor Shep Huntleigh, who is now a millionaire. Stanley knows that Blanche's story is entirely in her imagination, but he is so happy about his baby that he proposes they each celebrate their good fortune. Blanche spurns Stanley, and things grow contentious. Blanche becomes terrified to the point that she smashes a bottle on the table. Stanley grabs her arm and says that it's time for the "date" they've had set up since Blanche's arrival. The pulsing music indicates that Stanley rapes Blanche. The next scene takes place weeks later, as Stella and her neighbor Eunice pack Blanche's bags. Blanche is in the bath, and Stanley plays poker with his buddies in the front room. A doctor will arrive soon to take Blanche to an insane asylum, but Blanche believes she is leaving to join her millionaire. Stella confesses to Eunice that she simply cannot allow herself to believe Blanche's assertion that Stanley raped her. The doctor arrives with a nurse, and Blanche initially panics and struggles against them when they try to take her away. Stanley and his friends fight to subdue Blanche, while Eunice holds Stella back to keep her from interfering. Mitch begins to cry. Finally, the doctor approaches Blanche in a gentle manner and convinces her to leave with him. Stella sobs with her child in her arms, and Stanley comforts her with loving words and caresses.

The Good Woman of Szechuan

Brecht. Wong, welcomes the three gods. Tries to find them a place to stay, but everyone keeps rejecting them. Finally, Shen Te the prostitute agrees. Before they leave the gods decide to give her money. 1: Shen Te bought a tobacco shop from Mrs. Shin. Gives Mrs. Shin rice and helps an entire family. Carpenter demands a hundred dollars for the shelves he installed. When Shen Te asks him to have patience, he starts to take the shelves back. The wife invents a cousin named Shui Ta Mrs. Mi Tzu, the landlady, demands references from Shen Te, and since Shen Te has none, she goes along with the wife's lie about her cousin who does not exist. She names him Shui Ta, and the wife, husband, and nephew all chime in to support her lie. Scene 2 begins with the arrival of Shui Ta. It is just Shen Te disguised as a man. He fools the family that has been staying in the tobacco shop, even though they know they invented this character. He tells them to leave, and bargains with the carpenter about the price of the shelves and with Mrs. Mi Tzu about the rent she is demanding. As Scene 3 begins, Yang Sun, described as "a young man in rags," is contemplating hanging himself in a park. He is an unemployed pilot. Shen Te enters and notices that he is about to hang himself with a rope. It starts to rain, and Shen Te takes shelter under the tree with him; they are immediately infatuated with each other. In Scene 3a, Wong is asleep in the sewer pipe where he lives. The gods appear to him and he reports that he has seen Shen Te and that she is still good; she proved it to him when she bought his water even though it was raining. He tells the gods that Shen Te loves someone (presumably Yang Sun) and that she is "doing good deeds all the time." However, it is clear to the gods that her good deeds are unsustainable. When Wong tells them about her "cousin," Shui Ta, they get angry that he has not paid the carpenter what he owes and say he must never visit Shen Te again. Scene 4 begins with an altercation between Mr. Shu Fu, the barber, and Wong, who has been trying to sell water to Shu Fu's customers. Shu Fu chases Wong out of his shop and hits his hand with a hot curling iron, burning it badly. Many people witness it, but when Shen Te returns and asks if they will be witnesses for him, they say no. The old woman who owns the carpet shop next door with her husband offers to loan Shen Te two hundred silver dollars so she can pay her rent. Mrs. Yang, Yang Sun's mother, enters and tells Shen Te that her son has been offered a job from the director of the airfield in Peking, but that he needs to pay five hundred silver dollars for it. Shen Te pledges to try to help Yang Sun. In Scene 5, Yang Sun enters and interacts with Shui Ta, having no idea he is actually talking to his lover, Shen Te. He demonstrates that he has no interest in Shen Te's financial well-being or her ability to pay the old couple back; he just wants to get to Peking to fly again. After Shui Ta has agreed to sell the tobacco, Yang Sun reveals that his plan is to betray Shen Te. Mr. Shu Fu enters and tells Shui Ta that he would like to offer Shen Te the run of some cabins on his property and other gifts so that she can continue being kind to everyone. Wong and the policeman enter, and Shui Ta betrays Wong (but tells the truth) in saying that his cousin was not present at the time of the