Now, I See (NHB Modern Plays) (eBook)

ACT ONE

The space is now filled with a table, chairs and a broom, scattered around – a disused storage room. Muffled sounds of Nigerian music thump outside the room, along with laughter and chatter from people.

ADEYEYE is no longer in the space, but will appear and disappear sporadically as the piece progresses.

The door opens, a wave of music and lights floods the room. KIERON strolls in, clutching a bottle of water. He swiftly shuts the door and lets out a long, relieved breath, as though he’s been quietly enduring something. He looks around the room, unimpressed. Starts to move things around… table to the corner, tucks chairs in, etc. Goes over to the broom and sweeps, frantically. Nods his head, this will do. Grabs a chair, wipes the seat several times, then sits. Beat.

He takes a swig of water, then gazes at the bottle. After a moment, he slowly pours a bit of it onto the floor, a libation. This moment activates lights that gently rise on ADEYEYE and the casket.

KIERON tries to look towards them, but struggles… a palpable tension within. After a beat, he jumps up; lights on the casket fade. He looks at the water on the floor, then around the space… grunts, no sign of what he’s looking for. Exits upstage- right into a closet, shuffles in it.

DAYO enters with a plastic plate full of chicken, and a small wooden box. DAYO looks around, baffled, looks towards the closet.

DAYO. Kieron?… You good?

Beat. DAYO glances at the wooden box, then quickly conceals it in a corner. Eats.

You tried this chicken yet?!… CERTIFIED!!… Nah, yeah, nah this, along with the jollof is top priority for the Tupperware… talking of Tupperware, can you believe I saw some aunties circling the table with theirs already!…

At least give it a couple hours, man, jeeez!! And you know what the maddest thing is?!… I ain’t seen half these aunties before in my life!! Like, where do they…?! I swear, there must be some kind of sorority where aunties from all walks of life, meet up for weekly coffees, while they make maps of random people’s weddings, parties… roll in, like they know everyone, blatantly fill up their ten containers and dust on to the next! Scavengers!

KIERON re-enters, doesn’t connect eyes with DAYO. Goes directly to the chair and sits.

KIERON (to himself  ). A towel, a broom, a flippin yoga mat and no…?!

DAYO. No…?

Beat. DAYO glances at the water on the floor.

There’s water on the floor by the way. (Beat.) You good?…

Beat. DAYO runs over to the door opens it slightly.

Yo, you gotta check this!… He’s sat across from the DJ…

No response from KIERON. DAYO closes it.

There’s always one!… One uncle sat with his swollen belly and dry ankles, eyeing up all the girls less than half his age! And the messed-up thing is he’s probably related to half of them!! (Beat.) Ain’t seen you on the dance floor yet!… You’d probably still whoop my ass at sprinting, but trust me, my foot shuffle has reached super / sayin –

KIERON. Look, I just came in here for some… so… you know.

DAYO.…Piss off?

KIERON. Your words, not mine, but… you know.

DAYO. Cool. I’ll finish this drumstick off and… you know. (Beat.) Been attacked by Aunty Funke yet? I’m a grown-ass man and she’s still there squeezing my cheeks like I’m five! But I don’t do anything! It’s crazy how you automatically morph back into a child when with certain family.

KIERON. Woman ain’t looked at me once.

Beat.

DAYO. You eaten?

KIERON. Am I ten?

DAYO. It’s just… I’ve seen you slip in and out of the hall like three, four times like you’re doing something, going somewhere… I wanted to make sure you’re okay / and –

KIERON sighs, loud and heavy.

Even at the church… I’m sure the pastor appreciated you packing up the whole hall and sweeping every corner of the floor after the / service –

KIERON. And?

DAYO. Nah, I’m not… it’s good, it was… Just… feels like maybe you’ve been –

KIERON shoots up.

Where you going?

KIERON. Mop.

DAYO. I’ll get it.

KIERON. Nah, it’s…

DAYO. I’ll get it.

KIERON continues, gets to the door, but stops as –

I don’t care. About what happened… I want you to know that I don’t care.

This affects KIERON, yet he does his best to hide it – he exits. DAYO goes over to the bottle of water. Looks at it, then pours some in the exact same spot KIERON did. A libation. Lights rise on ADEYEYE and the casket.

The moment I found out… the first thing that came to my mind was Uber Eats. Two whole months of free food! We could have run the hustle for years! Until the whole hood started doing it and they clocked on. We had a decent run though… Those Saturday afternoons…

Sounds of ocean waves sweep us into the following moment, a memory. ADEYEYE floats into the space, ‘Ye’ by Burna Boy underscores the scene as if played through portable speakers.

Doing our walk round Vikki Park, then chilling on a bench, merking Uber Eats, Burna Boy blaring on your speakers and just… doing a whole load of nothing. Chilling, talking, watching stupid YouTube videos. (Beat.) It’s crazy how a whole load of nothing, suddenly becomes everything. (Beat.) The amber-green colour of the leaves… the angle of sun, the uneven concrete, the Indian bruddas playing cricket in the field, the birdshit on the bench we’d cover up with the amber-green leaves, the endless flow of middle-aged white women jogging past… I just don't get where they all come from?!… Ahhh the way the food sat in my belly! That Cajan chicken burger, extra jalapeños, sweet potato fries, buffalo wings, a Fanta Fruit Twist and… your face. (Beat.) The way you’d close your eyes with deep passion, like you were French-kissing the love of your life with every bite of that, veggie cheeseburger, extra cheese, no pickles… DEAD, but, you loved it.

The way you’d purposely let a line of mayo chill on your top lip and never wiped it, ’cause you knew it annoyed the hell out of me. How whenever I said Red Nose Day, you’d…

ADEYEYE gently wipes his nose.

’Cause your nose always used to sweat when you eat. (Beat.) All those nothings. (Beat.) No one teaches you about this, you know? Not just how to deal with it, but how to deal with yourself in it, find yourself in it… Have I actually ever found myself? Feel like I’ve spent a bulk of my life bouncing from thing to thing, from you, to work, home, to hospital and now that the bouncing’s stopped, just feel like I’m floating. Maybe I always have been. It’s hard to know ’cause I’ve never looked down to see where my feet were at until now. How do I stop floating?…

Through a series of movements, ADEYEYE tries to pull DAYO down as his body floats up – this all happens without physical contact – but he fails. ADEYEYE then starts towards the casket, dips his hands in, then offers the water to DAYO. DAYO looks at the offered hands, a flicker of longing, but a force holds him back, when –

Ocean waves swell into the space. KIERON shoots in, expressively circles the space with a mop, comes to the feet of ADEYEYE, but doesn’t look up to him, instead trucks on…

Lights change – back to the room. KIERON mops.

KIERON. I travelled from Hertfordshire to Hackney for some soggy chips and dry-ass chicken. I remember.

DAYO. All you remember was the Nando’s?

KIERON. It was a traumatic meal.

DAYO. We didn’t talk that much to be fair. Looked like you couldn’t wait to leave.

KIERON. ’Cause my belly was backflipping!

DAYO. You know those friends you don’t see for years, but as soon as you sit down, chop it up, feels like it was yesterday? (Beat.) I remember sipping my water in silence thinking, I’m sat across from my blood, but feels like –

KIERON. I talked more than you did! You hardly said a word.

DAYO. ’Cause any time I mentioned his name / you’d –

KIERON. About you. Hardly said a word about you.

DAYO. You doing that didn’t really make me wanna speak about… there were things he wanted me to… things I wanted / to –

KIERON. Be your own man. Anyway, that was five years ago. Forward.

DAYO shifts. Takes a bite of food. A long beat. Music blares from outside.

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