The truth of today

(Stage black apart from a spotlight on a teenage girl dressed in a short leather mini-skirt, fishnets, tiny top, heels and heavy make up. She is stood against a lamp-post. She has an empty but sad look on her face. Her name is Lily)

Lily: (talking to the audience) I know what you’re all thinking. Dirty hooker? Filthy slag? Something along those lines. But it’s just not like that. I am a (pause) prostitute. But this is not what I wanted my life to be like. I fell pregnant at 15. I had the baby at 16 which meant I couldn’t take my GCSE’s. My parents kicked me out. I had to fend for myself. So I bought a small, dirty, damp flat. To begin with, paying rent wasn’t impossible, but it wasn’t easy. But there was all the other necessities, food, clothes, baby things. This wasn’t how I wanted my beautiful baby girl, May, to grow up, these weren’t the first memories I wanted her to have. I was tired and lonely, the only person I had to talk to was my friend Sarah. She had her own problems but still she decided to help me out.

(change of scene (flashback) Lily is sitting down with her baby in her arms, Sarah is sitting with her)

Sarah: Lily (pause) have you tried to get yourself a job?

Lily: Of course I’ve tried that, but it’s just not an option, I didn’t even take my GCSE’s so no-one will take me on. (pause) I’m at dead end now Sarah. I have no money, my cupboards are empty, May has hardly any of the things she really needs. What the hell is there left for me to do?

Sarah: (sighs) I hate to have to ask you this but, have you ever thought of anything other than jobs, you need grades or qualifications for? (puzzled look from Lily) Illegal work Lily.

Lily: (frowns) I’m not following you.

Sarah: Lily, I earn my money by drug pushing. It’s the only way to support myself-

Lily: Sarah, you can’t be serious. Me? A drug pusher? That is a big mistake, I would only screw things up.

Sarah: You really think I’d suggest drug pushing to you? No I mean something effortless, something as easy as (pause hesitant) say, the way you made, your baby.

Lily: Sarah, are you suggesting-

Sarah: Prostitution? Yes. (Lily looks disgusted. Sarah pulls out a card) look just take this and if things get desperate (pause she looks around) not that this could really be worse (pause) just take this.

(change of scene, back to the original set)

Lily: And that’s how I started my career as a prostitute, there seemed to be no choice. (she hangs her head as two policemen come in to arrest her) If I had taken my exams I could have done well for myself. I was a good pupil. Smart. (blackout)

(The stage is black apart from a spotlight on Sarah. She has a handful of money and a small bag containing pills. Chewing gum.)

Sarah: (talking to the audience) I know what you’re thinkin. Our world is falling apart cuza people like her? People have died cuza people like her? I’m a drug pusher, but you gotta understand what it’s like living on the streets.  I was bullied when I were a kid. By my own dad. Not by school kids, not by the kids at the rough end of town, but by my own dad. Verbally and physically. So one day I were thinkin to myself, “I ain’t gunna take this no more” so I packed my stuff an ran from my bastard of a dad. I felt free, a feelin I adn’t never felt before. But livin on the streets weren’t a piece of cake I can tell you. I ad to watch out for thugs an criminals all the time. I were only 14, I quickly found a li’l group of people with the same problem as I ad. Homeless at a young age. So we worked with each other. I found out where they was getting their money from. They was all drug pushers, all of em. It seemed like an easy way of getting hold of any money. So I watched em. Watched how they did it an soon learned how to do it myself. An now I’m good at it. I don’t do drugs myself. I never felt the need to an I can’t afford it. (hangs her head as two policemen come in to arrest her) I weren’t a good student but I were told if I ad worked I could of done alright for myself. Gotta descent job. Ad a family. Ad a life. (blackout)

(The stage is black apart from a spotlight on a 19 year old man. He is sat, sprawled on the floor, a needle in one hand. He looks tired and stretched. His clothes are dirty, as is his face. His name is Louis.)

Louis: (Talking to the audience) I know what you’re thinking. Waste of space? Stupid smack head? I’m addicted to heroine. Not for the buzz. But because my body needs it. I didn’t start taking drugs because I was bored. No. Both my parents died when I was 13. Life isn’t easy for a teenager, but to have your parents die is torture. I felt I should have died with them. I was in the same car crash. But it wasn’t my time. Being a single child, I had no siblings to share my grief with. Life was so difficult, all I had was my friends. My friends could see I was suffering and a couple of months after my parents death, they introduced me to the only cure they knew for depression and suffering. Drugs. I didn’t start with the heavy stuff. “Harmless” we called it. But I began to get bored with the old doobie, so I was introduced to Sarah. A dealer on our block. She showed me the real stuff. The thing was, I could forget my dead parents, troubles in life when I did this stuff. Soon I was bored with the heavier stuff, so I moved onto the heaviest of all. And that’s where my addiction started. Weed? Pills? Speed? Coke? Heroine? It’s just not worth it. I have to take it just to bring myself to come out of my squat. My feeble excuse for a life is just not worth living. (He hangs his head as two policemen come in to arrest him) I could have turned my life around. Helped other people. Helped myself. Accepted help from others. I took the cowards way. (blackout)

(The stage is black apart from a spotlight on a twenty something man. He has some money in one hand and has a few items of clothing lying next to him. He also has some food and a gun. He is very dirty and has a back pack on his back . His name is Jamie.)

