WTF Started all this?

Dejan Dukovski

MEANING

The Bill Collecter

Bezanija (The Runaway)

JOY

A Clown

A Ballerina

FAITH

Dr Phallus

The Young Man

HOPE

Konstantine

Ikonija

LOVE

Lulu

The Masked Man

The Third Man

HONOUR

The Black Arab

Angya

Her Father-in-Law

SIN

Sheytan (A Demon In A Cage)

A Nun

Angels

Richard, Godot, Pierrot, Faustus, Checkov, Hamlet, Lopachin, Variya, Lady Anna, Lulu, Johnny,
De Sade, Borhes, Shakespeare...

First Circle

MEANING

A SMALL HILL

A DOOR

BEZANIJA (THE RUNAWAY)

THE BILL COLLECTER (WITH NO LEFT EYE)

THE BILL COLLECTER: Nothing is happening.

BEZANIYA: Something will happen.

(Pause)

THE BILL COLLECTER: I have to go.

BEZANIYA: Don't.

THE BILL COLLECTER: They're waiting for me.

BEZANIYA: But I waited too.

THE BILL COLLECTER: I am here. I was delayed. I was collecting payments. I got here. Now
I have to carry on. I must be there on time.

BEZANIYA: Don't.

THE BILL COLLECTER: I will return.

BEZANIYA: When? Where?

THE BILL COLLECTER: In a while. Somewhere round here.

(Pause)

Or a bit later. Somewhere else.

BEZANIYA: Where are you going?

THE BILL COLLECTER: I don't ask about you.

BEZANIYA: Ask. I can't wait any longer.

THE BILL COLLECTER: Don't.

BEZANIYA: Don't.

(Pause)

It grieves me, when there’s no you.

THE BILL COLLECTER: Stop saying things like that. Don't say them to me. Not to me. Do you
hear me? Don't.

(Pause)

Just don't.

(Pause)

Just don't, I tell you.

BEZANIYA: Take it easy.

THE BILL COLLECTER: Are those your teeth?

BEZANIYA: Yes.

THE BILL COLLECTER: Take care of them.

(Pause)
Don't fool around. Very little is left at the end.

BEZANIYA: You're left.

THE BILL COLLECTER: Rabbits in front of headlights are left. Look. There is no end. There
wasn't even a beginning. Nothing happened. Some time has passed. A fast moving stillness.
Forward. Or back. Or when? Yesterday. Later. Last year. Now. Tomorrow. Sometime ago. Many
years from now. Centuries ago. A youth. Old age. A doomed autumn. An ordinary day. An
ordinary life. One of those moments. Somewhere in the middle of bum fuck nowhere, on it's way
to the arse of the world.

(Pause)

An old tree. A bench in the park. A train station. A gaudy umbrella. Hot chocolate. A wide street.
A striped shirt. A morning cigarette.

A delight to the soul. Something horny. A tiny betrayal. The smell of a kitchen. Unpaid bills.
Expensive perfumes. Queues. Nice places. A little joy. A good laugh. A circus. A monkey... No,
no, a pig, imitating death. An explosion. Parts of other parts. Dead parts. Countries. Europes. A
load of bollocks. A part of me. A part of you. I'm really fucked up. Look. I'm going to explode
one of these days. I'll settle over everything like dust.

(Pause)

Someone's farting. Someone farts all the time.

BEZANIYA: Would you like some strawberries?

THE BILL COLLECTER: Something stinks.

BEZANIYA: Nothing stinks.

THE BILL COLLECTER: How the fuck not? Where did those strawberries come from?

BEZANIYA: They're here.

THE BILL COLLECTER: There isn't time.

BEZANIYA: Time is all there is. My time stands still when you're not around.

I give a lifetime for a one moment. It isn't late. Don't go anywhere. Don't get anywhere. Stay
with me. Give me your hand. See how my

heart beats. Look at me. Say something funny. Let's laugh. Like fools. If it's been bad it will be
better. We'll tell each other something. Let's have a secret. Tell me a secret.

THE BILL COLLECTER: I know a secret.

(Pause)
‘We are born of women torn apart over a grave.’

(Pause)

They tore many women apart over their graves.

BEZANIYA: Take me somewhere. Anywhere. Siberia, Manchuria, Makedonska Kamenitsa...

(Pause)

If I stop dreaming about you, everything will cease to exist.

THE BILL COLLECTER: What will cease?

BEZANIYA: Everything that exists.

THE BILL COLLECTER: You don’t get it, do you?

(Pause)

Gaudy shirts, chocolates, trees, all kinds of shit...

BEZANIYA: Look.

THE BILL COLLECTER: What?

BEZANIYA: A falling star. Make a wish.

THE BILL COLLECTER: Don't talk nonsense. There are no stars or wishes. Pure paranoia.
Look. One fatal day my left eye offends me, so I take it out. Now I see very badly with my right.
Look. You have two eyes. You see badly. Like mirages. You can't see anything. You see other
things. Things that don't even exist. Look if you want to see pluck one out. Or damage them
both. Or pluck them both out. Do something.

(Pause)

Come on. Do something.

(Pause)

Anything...

BEZANIYA: Take it easy.

THE BILL COLLECTER: Is this your hair?

BEZANIYA: Yes.

THE BILL COLLECTER: Look after it.

BEZANIYA: Say something simple.

THE BILL COLLECTER: I saw an angel.

BEZANIYA: Where?

