born bad (NHB Modern Plays)

By debbie tucker green

A hard-hitting and original family drama.
Winner of the 2004 Olivier Award for Most Promising Newcomer
'the bits don't make the bulk and the bulk don't mek the whole and the all a your bits together don't make your versions true.'
A blood-related black family. A Dad, a Mum, a Daughter, two Sisters, a Brother. A family argument. A skeleton in the closet... born bad dives headlong into the powerful heart of this family, unleashing wit, ferocity and verbal dexterity on the way.
'debbie tucker green is one of the most assured and extraordinary new voices we've heard in a long while. Electrifying' - Independent on Sunday
'60 minutes of thrillingly high-impact theatre. If tucker green can continue in this rich vein, her future looks assured' - Evening Standard

• Language: English
• Publisher: Nick Hern Books
• Release date: Jan 26, 2015
• ISBN: 9781780017129

debbie tucker green

debbie tucker green is a playwright, screenwriter and director. Her plays include: a profoundly affectionate, passionate devotion to someone (-noun) (Royal Court Theatre, 2017); hang (Royal Court, 2015); nut (National Theatre, 2013); truth and reconciliation (Royal Court, 2011); random (Royal Court, 2008); generations (Young Vic, 2007); stoning mary (Royal Court, 2005); trade (RSC, 2005); born bad (Hampstead Theatre, 2003; Olivier Award for Most Promising Newcomer); and dirty butterfly (Soho Theatre, 2003). She wrote and directed the feature film, Second Coming (BFI/Film 4, 2014; International Film Festival Rotterdam Big Screen Award) and adapted her play random into a TV film for Channel 4, which won the 2012 BAFTA for Best Single Drama and the Black International Film/MVSA Award for Best UK Film. Her work for radio includes: lament (Radio Academy Arias Gold Award), gone, random, handprint and freefall. She was awarded the 2015 Windham Campbell Prize for Drama.

Book preview

Epub cover

debbie tucker green

born bad

art

NICK HERN BOOKS

London

www.nickhernbooks.co.uk

Contents

Title Page

Original Production

Characters

born bad

About the Author

Copyright and Performing Rights Information

born bad was first performed at the Hampstead Theatre, London, on 29 April 2003, with the following cast:

Characters

DAD

MUM

DAWTA

SISTER 1

SISTER 2

BROTHER

A blood-related black family.

DAWTA is also sister to the SISTERS and BROTHER who are also son and dawtas of MUM and DAD.

Once onstage, the characters never leave.

Names appearing without dialogue indicate active silences between characters listed.

/ denotes where dialogue starts to overlap.

The action takes place within a day.

Preset

A solitary chair is onstage.

A female solo gospel rendition of ‘What a Friend We Have in Jesus’ starts through one verse . . .

The hymn becomes part hummed and less formed.

Fade to black.

The hymn blends, half sung, half hummed familiarly by MUM(unseen) who quietly takes over the tune.

Scene One

One chair on stage.

The hymn continues by MUM(unseen).

DAD is sitting in the chair, confidently.

DAWTA is not.

Silently she demands eye contact.

He finds it difficult.

DAWTA. Say it.

Say it.

Daddy . . .

Say it.

They make eye contact.

She gains his lost confidence.

The hymn draws to an end.

Black out.

Scene Two

Three chairs on stage.

DAWTA and MUM.

DAWTA. If yu actin like a bitch

I’m a call yu it

if yu lookin like a bitch

I’m a call yu it.

If yu lookin like a bitch as you lookin on me – I see yu and yu bitch ways – mi a go call you it again mi noh business.

Watchin yu watchin me like the bitch bitch yu is.

I’ll letcha

and I’ll say it two times.

Then two times that.

Then two times that again – for yu – yu mudda, and yu mudda’s mudda – those bitches that bred yu off before and before that – and from before that again.

From whenever your bitch bloodline started.

From whatever bitch beginnings yu had.

Bitch.

MUM. Don’t say that.

DAWTA. And I’ll call it like iss nuthin, and I’ll say it like iss nuthin like the nuthin it is like the nuthin you are like the nuthin you took a try at to mek me.

Bitch.

Cap fit.

Bitch.

And I’ll letcha look in my face now yu wanna – you wanna? I dunno what you wanna see, whatchu spectin on