assault with the curling iron. Yang Sun returns and Shu Fu tells him that he and Shen Te are about to announce their engagement. Just then, Shen Te emerges from the back room. When Yang Sun reminds her of how he loves her, she chooses to ignore the horrible things he said about her, and agrees to marry him. In Scene 5a, Shen Te explains to the audience that the old woman had to ask for her two hundred silver dollars back, since the anxiety of having loaned them made her husband ill. She said she would. Scene 6 is set in "the 'private dining room' on the upper floor of a cheap restaurant in a poor section of town." Shen Te is there with her wedding guests. Yang Sun and Mrs. Yang, his mother, are removed from the crowd and have a secret conversation in which Yang reveals to his mother that Shen Te has said she cannot sell the shop for him because of the loan from the old couple; he doesn't want to marry Shen Te now. Without the rest of the money, Yang Sun will not marry her. They decide to wait another fifteen minutes for Shui Ta. At this point, Shen Te tells Yang Sun that Shui Ta will not bring the three hundred silver dollars, since he told her that Yang Sun bought only one ticket to Peking, revealing that she knows about the conversation he had with her "cousin" the day before. Yang Sun shows her two tickets; he tells her that they will have to leave his mother behind. However, the wedding has been postponed too long and the priest leaves, followed by all the other wedding guests. In Scene 6a, the gods visit Wong in a dream again, and he asks them to intervene in Shen Te's life. They refuse. As Scene 7 opens, Mrs. Shin and Shen Te are taking the washing off the clothesline. Mr. Shu Fu enters and hands Shen Te a blank check, explaining that he wants to support her so she can continue being good. Shen Te feels her belly and realizes that she is, in fact, pregnant. Wong enters with one of the carpenter's starving children. Shen Te reveals to Wong that she is pregnant, but asks him not to tell Yang Sun. The wife and husband who had previously taken advantage of Shen Te enter dragging tobacco sacks; Shen Te agrees to put them in the back room. Shen Te leaves and returns dressed as Shui Ta. Shui Ta says that all the people may only stay in Shu Fu's cabins if they work for Shen Te. Mrs. Mi Tzu enters and Shui Ta tells her that he has decided not to sell the shop after all. As Shui Ta leads the group of new workers back to Shu Fu's cabins, Mrs. Shin realizes that Shen Te and Shui Ta must be the same person. Scene 7a takes place in Wong's sewer. He tells the gods that he has had a nightmare about Shen Te and asks them to help her, but they refuse, saying that helping Shen Te would only create more problems and would be too much work for them. Time has passed before the beginning of Scene 8; Mrs. Yang reveals this to the audience, explaining that Shui Ta has given her son new motivation and a job in the tobacco factory. By now, he has been promoted to foreman. More time has passed before Scene 9, and now Shui Ta is quite fat (because Shen Te is pregnant). Mrs. Shin tells him that the old couple has lost the carpet shop because the repayment of the 200 silver dollars came too late. Then she reveals to Shui Ta that she knows he is the same person as Shen Te, and that "he" is pregnant. Wong enters and reveals that it has been six months since Shen Te has been at home. In front of Yang Sun, he tells Shui Ta that Shen Te is pregnant. Shui Ta leaves and Yang Sun assumes that Shui Ta has sent his cousin away so that Yang Sun would not discover her pregnancy. Shui Ta goes into the back room and sobs loudly; Yang Sun overhears it and thinks that it is Shen Te. This eventually leads to Shui Ta's arrest concerning Shen Te's mysterious disappearance. Scene 9a takes place in Wong's den. The gods visit him there for the last time; they are clearly distressed and fatigued. They set off to find Shen Te to make sure she stays good. She is their only hope. Chapter 10 is set in a courtroom. The policeman introduces the judges, who are the three gods. After testimonies for and against him, Shui Ta begins to cave in and tells the judges to clear the courtroom so he can make a confession. When the courtroom is cleared, Shui Ta reveals to the gods that he recognizes them and that he is, in fact, Shen Te. After she has explained why she had to take these measures, the first god chooses to be in denial about it. He says that Shen Te is still good, though the other two gods insist that he did not hear a word she said and that he is ignoring the fact that she committed bad deeds while disguised as Shui Ta. The gods exit, singing "The Trio of the Vanishing Gods on the Cloud" as Shen Te's cries for help interrupt them.