THE BILL COLLECTER: Somewhere before. With six wings. I said to myself there should be
two.

BEZANIYA: And?

THE BILL COLLECTER: It turned out not to be an angel. I said to myself, this is not an angel.

(Pause)

Are those your wings?

BEZANIYA: What wings?

THE BILL COLLECTER: It stinks here. Someone farts all the time.

BEZANIYA: Say something nice.

THE BILL COLLECTER: I've had a lot of women but with you it's always the first time.

(Pause)

All roads in this world lead me back to you.

BEZANIYA: Give me your hand.

THE BILL COLLECTER: And then?

(Pause)

And?

BEZANIYA: Easy.

THE BILL COLLECTER: And?

BEZANIYA: Lean your head on my breasts.

THE BILL COLLECTER: And?

BEZANIYA: Close your eyes.

THE BILL COLLECTER: And?

BEZANIYA: Feel my skin.

THE BILL COLLECTER: And?

BEZANIYA: Embrace me.

THE BILL COLLECTER: And?

BEZANIYA: Put your hand between my legs.

THE BILL COLLECTER: And?

BEZANIYA: Tell me you love me.

(Pause)

THE BILL COLLECTER: I love you.

BEZANIYA: I love you.

(Pause)

THE BILL COLLECTER: And?

BEZANIYA: Something will happen by itself.

THE BILL COLLECTER: Something will happen. Now I'm going to explain to you what will
happen. I'll give you my hand. I'll place my head on your breasts. I'll close my eyes. I'll feel your
skin. I'll embrace you. I'll put my hand between your legs. I'll tell you I love you. You are my
angel. You're everything to me.

(Pause)

I'll look into your big eyes. You'll put your hand on my limp dick. In spurts my shredded brains
will pulsate with fresh blood. There’s a smell of wet pussy. A taste of blood. Hunger for another
violence will convulse my body. We'll unite in your womb. My sad cry will drown your joyful
moans. I'll break your glass body. I'll poke out your big eyes. I'll cram your throat with
strawberries. I'll pulverise your teeth. I'll crush your head. I'll rip out your heart with my bare
hands. I'll inject new life into your corpse. I'll tear you apart over your grave. That's all there is
left. There's no time for anything else.

AND SO IT HAPPENS

WINGS BREAK

A STAR FALLS

Second Circle

JOY
A DEAD CIRCUS

A CIRCUS BALLERINA

A BARREL ORGAN WITH A WHITE BALLERINA ON IT

THE CLOWN: Now I'm going to say something.

(Pause)

Now I'm going to say something else.

BALLERINA: Did you say something?

THE CLOWN: I see you and I wet myself.

BALLERINA: Say something nice.

THE CLOWN: Perform fellatio on me.

BALLERINA: Very funny.

THE CLOWN: Let me give you a little, just a little. You won’t even notice. You’ll die laughing.

BALLERINA: This thing will drive you mad.

THE CLOWN: I’m mad about you.

BALLERINA: I’m not interested.

THE CLOWN: Neither am I.

BALLERINA: Now that’s a even bigger joke.

THE CLOWN: Oh, you think it’s funny. You haven’t got a sense of humour.

BALLERINA: It’s all you ever think about.

THE CLOWN: I’m thinking about how not to think about anything else.

BALLERINA: Oh, so you can think?

THE CLOWN: That’s nasty.

BALLERINA: And this is ridiculous.

THE CLOWN: I have nothing to say.

BALLERINA: I’ve got something to say.

THE CLOWN: OK. Then say it.

BALLERINA: We’re not meant for each other.

THE CLOWN: We’re not.

(Pause)

We could be on top of each other.

BALLERINA: I’ve said all I have to say.

THE CLOWN: How come?

BALLERINA: That was all.

THE CLOWN: There’s more. I’ll think of something else.

BALLERINA: Something else?

THE CLOWN: Something else.

BALLERINA: That won’t do you any good.

THE CLOWN: I’ll think of something else then.

BALLERINA: Don’t think. Let it die.

THE CLOWN: Wait. There it is. Dying. Quick. There isn’t much time. Come here. Lie down.

BALLERINA: I’ve had enough of you. I’m fed up with this circus. I’ve had enough of flowers
that squirt water. Can’t you see that something’s going on?

THE CLOWN: What’s going on?

BALLERINA: The circus is dying. Try to understand.

THE CLOWN: Close your eyes and give me your hand.

BALLERINA: You’ll grab hold of something else.

THE CLOWN: You don’t trust me at all.

BALLERINA: No.

THE CLOWN: I could die for you.

BALLERINA: But you don’t want to?

THE CLOWN: Do you want me to?

BALLERINA: That would resolve a lot of things.

THE CLOWN: Wouldn’t it be hard for you?

BALLERINA: It wouldn’t be easy.

THE CLOWN: If you found someone else it would be easier.

BALLERINA: Yes.

THE CLOWN: Yes?

BALLERINA: You’ll be happy if I’m happy.

THE CLOWN: I’m very happy, when you’re happy. Only when you’re happy, my dear,
something’s not quite right. One part of you isn’t right. Something in your head. You don’t have
any problems with me. You have problems with yourself. You imagine things. You look at me,
but you don’t see me. You need help.

BALLERINA: Am I insane?

THE CLOWN: You’re blind.

BALLERINA: You’re a pig.

THE CLOWN: You’re exaggerating.

BALLERINA: I’ll leave you and go and sleep with some idiot.

