Two Halfs

By John Andrew Murray

John Andrew Murray is a writer, architect and travelogue publisher. 

He was born and lived in west Belfast through the 60s, 70s and 80s at the height of the 'Troubles' in Northern Ireland.

John is from a working class family. He joined a local running club and completed 4 full marathons before he was 16 years old. 

He worked for an architect's office when he left school at 16 then moved to England at the age of 20 where he continued working and studying part-time.

John began writing poetry in his teens and continued penning prose throughout his adult life. He returned to Ireland in 1999 and settled down in Dublin running an architects department within a development company.

Two Halfs is a two act play which follows Kevin and his Wife Joanne as they deal with her paralysis following a car accident. The scenes interact with Kevin's office where his co-worker, Suzi, is making a play for him. Meanwhile Joanne's carer, Maria, has some devastating news. Is Kevin tempted? Has it all become too much for Joanne?

The play is acted out over 3 days. The second act replays the 3 days but introduces subtle changes and expands on some of the scenes. The play reaches a surprising conclusion!

John is still actively writing poetry, plays and provides architectural consultancy. 

He is working on his latest project Jam Travelogue where he hopes to bring together his love of city travelling through videos, photos and maps alongside his writing and art.

Other works include And, Then and This Journey.

• Language: English
• Publisher: John Andrew Murray
• Release date: Jun 3, 2022
• ISBN: 9798201986056

John Andrew Murray

John Andrew Murray is a writer, architect and travelogue publisher. He was born and lived in west Belfast at the height of the 'Troubles' in Northern Ireland. John worked for an architect’s office when he left school at 16 then moved to England at the age of 20 where he qualified as a chartered architect. John began writing poetry in his teens and continued penning prose throughout his adult life. Now back in Dublin, he is working on his latest project Jam Travelogue

Book preview

Synopsis

This is a two act play.

This play examines the relationship between a husband and his wife. It’s a love story but not set in a conventional manner. The wife, Joanne, is paralysed from the waist down and relies on her husband Kevin and home-help Maria to take care of her. Kevin also holds down a senior job in the city and tries to balance these two aspects of his life without one infringing on the other. He still dearly loves his wife and can’t wait to get home to spend time with her. He also enjoys work as it lets him escape the demands of the situation at home – needing to treat Joanne with kid gloves and look after her when the home help has gone.

Kevin and Joanne’s relationship is as good as the day they married but obviously they are restricted in the sort of things they can do together. They used to enjoy getting away at weekends to different cities in Europe. They would often go to see a play in Dublin and book into a hotel for the night, dine in a good restaurant and take in a gallery the following morning. And then there was their sex life – always intensive and exciting.

The play asks the question – can a relationship last when such a major change takes place, when special nights and weekends are taken away, when sex can no longer be a complete experience?

The stage is set out in two parts (two halfs). One half is the bedroom and the other half is Kevin’s office. The narrative moves between the two rooms where we can see how Kevin juggles his busy and intensive day and how Joanne copes with the sameness and repetitiveness her day brings.

Kevin loves Joanne but a friendship develops between him and a close work colleague that may go one step further. Effective stage lighting is a key in not revealing too much of the story. The audience is left wondering how far Kevin takes the new relationship at work.

The play tries not to blame Kevin as he is drawn into this other relationship but merely points out the difficulties presented by the situation. As Kevin tries to battle with his feelings for his colleague, he has somehow to pretend to his wife that nothing has changed. Can his relationship with his wife still go on as before?

The play is acted out in two halfs (acts) which are the same. The same story is told twice but from the viewpoint of the two different characters. The first by Joanne and the second by Kevin. In this way we get to see how the disability affects both parties, how Kevin and Joanne handle the day to day highs and lows and how they mask their worries. We also get to see how much love they have for each-other – but is love really enough?

The tone of the two main character’s speech is important as this should change in each half. Kevin might say ‘how has your day been?’ in a light-hearted fashion in the first half but could almost mummer it in the second half.  By telling the story twice our impression changes. We see how responses and reactions expressed by Kevin in the first act can be misrepresented, as in the second act Kevin tells us exactly how he feels. We also see a change in how Kevin’s relationship at work is perceived. In the first act his work relationship seems cruel and unfair but in the second act he should garner some sympathy.

What Kevin doesn’t know is that Joanne suspects that all is not right. She hides these feelings but can’t help wondering if this is the natural development of this type of strained relationship. Should Kevin be asked to love, honour and obey until death do they part? Is she holding Kevin back from a full and enjoyable life?

In the end Joanne contemplates freeing Kevin by taking an overdose of pills.

At the same time we see Kevin demonstrating to his work colleague that he cannot take their relationship any further, that he loves his wife too much and even if it means a life of daytime TV and caresses, then he is prepared to devote his whole life to his wife.

Kevin returns home to find Joanne un-conscious on the floor bizarrely wearing her grandmother’s coat.

Is it too late?

Cast

Joanne – Beautiful, in her early 30’s. Loving wife. Paralysed from the waist down due to a car accident. Spends most of her time in bed. Combs her hair rigorously. Applies her make-up every day and generally looks good for her husband Kevin. She reads, watches TV and looks forward to seeing her home help Maria every day when she is brought up to date with gossip and what’s going on in the outside world. She is supportive of her husband Kevin and can’t wait until she sees him in the evening. She likes to hear about Kevin’s work, colleagues and business deals.

She is always upbeat but more recently she worries about the future – how she and Kevin will last in the long run. She wonders what life has to hold for her. Is it enough that her and Kevin are together? Is it enough for him? She is confused and begins to write her memoirs in order to assemble the various pieces of her life. These memoirs are secretive but Maria discovers Joanne writing them and she confides some of her feelings.

Joanne is vulnerable. She tries to keep Kevin excited and interested in her. She knows though that she can’t