The Escape

Brown. Melinda, biracial slave who marries Glen, owned by Hamilton. Mrs Gaines fears that Dr Gaines likes Melinda and orders him to sell her. Gaines tries to sleep w Melinda and she tells him she's married. Gaines says he will kill Glen. Gaines hides Melinda in a cabin and tells his wife he sold her. Mrs Gaines doesn't believe him and follows him to the cottage one night. After Gaines leaves, Mrs Gaines comes and tries to force Melinda to drink poison. Melinda escapes into the forest. Glen is tortured by Jacob Scragg. Sampey tells Glen what happened to his father. Glen meets Melinda in the forest and they follow the North Star to Canada. Gaines and a group of men hunt for them. Last confrontation on the docks of a ferry going to Canada. Mr White, Northern gentleman, saves them.

Song of Death

Al Hakim. he play opens with Asakir and Mabruka anxiously awaiting Ilwan's return to the village. Asakir has been waiting for seventeen years for her late husband's death to be avenged; she expects Ilwan to fulfill his familial duties and stab Suweilam Tahawi, the man who killed his father. Through conversation with Mabruka, Asakir reveals that her son has been studying at the university in Cairo. Asakir is proud of him, but she does not realize how much her son's education and experiences have changed him. Ilwan questions his mother's plan for him to commit murder; he asks why she didn't ask the authorities to prosecute the killer. He tells his mother that he has returned to his village in hopes of educating the villagers to stand up for their rights and improve their standard of living. After Ilwan leaves to return to the train station, Asakir disowns him, and she exhorts Simeida to kill his cousin with the same knife she hoped Ilwan would use. Simeida questions Asakir's command, but his aunt warns him that if he should not kill his cousin, the whole village will laugh at him and the Aziz family. In the ensuing dialogue between Asakir and Mabruka, we learn that Asakir hopes that her son will escape on the train. Simeida's song confirms the contrary, and the play closes with Asakir's grief.

Waiting for Godot

Beckett. Two men, Vladimir and Estragon, meet near a tree. They converse on various topics and reveal that they are waiting there for a man named Godot. While they wait, two other men enter. Pozzo is on his way to the market to sell his slave, Lucky. He pauses for a while to converse with Vladimir and Estragon. Lucky entertains them by dancing and thinking, and Pozzo and Lucky leave. After Pozzo and Lucky leave, a boy enters and tells Vladimir that he is a messenger from Godot. He tells Vladimir that Godot will not be coming tonight, but that he will surely come tomorrow. Vladimir asks him some questions about Godot and the boy departs. After his departure, Vladimir and Estragon decide to leave, but they do not move as the curtain falls. The next night, Vladimir and Estragon again meet near the tree to wait for Godot. Lucky and Pozzo enter again, but this time Pozzo is blind and Lucky is dumb. Pozzo does not remember meeting the two men the night before. They leave and Vladimir and Estragon continue to wait. Shortly after, the boy enters and once again tells Vladimir that Godot will not be coming. He insists that he did not speak to Vladimir yesterday. After he leaves, Estragon and Vladimir decide to leave, but again they do not move as the curtain falls, ending the play.