THE CLOWN: I didn’t hear you.

BALLERINA: Do you want me to tell you again?

THE CLOWN: Which idiot are you going to sleep with?

BALLERINA: The first one I find.

THE CLOWN: I’m here and I’m an idiot.

BALLERINA: I need something more.

THE CLOWN: More idiots?

BALLERINA: You fuck everything around.

THE CLOWN: But not you.

BALLERINA: Does that torment you?

THE CLOWN: You torment me.

BALLERINA: You know better than that.

THE CLOWN: OK. Alright. I need you. I need you like good news. Like the first cigarette in the
morning. Like you in the morning. Like a bone to a dog. Like a dealer to a junky. Like death to a
gravedigger. Like rotting waste to a pig. Like weapons to a soldier. Like war to an arms dealer.

BALLERINA:

You’re lying. It’s too much.

THE CLOWN: I am lying. It’s too little.

BALLERINA: It’s over.

THE CLOWN: I know.

(Pause)

I wanted to say something else.

(Pause)

I wanted to say...

(Pause)

BALLERINA: Something about love?

THE CLOWN: That’s right.

BALLERINA: You’re going to talk about love?

THE CLOWN: Yes.

BALLERINA: But you fuck anything that moves.

THE CLOWN: Yes.

BALLERINA: That’s all.

THE CLOWN: There’s something else. You’re something else.

BALLERINA: You won’t convince me.

THE CLOWN: I know. Look one part of me is dying.

BALLERINA: That’s not funny.

THE CLOWN: It’s not funny. It doesn’t always work.

BALLERINA: Good-bye.

THE CLOWN: Wait. Don’t. You are... My Guardian Angel.

BALLERINA: Is that so? Maybe you have a wish?

THE CLOWN: Yes, I do.

BALLERINA: Me?

THE CLOWN: You.

BALLERINA: How come?

THE CLOWN: Oh, you know me.

BALLERINA: I know you. Is that the sort of thing you ask from angels? Why can’t you say
something nice for once? Why can’t you say something else?

THE CLOWN: We haven’t understood each other.

BALLERINA: No. And now I must fly.

THE CLOWN: So fly.

(Pause)

Fly if you can.

HE KILLS HER

Now I’m going to say something.

(Pause)

Now I’m going to say something else.

(Pause)

I love you. And now I’m going to die for you a little.

HE’S DYING

THE MUSIC BOX STARTS TO PLAY

THE BALLERINA ON IT IS TURNING

A FEW WHITE FEATHERS ARE FALLING ON HER

EUROPE

WITTENBURG
THE BLACK PIG

(A FORGOTTEN EUROPEAN INN)

DOCTOR PHALLUS

THE YOUNG MAN

DOCTOR PHALLUS:Phallus.

(Pause)

Doctor Phallus.

(Pause)

I am Doctor Phallus.

THE YOUNG MAN: Doctor Phallus?

DOCTOR PHALLUS: In the flesh. Like a ghost. Haven't you heard?

THE YOUNG MAN: No.

DOCTOR PHALLUS: You're not from around here are you?

THE YOUNG MAN: No.

DOCTOR PHALLUS: Welcome.

THE YOUNG MAN: I'm glad to find everything so well here.

DOCTOR PHALLUS: You won't find anything well here. Where are you from?

THE YOUNG MAN: Southern Europe.

DOCTOR PHALLUS: The Balkans?

THE YOUNG MAN: Macedonia.

DOCTOR PHALLUS: Something is rotten in these years of European hope. The Balkans are a
prison.

(Pause)

What are you doing here?

THE YOUNG MAN: I have a scholarship. I struggled to get it. I only just got the visa. What's
important is that I'm here. I've come to study.
DOCTOR PHALLUS: You came to this place to study?

THE YOUNG MAN: I was told there were whores here of the highest quality.

DOCTOR PHALLUS: There are. I am one of them. You will be taught. I will teach you
everything. Would you like to go now, or would you like to buy me a pint first?

THE YOUNG MAN: Don't be ridiculous!

DOCTOR PHALLUS: Do you find it so ridiculous? I find it horrible. Will you be gentle with
me? Will you kiss me at least once? You haven' t got any diseases have you? You'll definitely
want it from behind. You Balkan swine! But I'm not just a piece of meat. I'm an honest whore. A
virgin.

THE YOUNG MAN: Are you taking the piss?

DOCTOR PHALLUS: I am a whore. Honestly. It's just that I'm a very clever one. That's what's
destroying me. Look. I dragging my heavy brain like a hump. I am a very complex whore. Look
at me closely. An extremely expensive whore. It's a pain in the rectum. They throw me out of
universities, I establish others. They hound me out of countries, I establish others. Knowledge
and Magic. Experience and Fantasy. I know the systems. The codes. The signals. The secrets of
the stars. The secrets of the states. The alchemy of nature. The solutions to the riddles. The
recipe for Coca Cola. Virtual reality. Micro chips. Things that haven't even been invented yet.
The labirynth of the human soul. All the actors and gravediggers of Europe. All the angels of
Europe. Worms. Ideas. Chaos. Ghettos. Paranoias. Hazards. Whores. Extended consciousness.
Political conspiracies. Hermetic circles. Esoteric circles. Mystical circles. Geometry. Geomanty.
Heromanty. Necromancy. Metapomancy. Schitzomancy. Prickomancy and so on and so on.

