Acts of dissension how political theatre has been presented in the past and what strategies the playwright can employ to make issues of radical or alternative politics more accessible to a mainstream theatre aud

Play text Pornography The True Confessions of Mandy Lightspeed Robert Reid You can’t be too careful Character Breakdown Pike Mid to late twenties, low level officer worker Opinionated and filled with vague, half formed ideas of anti-American, anti-globalisation politics Believes that there is something very wrong with the society he lives in but can not accurately identify what it is This results in him being quick tempered and short with his loved ones This unfocused anger becomes something much more dangerous after he returns from his disappearance Mandy Pike’s Girlfriend Early twenties Studying at University Smart, caring and intelligent, she is better informed about the world than she lets on From her view point at the university she sees the growing persecution of dissenting ideas and can interpret the changes happening in the world around them but does not want to believe that it could be possible In reaction she shuts down emotionally and tries to pretend that she doesn’t see what is happening to try and protect herself and just “get by.” After Pike’s disappearance she focuses her worry on looking after Pike’s Mum to distract herself from the growing fear She keeps a diary of the events as they are occurring Mum Pike’s mother In her late fifties A housewife and mother, retired from work Pike’s Mum has internalised the new value set of the risen government Pike’s Mum is of a generation which believes in authority and law, that those in power are acting in the best interest of the people they rule and that the media are scrupulously honest In response to the contradiction between her beliefs and the world as it is around her, she refuses to see that any thing is wrong This reaction becomes even stronger after Pike’s disappearance as she turns to the state sponsored Hilltop church to provide comfort and stability Guards The guards are all members of the New Guard, an extra-judiciary vigilante group which patrols the streets of the suburbs The New Guard would have been the fascist paramilitary group that supported the rise to power of the new totalitarian regime Operating outside the law while claiming to enforce it, they function as ever present reminders of the ultimate power of authority and reinforce the population’s fear of violence and persecution Some of the guards will be average people trying to survive in frightening times, others will be brutish thugs looking for an outlet for their frustrations and powerlessness and still others will be cruel sociopaths looking to exercise their darker desires There are several guards throughout the script so it would be good to see a range of characterisations A note on performance from the Author: Pornography: The True Confessions of Mandy Lightspeed is a dystopic fantasy set in a “not too distant” future in which a totalitarian government takes control of an Australia The main events of the play’s history take place in the back ground of the personal lives of our main characters and we only see their effects on the lives of the main characters Pornography is an attempt to capture how the revolution may look from the suburbs of Australia The sense of the growing oppression should be constantly present in the interaction between the characters They’re actions should all have a sense of muted shock or whispered urgency Throughout the play there have been included several elements which exist in modern society at the date of publication, and which have been exaggerated for effect to act the tools of the unnamed totalitarian government Examples of these elements include the Smart Card, the Hilltop church and the anti-terrorism laws These are not meant to be examined in great detail The central idea of the play is that the actions Pike takes in response to his torture and the rise of totalitarianism are of course terrorist in nature However, because we see the story through his eyes we are at least tempted to identify with them, demonstrating some of the methods of coercion which have been used fascist and totalitarian regimes in the past As this is a dystopic fantasy it will work best if the audience is on familiar narrative ground, in this case, the political thriller from the point of view of the anti-hero/vigilante Act 1 (The space is empty The work lights are on Dvorjak’s Symphony for the New World plays softly An ABC Radio announcer begins to be heard over the top.) RADIO: It’s quarter past eleven and as I promised last night a little later we’ll complete our broadcast of the BBC’s special report into happiness Before that however we’re taking you into midnight with Dvorjak’s Symphony from the New World (From the fly tower a tear gas canister falls into the space spiralling smoke out its tail and filling the space The workers shut off and the space is plunged into darkness as the sound of a riot blares to life The riot noise continues as the lights come up and the smoke clears revealing PIKE being interviewed for a new job The interviewer is GUARD ONE MANDY is in a separate space on the stage, reading into a handheld Dictaphone.) MANDY: The weirdest thing happened today at Uni PIKE: It’s been kinda a long time since I did this so… GUARD 1: That’s fine that’s fine Relax, there’s nothing to be afraid about PIKE: I didn’t say I was afraid GUARD 1: So how long have you been without work? PIKE: I’m not without work, I’m a writer GUARD 1: Then why are you here? PIKE: Writing doesn’t pay enough GUARD 1: So why are you doing it? PIKE: Because one day I hope that it will