The Enchantment

Benedictsson. Louise, Edna and Henrik are talking. Louise is very much in love with Alland. Alland is currently working on a sculpture for his art show. Henrik leaves and Edna warns Louise not to get too attached to Alland because she knows how he likes to go from one woman to the next. She says that she herself was once romantically involved with him and he left her for another woman. Louise leaves Alland/Paris and moves in with Edna in her provincial hometown in Sweden. She has a sweet life there, but a letter from Henrik propels her to run to back to Paris to be with him, explaining to Edna that though she knows Henrik will bring her pain at one point, she has to be with him even for a short time because her love for him is so strong and she would get more pain from missing the chance to be with him completely. Louise and Alland seem very much in love in their Paris home. After much time spent on his art, alland has his show. Before his show, he breaks up with Louise, having used her as inspiration and now is ready to move on. She is heartbroken, Louise is shocked to see that his main piece is a sculpture of her, a piece so bewitching and sublime that she is thrown into anguish. She is so upset by the fact that she can no longer be with him that she kills herself. He comes in to beg for her love and she is already dead.

Woyzeck

Buchner. Woyzeck, military barber, complains to Andres about his visions. Marie sits by the window w child and watches the marching band, admiring the drum major. Woyzeck tries to offer her money. Next day, go to fair. Drum major sees Marie and wants her. Drum major and Sergeant follow Marie and Woyzeck and watch the showman. Days later, Marie admires gold earrings the drum major gave her. Woyzeck comes and she says she found the earrings. He gets angry. Marie and Drum-major meet in secret and it's suggested that they have sex. Woyzeck goes to the doctor and he gets scolded for peeing in the street, he is studying the effect of a peas-only diet on Woyzeck's health and loves his hallucinations. Officer visits the doctor and Woyzeck comes. Officer tells Woyzeck of Marie and drum-major's affair. Woyzeck confronts Marie who dodges the accusations. Doctor presents Woyzeck to his student as an experiment. In the guardroom, Woyzeck is getting worse and tries to tell Andres. At the inn, Woyzeck sees Marie and drum major dancing. Woyzeck foes into the field and he hears voices that tell him to stab Marie to death. Next day, Andres recounts drum-major's chauvinistic comments about Marie and Woyzeck goes into the inn and gets beaten up by drum major. Next scene, Woyzeck buys knife from Jew. Marie at home looking at Bible and regretting her sin. Woyzeck in the barracks. Next scene, Marie with grandmother and hears the 'black fairy tale'. Woyzeck arrives and takes her outside. He stabs her. Goes to the inn and jeers at Kathe who notices the blood on his hand. Flees and finds Marie's body, he tells her he has absolved her of sin and throws knife in a pond. Woyzeck washes blood off and tries to find his child but the child rejects him. Policeman addressing townspeople about the murder.

The Cherry Orchard

Chekhov. Lophakin and Dunyasha wait for Ranevsky. Lopakhin says that Ranevsky has been in Paris for the last five years. Ranevsky arrives with Anya, Yasha, Charlotte. Firs, Varya and Leonid are just there. Anya reveals the poverty and Varya says they need to sell the estate to pay their debts. Ranevsky's husband and son died. Anya goes to bed and Lopakhin brings up the sale, proposes to build cottages on the parcel for summer holders. Gayev and Ranevsky say no because they would have to chop down the cherry tree. Lopakhin offers them a loan of 50,000 to buy their property. Ranevsky lends money to Simeonov-Pischik. Peter Trofimov arrives. Gayev plans on using his banker friend, borrowing money from Lopakhin or their rich aunt. Dunyasha, Yasha and Yephikodov are in a love triangle. Debate over Lopakhin's plan and Ranevsky and Lopakhin get mad at each other. Revealed that a parisian lover drove Ranevsky to suicide. Trofimov comes. A sound of snapping string is heard. A drunkard comes and Ranevsky gives him gold. Anya and Trofimov talk about how they are above love. Ranevsky throws a party on the day of the auction. Charlotte does magic tricks. Ranevsky worries about why Gayev and Lopakhin have not returned. Ranevsky reveals that the rich aunt did not give enough money. She and Trofimov have an argument. Lopakhin and Gayev return and Lopakhin says he bought the estate. Anya tries to comfort Ranevsky. October, the trees are being cut down. Lopakhin is going to Kharkov, Varya to the Ragulins, Gayev to work in a bank, Anya to school and Ranevsky and Yasha to Paris. Everyone says goodbye. Ranevsky encourages Lopakhin to propose to Varya but he doesn't and she cries. Firs is accidentally left behind and lies on the couch. Sound of a string snapping and of an axe cutting down the cherry tree.