(Pause)

I'm bored. Nothing is happening to me. I'm rotting in The Black Pig. The best inn in Wittenburg
and for miles around. Here reality is an illusion caused by lack of alcohol. Many great minds
have hit this floor. Some of them threw up and then drowned. I'll have a beer. A sip. I'll fall. I'll
break my neck. The Black Pig killed Doctor Phallus. Water and flame. What I'm trying to say is
buy me a pint.

THE YOUNG MAN: Stout?

DOCTOR PHALLUS: Or lager.

THE YOUNG MAN: Stout or lager?

DOCTOR PHALLUS: Stout or lager.

THE YOUNG MAN: You don't know what you want.

DOCTOR PHALLUS: I want everything I know.

BEER
I know everything. Or, I know that when I don't know I know more than those who don't know
that they don't know. My heel is aching. Do you think it's a sign?

THE YOUNG MAN: A sign of what?

DOCTOR PHALLUS: A sign from God.

THE YOUNG MAN: I wouldn't have thought so.

DOCTOR PHALLUS: Neither would I. Pity I'm waiting for a sign. While I'm waiting I could
have another beer. Stout or lager.

BEER

Joint?

THE YOUNG MAN: No.

DOCTOR PHALLUS: No? What do you mean ‘No’?

THE YOUNG MAN: Just that. No.

DOCTOR PHALLUS: Why not?

THE YOUNG MAN: Why? Eh? I just can't get my head round some of the things here.

DOCTOR PHALLUS: Are you thick?

THE YOUNG MAN: No.

DOCTOR PHALLUS: What do you mean ‘no’?

THE YOUNG MAN: Just that. No.

DOCTOR PHALLUS: Why?

THE YOUNG MAN: Why what?

DOCTOR PHALLUS: Why not?

THE YOUNG MAN: Why should I be?

DOCTOR PHALLUS: You're from.... The Balkans. Now, though, you're in Wittenburg. That
could be proof to the contrary. Then again it doesn't have to be. You might just be ocassionally
thick?

THE YOUNG MAN: I don't think so.

DOCTOR PHALLUS: I do. You never know. If you are stupid, you're not clever enough to
know how stupid you are. The moon is pathetic. It dies sadly, like the man. The sun is green.
Mercury is a virgin. Venus is in love. Mars is furious. You are stupid.
THE YOUNG MAN: And you're clever?

DOCTOR PHALLUS: I'm in love.

THEY LOOK AT EACH OTHER

How are you?

THE YOUNG MAN: Why?

DOCTOR PHALLUS: Why what?

THE YOUNG MAN: Why did you ask how I am?

DOCTOR PHALLUS: Why 'why how are you?'? Don't philosophise. You are well or you are
not. Give me your hand.

THE YOUNG MAN: Why?

DOCTOR PHALLUS: What a fiend you are.

HE TAKES HIS HAND

I'll tell you something. First, a beer.

BEER

Look now. The death toll. A state funeral. A wedding veil for a whore. A kingdom for a whore.
The murderer spreads the legs of the widow on an empty coffin. He tears her shirt. He tears her
knickers. He copulates like an animal. She squeals like a pig. The widow contorted with passion
bites his arm. Will she die of happiness? No. Ethnic tension. Civil war. Fratriside. Restlessness
and passion. A faggot watches them. Can I help you uncle? I'll stick a finger in from behind old
boy. Spread your legs mother. I'll put it in your mouth a little Mummy.

HE LETS HIS HAND GO. THEY LOOK AT EACH OTHER.

Oh love, love! You are a ghost! You are a devil! You are a fallen angel! You stick it up Samson
in spite of his strong muscles. Solomon bent over forwards in spite of all his wisdom.

THE YOUNG MAN: I don't understand all this.

DOCTOR PHALLUS: That's right. Words, words, words. If you have a wound pour molten lead
over it yourself if not I'll do it for you. Don't pity anyone.

If you feel sorry for someone destroy them. Fuck them to death. Death is beautiful. The world is
absurd. Politics is madness. I’m talking bullshit.

(Pause)

Where have the Gods gone?

THE YOUNG MAN: The Gods eh? Let me tell you something. There are no Gods. Thugs,
treacherous knaves and hypocrites.

(Pause)

DOCTOR PHALLUS: How did you figure that out?

THE YOUNG MAN: My comtemplation.

DOCTOR PHALLUS: Bravo! Would you like to see a ghost?

THE YOUNG MAN: What sort of ghost?

DOCTOR PHALLUS: I'll call a ghost for you.

THE YOUNG MAN: No.

DOCTOR PHALLUS: Everyone wants to see a sprit. Everyone has some spirit.

THE YOUNG MAN: I don't believe in spirits.

DOCTOR PHALLUS: They don't believe in you either.

(Pause)

Do you like African dances?

THE YOUNG MAN: What kind of African dances?

DOCTOR PHALLUS: What do you mean 'what kind'? - African. Or would you like some
strawberries and cream?

THE YOUNG MAN: What strawberries?

DOCTOR PHALLUS: With cream. Why are you so paranoid?

THE YOUNG MAN: At home we eat people like you for breakfast.

DOCTOR PHALLUS: That's right. What fiends you are. Oh what a wicked gleam you have in
your eye. This beer tastes like Alexander.

THE YOUNG MAN: Alexander?

DOCTOR PHALLUS: The one who used to conquer. Over there where you're from. Home.
Don't you think so?

THE YOUNG MAN: No.