Jamie: (Talking to the audience) I know what you’re thinking. Homeless? Street Urchin? Well how have I got this money? How have I got these clothes? How have I got this gun? I am homeless, and I have all this stuff because I steal. And I know that stealing is bad, and I’m taking from people who have earned this sorta stuff. But I have never been able to bring myself to beg. I may have lost almost everything but I have not lost my pride or dignity. And plus these people are stuck up and wouldn’t spare a penny for a dirty tramp like me. I only take from people who are well off, and you can tell who these people are. I’ve lived on the streets for 6 years. Since I was 14. I feel bad, though. I’m on the streets because of drugs. My parents kicked me out when they knew I was taking drugs. And I got others into drugs. I never did the heavy stuff, but if I had never got Louis into drugs he would never have taken heroine. I read in the paper last week, he was arrested, and addicted to heroine. And it’s all my fault. I hate the way my life is. I still get scared at night, sleeping in a corner or a bush. That’s why I stole this gun. (Hangs his head as two policemen come in to arrest him) I could of helped Louis in other ways. I could have helped myself. I could have kept my home. And got an education. Had my own life. (blackout)

(The stage is black apart from a spotlight on a 30 year old woman. She has a gun in her hand, on the floor is a body. A man. Her husband. She has shot him. He is dead. Her name is Ruby.)

Ruby: (The gun falls out of her hand) Oh shit. (Turns slowly to the audience. She is shaking. And her eyes are wide. Shouting.) I know what you’re all thinking. Judgemental. That’s what this world is. And so are all of you. (pointing at the audience) I know what you’re thinking, though. Murderer? Killer? BITCH? Well it’s just not true. (crying) Some street kid stole this gun off my (pause angry) husband. He sent me to get it back. This kid has stolen the odd quid off us here and there. I didn’t mind at all, in fact when I wasn’t with, him, I would give him a fiver or some food. But my (pause angry) husband minded a lot, because he was a hard, greedy, merciless, cold man. Not to mention, violent. He was a bully. A grown man and a bully. He would beat me and punish me for the slightest thing. Shout insults at me. But I had to live with it. I married him at the age of 22, and my parents just weren’t happy with it. We were married 3 months after we met. My parents just didn’t think it would work. So if I walked out on him I would have nowhere to got. I couldn’t face my parents with their, I told you so, and I knew it wouldn’t work out. So I had to put up with it for 7 whole years. He was a great husband for a year. I just kept telling myself, there is good in everyone, you just have to look for it, and I remembered the way he was when we first met. I thought it was true love. I came home form getting the gun back from the kid and he just started straight away. And of course he came towards me, hand raised. It was just so tempting to end it all there and then. So out came the gun.

(Change of scene (Flashback) Ruby is standing in the doorway of a rich looking home. It’s a furnished living room. Her husband (Ben) is walking towards her with his hand raised.)

Ben: You little- (Ruby produces the gun. And points it at him)

Ruby: Little what? (He backs away) You scared of death, eh? Well are you, because this is something I should have done years ago. How dare you? How dare you treat me like this. Remember our wedding? You promised to love me for, (pause) now what was it? Oh yes, the rest of your life. Do you know, it don’t even hurt anymore, when you hit me, I just close my eyes and remember when we first met. Was that all an act? (crying) Was that just an act. You got your sex, but that weren’t enough was it? It’s not my fault I can’t have kids. I hate you Ben, I hate you-

Ben: Ruby chill out, ok, just put the gun down, and we can sort things out.

Ruby: You know as well as I do, as soon as I lower the damn gun, you’ll start again.

Ben: No I won’t, we can get a divorce, or something, go speak to a lawyer.

Ruby: (A look of rage on her face, crying, and shouting) Divorce? I’m finally going to have you out of my life you bastard (She shoots him she stands there for a second in shock.)

(Change of scene, back to the original set)

Ruby: You understand now? Yes? (She points the gun at the audience, crying) You understand now? (Hangs her head as two policemen come to arrest her) I’m sorry, I’m so sorry. I could have left him, years ago. I could have been free of him. I could have let some other girl shoot him. Now he’s dead. Now I’m a murderer. A killer. A criminal. (Blackout)

(Stage is black apart from a spotlight on a 30 odd policeman. His name is Jack.)

Jack: (Talking to the audience) I hate my job. Half the people we arrest have reasons for what they’ve done. They look at you with such hate in their eyes. It’s just my job. I can’t deal with the guilt of knowing that, we’re arresting a broken person, even an innocent person. I just wish there was something we could do to help these people. But there isn’t, there just isn’t. There’s so much crime. What could have these people been through to feel they have to prostitute themselves, or take a lethal drug, murder. Half the men in this country are abusive, violent men. These are the people we should be arresting. Not people who shoot these men for making them suffer for years. In my opinion, these people are better off dead anyway. (He takes a gun from his belt.) I guess this world can only get better. I can’t witness this pain, suffering and hatred, anymore. (pause)  So long (He salutes and puts the gun to his head. Blackout. There is a shot. The man has killed himself.)