Cloud Nine

Churchill. Act 1 takes place in a British Colony in Africa in Victorian times. Clive, a British colonel administrator, is married to Betty, who is played by a man and his black servant Joshua, is played by a white male. His son, Edward, is played by a woman, and his daughter, Victoria, is represented by a dummy. Clive embodies the sexual double standard and imposes traditional gender roles on all those surrounding him, while he also tries to suppress resistance to British rule. Mrs. Sauder, a widow, and Harry Bagley, an explorer comes to stay with them. Harry flirts with Betty, and then has sex with Joshua in the barn. Clive makes sexual advances on Mrs. Sauders. During a game of hide and seek it is revealed that Edward and Harry were sexually involved. Clive confronts Betty with the knowledge of her affair, urges her to resist lust and then forgives her. He then confronts Bagley, who comes onto him, and makes Clive horrified. At the wedding of Bagley and Ellen, Edward sees Joshua raise a gun to Clive's head but says nothing. Act II is set in England in 1979 but it's only 25 years later for the characters. Gerry recounts a sexual encounter he had on a train with a stranger. Lin reveals to Victoria that she's lesbian. Betty professes that she plans on leaving her husband to the children's dismay. Lin asks Victoria if she'll have sex with her. In the spring, Edward meets his unfaithful lover George in the park. Martin expresses his desire to sexually please Victoria. Lin tells Victoria her brother, a soldier, has been killed. In late summer, Lin, Victoria, and Edward have a sexual ceremony in the park in which Martin gets involved and Lin's dead brother appears. Betty rediscovers the joy of masturbation and Cathy is beat up in a gang attack. The last dialogic exchange occurs between Gerry and Betty where she accepts Edward's homosexuality and the closing image is of the Betty From Africa embracing the Betty from Act II.

Hedda Gabbler

Ibsen. Tesman and Hedda are newlyweds who have just returned from a six month honeymoon. Hedda is pregnant. Aunt Julle comes and supports Tesman. Hedda is rude to Aunt Julle (hat). Tesman tries to tell her to be kinder. Mrs Elvsted comes and says that Ejlert Lovborg is back. Hedda gets Tesman to leave and Mrs Elvsted tells her she's scared that Lovborg will start drinking again. Mrs Elvsted leaves and Judge Brack comes and says that Ejlert is a success and may take Tesman's position at the university. Tesman tells Hedda they will have to cut back. Next day, Brack comes and finds Hedda playing with pistols, they talk and she tells him how bored she is with Tesman even though he bought her this house. Tesman and Ejlert come. Ejlert has a convo with Hedda. Mrs Elvsted comes and Hedda plays Ejlert and Mrs Elvsted against each other. Ejlert starts drinking and joins Tesman and brack for the stag night. Mrs Elvsted is upset and Ejlert says he'll come back to walk her home. Mrs Elvsted stays up waiting for Ejlert and Hedda is sleeping on the couch. Tesman comes and says he has Ejlert's manuscript which he dropped and he wants to return. Aunt Rina is dying and Tesman leaves. Brack comes and tells Hedda that Ejlert got arrested. Brack leaves and Ejlert comes and tells Mrs Elvsted that he destroyed the manuscript and she leaves. Ejlert tells Hedda that he lost it and wants to kill himself and she gives him one of her pistols. He leaves and she burns the manuscript. Aunt Julle comes and says that Aunt Rina has died. Aunt julle leaves. Mrs Elvsted comes and says that Ejlert is in the hospital. Brack comes and says that Ejlert is dead and had killed himself. Tesman and Mrs Elvsted try to reconstruct the manuscript. Brack tells Hedda that scandal might ensue and she kills herself after playing the piano.