DOCTOR PHALLUS: Alexander died one morning. They buried him. Then he went back to the
dust. The dust is earth. From the earth we make mud. We seal barrows with mud.
DRINKS

Alexander. Try.

THE YOUNG MAN: What does Alexander taste like?

DOCTOR PHALLUS: Like this.

THE YOUNG MAN: You're a bit wierd.

DOCTOR PHALLUS: I'm very much in love.

THE YOUNG MAN: With whom?

DOCTOR PHALLUS: With you.

THE YOUNG MAN: You're sick.

DOCTOR PHALLUS: For you.

THE YOUNG MAN: This is absurd.

DOCTOR PHALLUS: Everything is absurd.

THE YOUNG MAN: You're drunk.

DOCTOR PHALLUS: Not drunk enough.

(Pause)

THE YOUNG MAN: I didn't come here to meet the likes of you. Do you hear me? I have my
own plans... I'm gonna shit all over the whole lot of you...

DOCTOR PHALLUS: Don't worry. That's just how it'll be. You're in good hands. You need
knowledge. You need a good teacher. The teacher knows everything. Now the teacher will show
you something. You will learn something. Come, let the teacher show you something.
Knowledge? See how you receive knowledge!

HE TAKES HIM BY THE HAIR

HE RAPES HIM

A SCREAM

Fourth Circle

HOPE
IKONIJA

KONASTANTINE

AN ANGEL

AN OPEN SUITCASE

KONSTANTINE: Ikonija.

IKONIJA: Konstantine.

(Pause)

KONSTANTINE: Everything is the same as it was ten years ago.

IKONIJA: Nothing is the same after ten years.

KONSTANTINE: Same room. Same suitcase.

IKONIJA: You came in and you stood in the same place. I stood here.

KONSTANTINE: You were looking for something. You were rifling through the suitcases.
Packed suitcases. You didn't even look at me.

IKONIJA: I would have died, if I'd looked at you. I was avoiding your look like the Devil. I was
pretending to look for something. I knew you were about to propose to me.

KONSTANTINE: I knew you knew. Everything was ready Mrs Ranevski explained it all to me.
I didn't propose to you.

IKONIJA: I thought you'd changed your mind.

KONSTANTINE: I thought you'd changed your mind.

IKONIJA: Just one word would’ve been enough.

KONSTANTINE: Ten years for just one word.

IKONIJA: I would have given everything for you.

KONSTANTINE: I knew what I was supposed to do. I repeated it a hundred times to myself.
When I opened my mouth...

IKONIJA: You asked me... ‘and where now Ikonija Mihilova?’

KONSTANTINE: I thought ‘she's running away from me...’ Pajko neighbourhood or Turkish
neighbourhood, the end of life in this house, plantations of strawberries, your bags, my train to
Harkov, last year's snow, cold winter, broken thermometer, painful weakness, tears, some
salvation...

IKONIJA: Someone called you. You went out. You didn't see the tears that I couldn't stop. For a
long time I cried every night. I thought I was going to go insane.

(Pause)

KONSTANTINE: There is a tree in the garden which I never dared to pass.

(Pause)

You're beautiful.

IKONIJA: Nobody ever loved as I loved you.

KONSTANTINE: When the wheels of the carriage that bore you away tore themselves from the
earth, they tore away a part of me. I wanted to die. That carriage broke every bone in my body.
Everything hurt me. One name hurt me all over. One woman hurt me all over.

(Pause)

Why did you leave?

IKONIJA: Why did you let me go?

KONSTANTINE: I won’t let you go this time.

(Pause)

IKONIJA: It's too late now.

KONSTANTINE: Or too early perhaps? To be with you or not to be with you. That, is the
measure of my time. There are so many things I would like to do with you. I won't make the
same mistake twice. One name, Ikonija. One woman, you. Hurts me all over.

(Pause)

IKONIJA: It's late.

KONSTANTINE: Listen. It sounds like someone's singing.

IKONIJA: There's nobody singing.

IT SOUNDS LIKE SOMEONE SINGING

KONSTANTINE: Stay.
IKONIJA: I haven't got time for another life Konstantine. I'm running my last race. I smoke. I
drink vodka with raspberries and I take pills. I have poor health and high blood pressure. I like
expensive things, I don't concern myself with everyday problems. The world is stupid. The world
is dull. I put my hand down my knickers. That keeps me alive.

(Pause)

I'm happily in love. I love him very much. He loves me very much. He enjoys taking me from
behind. I like it in my mouth. I can't live without him. I want to be a part of him. I want to see as
he sees. I want to breed like him. I dress up only for him. For his slow imagination. He doesn't
say much. He runs away from the truth. He blasphemes. That's what turns him on. Sometimes he
cries at night. My heart breaks.

When he smokes hash or when he drinks like a pig, he thinks that I am his strange Guardian
Angel. He likes to watch me naked. One day he wanted to die. For no particular reason. I want to
die with him. I want to die for him. Sometimes he puts on my clothes. He claims that he has no
sex. He brings his friends to dinner unannounced. I make love to a lot of men at the same time, to
make his tired sad eyes smile...

KONSTANTINE: Yes...

IKONIJA LOOKS FOR SOMETHING IN HER SUITCASE

IKONIJA: Funny I can't find it...

KONSTANTINE: What are you looking for?

IKONIJA: I packed my own things and I can't remember...

KONSTANTINE: And where now Ikonija Mihilova?

NOTHING HAPPENS

JUST THAT...

