The President's Affair: A dramatization of the Clinton-Lewinsky affair

By JOHN GORDON GRAY

“The President’s Affair” is a dramatization of the Clinton-Lewinsky scandal. It can be dubbed a “historico-tragi-comedy” and contains elements of all three genres. It is written in Shakespearean metered verse and has many playful allusions to Shakespeare plays.

 

The play is mainly concerned with th

• Language: English
• Publisher: TOPLINK PUBLISHING, LLC
• Release date: Mar 27, 2018
• ISBN: 9781948779951

JOHN GORDON GRAY

John Gordon Gray was born in 1950 and grew up in an academic family in Oxford, England. He obtained a first class degree in Classics (Latin, Greek, Ancient History and Philosophy) at Oxford University in 1973 and then an MPhil in Economics, also at Oxford. He has wide ranging interest including music, travel and politics. Although not American, he follows political and social developments in the US keenly. He has loved Shakespeare's plays since his schooldays. His other publications include a dictionary of an African language, Dholuo, (President Obama's paternal mother-tongue). When not travelling for work, he lives in Oxford, England and also in Homa Bay, a town in Western Kenya, overlooking Lake Victoria.

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The President’s Affair

A dramatization of the Clinton-Lewinsky affair

John Gordon Gray

Copyright © 2018 by John Gordon Gray.

Hardback: 978-1-948779-94-4

Paperback: 978-1-948779-93-7

eBook: 978-1-948779-95-1

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law.

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Contents

Introduction

Dramatis Personae

Prologue

Master of Ceremonies:

Act I

Scene 1

Scene 2

Scene 3

Act II

Scene 1

Scene 2

Scene 3

Scene 4

Scene 5

Act III

Scene 1

Scene 2

Scene 3

Scene 4

Scene 5

Scene 6

Scene 7

Act IV

Scene 1

Scene 2

Scene 3

Scene 4

Scene 5

Scene 6

Scene 7

Scene 8

Scene 9

ACT V

Scene 1

Scene 2

Scene 3

Scene 4

Scene 5

Scene 6

Epilogue

Master of Ceremonies:

This play is dedicated to Monica Lewinsky

– the victim of the scandal

Introduction

The President’s Affair is a dramatization of the scandal that rocked the White House during Bill Clinton’s second term of office. It can be dubbed a historico-tragi-comedy and contains elements of all three genres. It is written in Shakespearean metered verse and has many playful allusions to Shakespeare plays.

The play follows the main events in the scandal, though certainly in no slavish manner. The sequence and timing of events are at times compressed or altered, and the characters are a mixture of history and invention. The clearest departure from history lies in the fate of Monica, which is treated allegorically. Several characters, including Bemona, the mother of Monica, are entirely fictional.

The events which form the basis of the play are part of recent American history. They led to a debate in Congress on impeachment of the president, and were subjected to the tasteless microscope of the Starr Report. They form a fitting subject for dramatic treatment, especially now that almost two decades have passed.

The President’s Affair is mainly concerned with the human drama which rolled out in the White House during the scandal and to which the public was not privy. It will appeal to those who combine some acquaintance with Shakespeare with an interest in contemporary American politics, and to those who love a bit of word-play

The play was written in 2004-5 and revised in 2015.

Dramatis Personae

(in order of appearance)

Prologue

Master of Ceremonies:

Good lords and ladies, and you commoners too,

I bid you welcome to our humble play.

So please relax for this next hour or two.

Let drama expel the cares of working day.

I’ll not betray the secrets of our play

And yet I can a little give away.

We’ll meet and share emotions deep and true.