The Homecoming

Pinter. Teddy, a philosophy professor in an American University returns to his working class home in London, where he introduces his family to his new American but English-born wife, Ruth. His father, Max, a former butcher, has two sons Lenny, a small-time pimp, and Joey, an aspiring boxer. Sam, his uncle, a chauffeur, also lives with them. All the males are constantly trying to dominate each other and assert their masculinity over each other and the one woman present, Ruth. In Ruth and Lenny's first encounter, Lenny tries to get her attention by recounting two long stories that both involve his brutalization of women. Ruth tries to assert dominance over them by using her sexual power. The men begin overtly coming onto Ruth. Teddy has a strangely passive reaction to his brothers' and father's sexual advances on his wife. Teddy decides he wants to leave, but the men suggest Ruth stay with them. Lenny then suggests that they put her on the sex market so she can earn her own keep. Teddy's silence and passiveness in this scene is bizarre and thought-provoking. When Ruth reenters, Teddy tells her that she's been invited to stay and all the men chime in on the proposition. Ruth agrees on the condition she get a three-room flat. Teddy leaves with normal, cordial goodbyes.

Pygmalion

Shaw. Covent garden, Higgins meets Colonel Pickering. Higgins says he can transform Eliza. Next morning, Eliza comes and asks for speech lessons for a shilling. Higgins makes fun of her but then agrees. Higgins makes her get a bath and get new clothes. Alfred Doolittle comes to demand ELiza back and also wants money. Higgins gives him five quid, doesn't recognise Eliza on the way out. Higgins trains Eliza for a few months. First trial: at Higgins' mum's home with the Eysnford Hills, who were at Covent Garden in the first scene. Freddy is very attached to Eliza. Mrs higgins worries that the experiment will lead to problems when it ends. Second trial: ambassador's party is a success. After, Higgins and Pickering are bored with the project and Eliza is hurt, throws slippers at Higgins because she does not know what to do and Higgins accuses her of ingratitutde. Higgins goes to his mum because Eliza has run away. Alfred also comes and he is now unhappily rich from the trust of a dead millionaire who took Higgins' tongue in cheek reccomendation seriously. Mrs Higgins reveals that Eliza is upstairs and she tells them off for playing with Eliza's affections. Eliza comes down and thanks Pickering for always treating her like a lady but threatens Higgins with working for his rival. Eliza leaves for her father's wedding, Higgins gives her errands, assuming she is coming back to Wimpole Street. She never makes it clear if she does.

The Sea at Dauphin

Walcott. While he was drunk, Afa promised Hounakin that he could help him and Augustin fish. When Afa sees the Atlantic's especially rough waters and Hounakin is running late, Afa wants to leave the old man behind. Augustin asks Afa to have a little compassion. Hounakin is petrified of the water and the boat and Afa's gruffness. When Afa and Augustin persuade Hounakin to get out of the boat, the elderly man reveals his predicament: He is too proud to beg and too tired to work, so he and his dog go hungry. The fishermen leave Hounakin on the shore, promising to bring him fish to eat. When they return from their fishing trip, they hear a chorus of women singing in Creole, and they learn that Jules discovered Hounakin's body smashed on the rocks. He presumably jumped off a high point onto the rocks below. Augustin and Afa are devastated. Afa agrees to let Jules learn to fish with him and Augustin, and the play concludes with Afa furling his sails in preparation for another day on the water.

Death and the King's Horsemen

Soyinka. The Yoruba king has just died, and Elesin Oba (the king's horseman), according to tradition, must commit suicide for the universe to keep spinning. The Praise-Singer who accompanies him isdubious that he'll be able to take things all the way. Elesin reassures him, and the women of the market start getting him outfitted. Elesin marries a pretty girl even though the girl is betrothed to Iyaloja's own son, and she's worried that getting married will be a distraction from the task at hand, Iyaloja agrees. Simon Pilkings and Jane are preparing for a masquerade party. While they're getting ready, Amusa arrives to alert them about Elesin's plans. Pilkings sends word to Amusa to have Elesin arrested. Amusa goes to the market to prevent Elesin's ritual from going off, but the women drive him away. And so the ritual starts, and Elesin gets drawn into what seems like a deep trance. Pilkings receives word at the ball that the ritual is still a go, so he heads out to intervene. Olunde, shows up and starts talking to Jane (who has been left behind). With the Pilkingses' help/urging, Olunde went to medical school in England, which caused a pretty big breach with his dad. Despite their estrangement and the fact that he had left home to live in the West, when he heard that the Yoruba king died, Olunde came back to fulfill the duties to his community. By listening to the drums in the distance, Olunde concludes that the ritual has ended, and his father is now dead. However, he learns that Simon and his accomplices intervened before the ritual could be completed, and Elesin ends up stumbling in, handcuffed and furious. Olunde is furious his father didn't die. Later, Iyaloja visits Elesin in prison and taunts him for his weakness in not getting to the other side quickly enough, implying that his will wasn't strong enough. Elesin agrees that his will failed him, but he also believes he would have gotten there had it not been for the English intervention. Iyaloja then mentions that someone else has had to intervene to help pull the ritual off and prevent total cosmic chaos after Elesin's failure. A large bolt of cloth is brought in, and we soon find it contains Olunde's body. Olunde sacrificed himself to try to redeem his father's failure. At this revelation, Elesin strangles himself with the chains binding him before anyone can stop him.