A SHADOW TAKES OFF

Fifth Circle

LOVE

A BED

LULU
A MASKED MAN WITH A BOTTLE OF WINE

A THIRD MAN IN THE BED

LULU: You?

THE MASKED MAN: Aren't you glad to see me?

LULU: I'm always glad to see you.

THE THIRD MAN: Who is this guy? A camouflague...

LULU: Wait a moment.

THE THIRD MAN: I don't feel like waiting.

THE MASKED MAN: You're pretty.

LULU: I know.

THE MASKED MAN: I've come to say farewell.

(Pause)

LULU: You've brought wine.

THE MASKED MAN: Would you like some?

LULU: Yes.

WINE

THE THIRD MAN: You're going to drink wine? Wait a moment. What do I look like?

Don't give me this shit!

LULU: Be patient.

THE THIRD MAN: People? Let's get something straight. Does this count?

LULU: No.

THE THIRD MAN: You're just taking the piss eh? Shall I make a complaint?

LULU: Just get yourself ready. I'll be right with you.

THE THIRD MAN: I'll be ready in a second.

HE GETS READY
LULU: Where are you going?

THE MASKED MAN: Nowhere.

(Pause)

LULU: You haven't been around.

THE MASKED MAN: I've been thinking about you.

LULU: Say something nice.

THE MASKED MAN: I've been dreaming about you.

LULU: In what way?

THE MASKED MAN: Like an angel.

LULU: And you?

THE MASKED MAN: I was there. I can't forget it. Your eyes. Somewhere behind or in front.
There were a lot of angels. They were singing. Or not... It was quiet. I knew that any other sound
would break the song.

LULU: And?

THE MASKED MAN: I farted.

LULU: Don't angels do things like that?

THE MASKED MAN: They shouldn't.

LULU: They fart. And they put on make up. And they have orgies.

(Pause)

You haven’t been around.

THE MASKED MAN: I won't forget you.

LULU: Forget me.

(Pause)

THE MASKED MAN: A lot of men would be very happy to have you.

LULU: A lot of men are happy and they do have me.

THE MASKED MAN: I know.

LULU: I know you know.

THE MASKED MAN: I don't know what to say.

LULU: Don't say anything.

(Pause)

Say something. I feel miserable.

THE MASKED MAN: There aren't many women like you.

LULU: What do you know about women?

(Pause)

Virgins, whores, mothers, angels... Angels with heavy and regular bleeding. Born for only one
man. Born to love. To bend over with a broken heart for next to no money.

(Pause)

There are a lot of things I’d like to share with you.

THE MASKED MAN: I know.

LULU: You don't.

(Pause)

Simple things. To wake up beside you. To kill bad breath with the first cigarette beside you. To
make you coffee. To see you off to work. To await you for dinner. To ask you how you are. I've
never asked you. How are you? I wanted a lot. I only wanted a lot of simple things. To be taken
away from here.

THE MASKED MAN: I understand.

LULU: Do you?

THE MASKED MAN: Yes.

LULU: How nice.

THE MASKED MAN: I never promised anything.

LULU: That's the problem.

THE MASKED MAN: I have to go.

LULU: I have to tell you something. I have syphallis. Or AIDS.

THE MASKED MAN: Really? but wh...? Shit! Fuck...

(Pause)
LULU: I'm lying. I've only fallen in love. Drink your wine in peace. I have regular check ups. I
want to ask you something.

THE MASKED MAN: Ask.

LULU: Who are you?

THE MASKED MAN: Nobody.

LULU: Do something for me. Now it’s finished.

THE MASKED MAN: Alright.

LULU: Take off your mask.

THE THIRD MAN COMES, READY

THE THIRD MAN: I'm ready.

THE MASKED MAN REMOVES HIS MASK

THEY LOOK AT EACH OTHER

LULU: You're nothing special.

THE MASKED MAN: No.

LULU: I'm lying.

THE THIRD MAN: You're taking the piss! Fine. So be it. I accept it too. Shall I sing something
for you? Shall I dance around? Shall I fuck myself and all that's dear to me? To be more
romantic.

(Pause)

LULU: Is it all the same to you?

THE MASKED MAN: No.

(Pause)

THE THIRD MAN: Fine. Go on. Shag. I'll pay later. Let it go in accompanied by a song.

HE SINGS

LULU: Don't finish your wine. Go.

THE MASKED MAN TAKES OUT SOME MONEY

LULU: Don't.

THE MASKED MAN: I won't.

THE THIRD MAN UNDRESSES LULU

THE THIRD MAN: Have a chat. Pretend I'm not here. I won't listen.

THE MASKED MAN: Goodbye.

HE LEAVES

THE THIRD MAN: Goodbye Maestro... You know what I think... With one look...

Love can be killed... With one look it can be... Does this is hurt eh?

LIKE HE'S RAPING A CORPSE

LIKE HE’S RAPING AN ANGEL

SHE APPEARS TO BECOME AN ANGEL FOR A MOMENT

Sixth Circle

HONOUR

A MEADOW

A GRAVEYARD

DEAD BODIES...

A FUNERAL

ANGYA - WHITE AS AN ANGEL

HER FATHER-IN-LAW

THE BLACK ARAB COMES IN WITH A KALASHNIKOV

ANGYA: Even the roughest beast knows mercy.

THE BLACK ARAB: I do not, that is why I am not a beast.

ANGYA: Have devils begun to speak the truth?

THE BLACK ARAB: Have angels begun to get angry?

