Icecream (NHB Modern Plays)

By Caryl Churchill

An unsettling look at British attitudes to America and vice versa, from one of our leading dramatists.
'The idea of Oregon, the word, just the word Oregon really thrills me'.
'You can't help loving England. The green fields. The accents. The pubs.'
Set half in the UK and half in the US, Icecream tells the story of two couples - an American man and wife and an English brother and sister. Implicated in each other's lives more than any of them would wish, their respective love affairs with each other's countries prove difficult to explain.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Nick Hern Books
• Release date: Oct 23, 2014
• ISBN: 9781780014302

Caryl Churchill

Caryl Churchill is a leading playwright who has written widely for the stage, television and radio. Her stage plays include: Owners (Royal Court Theatre, London, 1972); Objections to Sex and Violence (Royal Court, 1975); Light Shining in Buckinghamshire (Joint Stock, 1976); Vinegar Tom (Monstrous Regiment, 1976); Traps (Royal Court, 1977); Cloud Nine (Joint Stock, 1979); Three More Sleepless Nights (Soho Poly and Royal Court, 1980); Top Girls (Royal Court, 1982); Fen (Joint Stock, 1983); Softcops (RSC, 1984); A Mouthful of Birds with David Lan (Joint Stock, 1986); Serious Money (Royal Court and Wyndham's, London, then Public Theater, New York, 1987); Icecream (Royal Court, 1989); Mad Forest (Central School of Speech and Drama, then Royal Court, 1990); Lives of the Great Poisoners with Orlando Gough and Ian Spink (Second Stride, 1991); The Skriker (Royal National Theatre, 1994); Thyestes translated from Seneca (Royal Court, 1994); Hotel with Orlando Gough and Ian Spink (Second Stride, 1997); This is a Chair (Royal Court, 1997); Blue Heart (Joint Stock, 1997); Far Away (Royal Court, 2000, and Albery, London, 2001, then New York Theatre Workshop, 2002); A Number (Royal Court, 2002, then New York Theatre Workshop, 2004); A Dream Play after Strindberg (Royal National Theatre, 2005); Drunk Enough to Say I Love You? (Royal Court, 2006, then Public Theater, New York, 2008); Bliss, translated from Olivier Choinière (Royal Court, 2008); Seven Jewish Children – a play for Gaza (Royal Court, 2009); Love and Information (Royal Court, 2012); Ding Dong the Wicked (Royal Court, 2012); Here We Go (National Theatre, 2015); Escaped Alone (Royal Court, 2016), Pigs and Dogs (Royal Court, 2016), Glass. Kill. Bluebeard. Imp. (Royal Court, 2019) and What If If Only (Royal Court, 2021).

Book preview

Caryl Churchill

ICECREAM

NICK HERN BOOKS

London

www.nickhernbooks.co.uk

Contents

Title Page

Original Production

Characters

Icecream

About the Author

Copyright and Performing Rights Information

Icecream was first performed at the Royal Court Theatre on 6 April 1989. The cast was as follows:

Directed by  Max Stafford-Clark

Designed by  Peter Hartwell

Costumes designed by  Jennifer Cook

Lighting by  Christopher Toulmin

Sound by  Bryan Bowen

Characters

LANCE,

VERA, husband and wife, American, around 40

PHIL,

JAQ, brother and sister, English, twenties

MAN IN DEVON

SHRINK

COLLEAGUE

FELLOW GUEST

DRUNK WOMAN

HITCHER

HITCHER’S MOTHER

PROFESSOR

SOUTH AMERICAN WOMAN PASSENGER

The first ten scenes are set in the UK during a summer in the late eighties, the second ten in the US the following year.

I UK

1. Road to the Isles

LANCE and VERA in car. They are singing.

LANCE and VERA.

2. Castle

LANCE is turning round looking up at ceiling. VERA has a guide book.