Miss Julie

Strindberg. Action takes place in the kitchen of the Count's manor house on Midsummer's Eve. Christine, the cook, is cooking when Jean enters saying that Miss Julie is wild tn and he danced w her. Christine says Miss Julie has been wild since her broken engagement bc her fiance abandoned her after she attempted to train him, making him jump over a whip as she beat him. Miss Julie enters and asks Jean to dance. Jean warns her of local gossip. Christine cleans kitchen. Jean and Julie return and Christine falls asleep. Jean kisses Miss Julie's foot and she says she is 'climbing down' from her social opposite in her dream. Jean says he dreams of improving his status. Julie asks Jean if he has ever been in love and he says that he used to love her. Caught sight of her Turkish pavillion, snuck in, heard someone coming and snuck out to a rose terrace where Miss Julie was. Went to church next sunday to see her again and then attempted suicide. Julie asks Jean to take her to the lake. Guests are heard approaching and Jean says they are singing a dirty song about them. They exit and have sex while the peasants dance in the kitchen. Jean and Julie return and Jean says they can't stay at the manor, dreams of going to Italy. Julie begs Jean to say he loves her. Jean says that they have to behave like nothing has happened. Julie says she has no money to open a hotel. Jean says that there are no plans and Julie becomes hysterical wondering how she can live. Jean calls her a ***** and says that the rose terrace story was bullshit. Julie says she deserves his abuse. Julie tells Jean about her life: her mother brought the estate to ruin, father took command and mum fell ill, mysterious fire burnt the house and Julie's mother told her father to borrow money from her lover to rebuild the house (she started the fire). Julie grew to hate men. Jean tells Julie she is sick. Julie tells him what to do and Jean tells her to flee. Christine comes and Jean confesses that he slept w Julie. Christine is disgusted and leaves. The count comes back. Julie comes and it's morning, she has a birdcage. He agrees to come but says the canary can't join. Jean kills the canary. Julie is mesmerised by the chopping block and says she wants to see Jean's head on a block and the male sex swimming in blood. She says she will say and confess to her father. Christine enters, Julie begs for help. Julie says the three of them should flee. Christine leaves and says she'll tell the stable boy to stop any attempted flight. Julie picks up Jean's shaving razor. The Count comes and Julie begs Jean for help. Julie tells Jean to hypnotise her and he whispers fatal instructions. The bell rings twice and Jean commands Julie to death and she leaves (presumably commits suicide).