ANGYA: There is only room for you in hell.

THE BLACK ARAB: And somewhere else.

ANGYA: A dungeon

THE BLACK ARAB: Your bed.

ANGYA: Have you come to kill me?

THE BLACK ARAB: I've come to proclaim love to you.

ANGYA: You have no right to that word.

THE BLACK ARAB: I have a right to you.

ANGYA: You have a right to one more corpse.

THE BLACK ARAB: The road to you is littered with corpses. I had nothing against your father.
Your husband... Is this your father-in-law?

ANGYA: Yes.

HE KILLS HIM

THE BLACK ARAB: Your father-in-law... And so on... I don't ask for forgiveness. If I have to
kill someone else, I will. I am good at the job.

(Pause)

Say, beast. Say, political murders. Say, a struggle for power. Say, a struggle for you. That's all. A
whole sea of blood, just for you.

ANGYA: Kill me. You will decide the fight.

THE BLACK ARAB: I'd rather kill myself.

ANGYA: To me you're already dead.

THE BLACK ARAB: You are alive.

ANGYA: Unfortunately.

THE BLACK ARAB: There is no escape.

ANGYA: From you?

THE BLACK ARAB: From yourself.

ANGYA: What do you want?

THE BLACK ARAB: You.

ANGYA: Take me. What's to stop you? What can chain an animal like you?

THE BLACK ARAB: There are no chains for an animal like me. There is no force to stop me. I
had in mind some other words to say to you.

ANGYA: Words? Since when have you dealt in words?

THE BLACK ARAB: You'll give yourself to me.

ANGYA: Don't even hope.

THE BLACK ARAB: It's not about hope.

ANGYA: What is it all about then?

THE BLACK ARAB: Time.

ANGYA: You're insane.

THE BLACK ARAB: Isn't that already obvious?

ANGYA: Why shouldn't I poke your eyes out with my nails?

THE BLACK ARAB: No woman with a tongue is without a ready answer.

ANGYA: Take out your knife. Cut off my head, the tongue will go with it.

THE BLACK ARAB: You don't understand anything.

ANGYA: You haven't left anything. There's nothing left.

THE BLACK ARAB: There is something left. You are in love. You have been in love with me
since the first moment. You wet yourself when you saw me. You knew. I knew. You knew that I
knew. There were obstacles along the way. I’ve removed them. That's the way it was. I went to
bed one night. I fell asleep before dawn. I dreamt rubbish. Songs before battle. A bad thing. I
woke up, I swore, I sharpened my knife. I settled the matter. Now we're here. Now we are alone.
Ask the blood. Listen. It bellows from love. Your face gives you away. Your eyes give you
away.

ANGYA: If you were right, I’d poke my eyes out.

THE BLACK ARAB: Just spread your legs.

ANGYA: I would tear the skin from my cheeks...

THE BLACK ARAB: Don't think about anything else.

ANGYA: No woman would understand you.

THE BLACK ARAB: Every woman would understand me. I'm talking about love.

ANGYA: You're talking about death.

THE BLACK ARAB: I'm talking about loving to death.

ANGYA: There was another way. It could have been different. Our worlds have always been at
odds with each other. Our religions. You could have changed them. You could have run away.
You could have taken me away from here... There was another way.

THE BLACK ARAB: This was the quickest one.

ANGYA: The wrong one.

THE BLACK ARAB: Give me your hand.

ANGYA: Give me the Kalashnikov!

THE BLACK ARAB PUTS DOWN THE KALASHNIKOV

HE KNEELS DOWN

THE BLACK ARAB: Take the Kalashnikov or me.

ANGYA: I loved you.

HE TAKES THE KALASHNIKOV

RATTLING FIRE FROM CLOSE RANGE

WHITE AS AN ANGEL

WITH BLOOD STAINS

AN ANGELIC SONG

Seventh Circle

SIN

SHEYTAN (A DEMON IN A CAGE)

A NUN

SHEYTAN: Fuck you honey. There is no morality. Only idiots recollect it. It gives them
pleasure. We all take pleasure in debauchery. Let it take the place of the scorn of the
weakminded. Let the weakminded die cleansed in silence. So as I said, fuck you honey. Fuck
you my sweet little angel.

(Pause)

Come a little closer.

THE NUN: I’m not allowed to.

SHEYTAN: Do you want me to break the cage?

THE NUN: No.

SHEYTAN: Are you afraid of me?

THE NUN: No.

SHEYTAN: I am the monster.

THE NUN: No.

SHEYTAN: The caged beast.

THE NUN: No.

SHEYTAN: The dying animal.

THE NUN: No.

SHEYTAN: Yes.

(Pause)

They’re waiting for me to die.

THE NUN: You won’t die.

SHEYTAN: Not one tear will be shed for me.

THE NUN: Don’t you believe in people?

SHEYTAN: Do you?

(Pause)

THE NUN: I don’t believe.

SHEYTAN: What don’t you believe?

THE NUN: Many things about you.

SHEYTAN: Do you believe me?

THE NUN: No. Sometimes there’s something inside you which reminds me of something else.

SHEYTAN: Come closer.

THE NUN: I’m not allowed.

SHEYTAN: I can’t do you any harm.

THE NUN: Just as I was told.

SHEYTAN: What were you told?

THE NUN: Don’t go near him. He’s dangerous. Don’t listen. Don’t look at him. If he’s thirsty or
if he needs anything just call the guards.

