Word-Play (NHB Modern Plays)

By Rabiah Hussain

In the Downing Street Press Office an emergency meeting has been called. The Prime Minister has been ad-libbing on live TV (again) and his words are going viral.
There is a flurry of accusations, and demands for an apology; but as his team debate what to do next, it's already too late. His words have found their way to dinner parties, bus journeys and newspaper columns across the nation – and not everyone is angry.
Rabiah Hussain's play Word-Play explores how language seeps into public consciousness and reverberates with far-reaching consequences that will last for generations. It premiered at the Royal Court Theatre Upstairs, London, in July 2023, directed by Nimmo Ismail.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Nick Hern Books
• Release date: Jul 27, 2023
• ISBN: 9781788506281

Rabiah Hussain

Rabiah Hussain is a writer for film, TV and theatre. Her plays include: Word-Play (Royal Court Theatre, London, 2023); We Are Shadows (Tamasha Theatre, 2019); and Spun (Arcola Theatre, London, 2018 and Canadian tour; winner of the German Baden-Wuttemberg Youth Theatre Prize 2020).

Book preview

RIVERS OF BLOOD

Characters: A (male), B (male).

A This is a moment.

B It is a moment.

A A moment to remember –

B – A moment to remember.

A Will it be?

B What?

A Remembered.

B It should be –

A – Should?

B It could be.

Beat.

A Could indicates that you don’t believe it will be.

B I believe it should be talked about. And it could be talked about. But –

A – But what?

B I’m simply going by history.

A It’s a considerable moment. In history.

B Sometimes even considerable moments end up relegated to textbooks.

A Surely it’s bigger than that?

B So much bigger.

A It created something. Unity –

B – Chaos.

A Good chaos –

B – Life-altering chaos. I agree.

A Then surely it is, should be and will be talked about.

B I’m simply saying that sometimes, sometimes, these events that feel, and are a moment for those of us who are experiencing them in the here and now, can also remain a moment in the memory of history confined to our present. And so, can be seen by those in the future, as a moment back in time.

A But this isn’t and shouldn’t be just a moment in the distant past for them.

B I agree.

A It should be bigger.

B It should be bigger.

A It should be vast –

B – It should be a wave.

A A wave?

B A wave…

Continuous. Sweeping. A moment that is so alive it echoes through time. Oscillates. Immerses with other waves in the future to create multiple moments so it can become more than just a moment in the distant past for them. We want it to be felt. Not just remembered…

A …And how do we ensure that happens?

B We give it a name.

A A name? It has a name.

B No, no, no. Not a name that simply refers to where it happened. So many moments have happened and will happen in that place. There will be hundreds of moments