Machinal

Treadwell. Episode 1: office of George H Jones company. Helen is late for work. Relates that she finds society stifling. George H Jones wants to marry her and she does not know what to say. 2: discusses proposal with mother and her mum tells her to marry him for the money. 3: Helen and George on a honeymoon. George is preoccupied with money and sexist. They have sex and Helen cries during. 4: Helen gives birth to a girl and says she doesn't want it. When George enters she gags. Then she has a monologue about her dog Vixen and how her puppies downed in blood. 5: Harry Smith and Dick Roe are in a bar waiting for two women.Telephone girl comes with Helen. Telephone Girl and Harry leave. Roe tells Helen he killed two men while travelling in mexico bc he was taken captive and he filled a glass bottle with small stones to kill them. 6: They sleep together and she is excited about life. She asks if she can have the bowl of small stones with a lily. 7: goes back to her husband and hELEN MAKES COMMENTS THAT FORESHADOW SUICIDE, MURDER and divorce. Scene is full of foreshadowing themurder. 8: Courtroom, Helen is on trial for her husband's murder. Uses the scene to comment on media. Helen and George never had a single quarrel. Helen denies killing him. He was murdered with a bottle full of small stones. Helen says it was two men who just appeared and left. Lawyer reveals that Roe had a signed affidavit saying they had an affair and told her that story of Mexico. Helen confesses and she says she wanted to murder him 'to be free' but she couldn't hurt him by divorce. 9: Helen is with a priest getting her last rites. The barbers cometo shave a bit of her head and she screams that nothing is hers. Asks the priest if she will ever be free. Her mum comes to say goodbye. Helen is lead to the electric chair.

Fences

Wilson. The play begins on a Friday, Troy and Bono's payday. Troy and Bono go to Troy's house to drink and talk. Troy has asked Mr. Rand, their boss, why the black employees aren't allowed to drive the garbage trucks. Bono thinks Troy is cheating on Rose. Cory, has been recruited by a college football team. Troy was in the Negro Leagues but never got a chance to play in the Major Leagues because he was too early. Troy goes into a long epic story about his struggle in July of 1943 with death. Lyons shows up at the house because he knows it is Troy's payday. Rose reminds Troy about the fence she's asked him to finish building. Cory and Troy work on the fence. Cory breaks the news to Troy that he has given away his job at the grocery store during the football season. Cory begs Troy to let him play because a coach from North Carolina is coming to see Cory play. Troy refuses and demands Cory to get his job back. Act One, scene four takes place on Friday and mirrors scene one. Troy has won his case and has been assigned as the first colored garbage truck driver in the city. Bono and Troy remember their fathers and their childhood experiences of moving north. Cory comes home enraged after finding out that Troy told the football coach that Cory may not play on the team. Troy warns Cory that his insubordinance is "strike one," against him. Troy bails his brother Gabriel out of jail. Bono and Troy work on the fence. Bono explains to Troy and Cory that Rose wants the fence because she loves her family and wants to keep close to her love. Troy admits to Bono that he is having an affair with Alberta. Bono bets Troy that if he finishes building the fence for Rose, Bono will buy his wife, Lucille the refrigerator he has promised her for a long time. Troy tells Rose about a hearing in three weeks to determine whether or not Gabriel should be recommitted to an asylum. Troy tells Rose about his affair. Rose accuses Troy of taking and not giving. Cory and Troy fight and Troy wins. Troy calls "strike two" on Cory. Six months later, Troy says he is going over to the hospital to see Alberta who went into labor early. Rose tells Troy that Gabriel has been taken away to the asylum because Troy couldn't read the papers and signed him away. Alberta had a baby girl but died during childbirth. Troy challenges Death to come and get him after he builds a fence. Troy brings home his baby, Raynell. Rose takes in Raynell as her own child, but refuses to be dutiful as Troy's wife. On Troy's payday, Bono shows up unexpectedly. Troy and Bono acknowledge how each man made good on his bet about the fence and the refrigerator. Troy insists that Cory leave the house and provide for himself. Cory brings up Troy's recent failings with Rose. Cory points out that the house and property, from which Troy is throwing Cory out, should actually be owned by Gabriel whose government checks paid for most of the mortgage payments. Troy physically attacks Cory. Troy kicks Cory out of the house for good. Cory leaves. Troy swings the baseball bat in the air, taunting Death. Eight years later, Raynell plays in her newly planted garden. Troy has died from a heart attack. Cory returns home from the Marines to attend Troy's funeral. Lyons and Bono join Rose too. Cory refuses to attend. Rose teaches Cory that not attending Troy's funeral does not make Cory a man. Raynell and Cory sing one of Troy's father's blues songs. Gabriel turns up, released or escaped from the mental hospital. Gabe blows his trumpet but no sound comes out. Disappointed and hurt, Gabriel dances. He makes a cry and the Heavens open wide.