SHEYTAN: So call the guards.

THE NUN: Why?

SHEYTAN: I need something.

THE NUN: What?

SHEYTAN: You.

THE NUN: What do you want from me?

SHEYTAN: What do you imagine I want from you?

THE NUN: I don’t even want to think about it.

SHEYTAN: So don’t think. Come here.

THE NUN: You’re crazy.

SHEYTAN: Yes, of course. So they say. Dangerous monster. Mentally disturbed. Paranoic. But
you don’t believe that. What else do they say about me?

THE NUN: That you’re possessed by The Devil himself.

SHEYTAN: Do you believe that?

THE NUN: No.

SHEYTAN: Neither do I. But who knows. Something else?

THE NUN: You’ve raped many girls and women.

SHEYTAN: That’s true. Something else?

THE NUN: Men.

SHEYTAN: That’s right. Anything else?

THE NUN: Some other things.

SHEYTAN: Some other things, which ordinary people haven’t done.

THE NUN: Yes.

SHEYTAN: Yes.

THE NUN: You’ve killed.

SHEYTAN: Yes, I have.

(Pause)

In different ways. From behind and from the front. And you know what? It’s not so bad. You
should try it. You must try it.

THE NUN: No.

SHEYTAN: I’d explain it to you if I could.

(Pause)

Love and death cannot be explained. They must be experienced. I have killed. No-one else would
do it. Blood and sperm. Errection and revolution. Dagger and freedom. Someone started all this.
Someone said it was alright, said ‘Come on’, said ‘Let’s go. It’s alright’ Like a blind man led by
a fool’s stick away we went. Where? I don’t know. I’m mad. By the way we’ve forgotten the
battle, but who is there to remind us? Who is to say... Op stop. We were stupid. They fucked us
over. We let them fuck us over. Op stop. Everything is going backwards. Op stop. To break your
head. Op stop. I have my medals. There’s no crime that can’t be considered a good deed. It
depends on how you look at it. Op stop. I’m mad. I’m the majorette. Ballerina on a trapeze. It’s
fine. Paranoic. A very bad paranoic. All kinds of shit. Others are good. They know how to lie.
They’ve learnt the rules of the game. I’m crazy. The ordinary ones aren’t. The ordinary ones
imprisoned me here. Nameless, ordinary people in the silence of their rooms. They listen to the
noisy ones. And where are the wise? Op stop. I’m mad. Just ordinary people. When I die they
won’t even write my name on the grave. I’ve been in love with ordinary people all my life. No-
one ever falls in love with me. Op stop. That’s me. You can’t escape from your skin. No-one
can. You can’t either. You believe in monsters like me. If I could. If I could, I would start all
over again. It would be better.

THE NUN: I’m looking at you, but I don’t want to see you. I don’t want to listen to you. I don’t
want to imagine. But there is something. You’re strange.

SHEYTAN: Mad. What else?

THE NUN: There’s something.

SHEYTAN: What?

THE NUN: I don’t know.

SHEYTAN: You feel good with me.

THE NUN: No. That’s not it. Sometimes you have sad eyes.

SHEYTAN: I’m just dying. The pain is sweet. Death is beautiful. I won’t sing a swansong.

(Pause)

Do something for me.

THE NUN: What?

SHEYTAN: Lift up your habit. Take off your knickers. Spread your legs.

THE NUN: I can’t.

SHEYTAN: I know. It’s a shame. I could die in heaven.

(Pause)

Look angels.

THE NUN: I can’t see anything.

SHEYTAN: I know. There isn’t anything. Only tears in the rain.

(Pause)

It smells of strawberries.

THE NUN MOVES NEARER

SHEYTAN GRABS HER LIKE AN ANIMAL

THEY LOOK AT EACH OTHER THROUGH THE BARS

HE DIES

SHE KISSES HIM

SOMEWHERE ELSE

TWO ANGELS ARE MAKING LOVE THROUGH THE BARS

A STAR FALLS
The End

A DOOR

THE BILL COLLECTOR

BEZANIYA, DEAD

THE BILL COLLECTOR: I've returned. I saw an angel on the way. With six wings. Two, to
hide his face. From fear. Two, to hide his feet. From shame. Two, to fly. To bring good news. To
say, ‘That's enough.’ To say, ‘It will be better...’ I've returned. I didn't see anything on the way.
Go out and look. There's nothing. The world is cuboid. Everybody is white. There is one sex. A
hole. One smell. Faeces. One taste. Blood. No memory. All good should be fucked. Every idea
should be destroyed. Memories, be raped. The different, be crippled. Anyone who doesn't think
like you, kill him. Anyone who thinks, kill him...

SHADOWS FALL

To say, ‘It shouldn't have been like this’. To say, ‘Come back.

It grieves me when there’s no you.’

We were Gods I don’t believe in Gods

We came down I don’t believe in angels

To play people But I see spirits

To play death And I believe in you

We got lost in our game Come back

We forgot the time It grieves me when there’s no you

We lost ourselves

We became something else Come back

There is no you To be killed again

Something has died Come back

And take me with you

But we left angels On wings and wind

Somewhere up there Take me back

To watch over us and take care Somewhere above

To remind us To play Gods

To say that’s enough To play Love

Enough playing To forget

It might get painful That we’ve lost ourselves

People are playing

People are dying

There’s no you

Nothing’s the same

Without you

Nothing will come back

It grieves me when there’s no you

Come back

To be killed again

Come back

And take me with you