GUARD 1: What if it never does… PIKE: I’m sorry, these are really personal questions Whatever happened to… MANDY: There was some kind of serious thing going on in the union hall Cops came and everything PIKE: …describe your most difficult customer and what you did to rectify the situation I’ve got a million of ‘em made up MANDY: No, not a protest as such Haven’t been many of those on campus since last year when the magazine editors got taken to court Might be more now though People are starting to get wired… GUARD 1: We don’t actually use that method any more This is a new development in job placement strategy from the states It’s protodisciplinary PIKE: That’s not even a word GUARD 1: I take it you’re generally unhappy working in the corporate environment PIKE: Oh, no, I love it GUARD 1: Sarcastic and disrespectful of authority figures PIKE: You’re an authority figure? GUARD 1: I’m just an interviewer You don’t even remember my name However, in our current relationship I am, yes, an authority figure You’re certainly reacting to me like I’m one PIKE: Maybe I just think you’re an arse hole GUARD 1: Temper Would you say you define yourself as a rebel? MANDY: It was one of the lecturers I don’t know in what, but she looked like one, you know? Not like a mature age student Cops though The New Guard I think maybe the Chancellor GUARD 1: Hostile certainly Look, to be honest, I doubt that we can find anything you’ll be suited to PIKE: Upon which we can both surely agree However, as you will see from my CV, I have been doing this since before you were in your first push up bra, so here’s how it is You charge the company you hire me out to fifty bucks Of that I get eighteen Your company makes more than fifty percent commission off my labour The way I see it, I pay you thirty two bucks a fortnight for my job, so you will get me the job I ask for I’m burnt out from working the phones I cannot stress how much I can’t go back on the phones GUARD 1: Okay PIKE: I’d rather not have to communicate with members of the public at all There must be hundreds of dead head jobs, data entry, copy writing, I don’t care Something I can without thinking and without human interaction GUARD 1: I understand that Mr Pike but you only really have any experience in call centre work In fact, your skills would be quite PIKE: valued… The flip side of which is that within half an hour on the phones I will begin flailing wildly at my co-workers with my swivel chair MANDY: There have been riots on campus before so it’s not like its new, but there was something about it, something about the way the new guard were when they were there… GUARD 1: I think we’re done here MANDY: I don’t know what this is really, a diary maybe, maybe nothing Maybe this is all nothing I just… wanted to talk about it but it feels like something I shouldn’t say to another person Like it’d be dangerous to talk about it PIKE: Incidentally, working for a temp agency is what happens to the popular high school bitches too stupid to marry rich MUM: Do you guys eat… you guys eat a lotta pizza right PIKE: I dunno if I’d call it a lot MUM: Oh once every week, some times more than that PIKE: Rarely MANDY: Why Mrs Pike? MUM: Mandy, please, you can call me Joan I’m practically your mother in love PIKE: Nobody thinks that’s cute anymore mum MUM: I don’t mean it to be cute MANDY: Why did you want to know if we eat a lot of pizza Joan? MUM: Oh there’s a coupon come through the letter box for two for one pizzas MANDY: Really, where? PIKE: Brace yourself MUM: That new American place PIKE: Thank you and good night MANDY: I dunno, maybe Pike? PIKE: Did you take leave of your senses for a moment Mandy? MANDY: It’s hard to know these days PIKE: No, we don’t want two for one pizza coupons I wouldn’t eat a pizza from there if they were offering free cheerleaders MUM: What’s wrong with them? PIKE: What’s… What’s wrong with them? Have you ever eaten a good pizza? I mean really, I can understand if it’s just straight ignorance, but… MANDY: Pike… PIKE: Have you had a pizza from a real pizza joint? Like a family owned business that’s been sitting on that corner in that spot for decades, named Sophia’s or something, after his wife Made by young guys who look like they could just as easily be out the back showing you the giant stereo in the back of their commodore that lights up neon blue in the dark MUM: Those are dirty PIKE: Cause they don’t windex their front window every morning? Cause they don’t have a seventeen year old manager? You go to the fish and chip shop, that’s just as dirty MUM: Oh but that’s always been like that Make your point PIKE: Have you? MUM: No PIKE: Okay Alright Why not? GUARD 1: Quite Don’t bother going for his gun, I’ve already retrieved that MANDY: Are you here to arrest me or just bore me to death with this Gestapo crap? GUARD 1: I’m here to offer you a deal, Mrs Lightspeed One you’d be very wise to take advantage of MANDY: I’m not making a deal with you or anyone If you’re not going to arrest me then get out I have to get dressed GUARD 1: Don’t stop on my account, after all, you don’t have anything we haven’t all already seen (PAUSE) We want your boyfriend, Mrs Lightspeed We want Pike MANDY: I told you before he’s one of the missing GUARD 1: Yes, you told us that, however we know different We also believe he’s behind a recent series of attacks on the New Guard and explosions at key sites around the city Frankly we believe that your boyfriend is a dangerous terrorist and we’re anxious to retake him into custody MANDY: So you did have him GUARD 1: Everyone at the jobs riot was taken in for processing We made that perfectly plain in the press releases MANDY: I’ve heard what that means What processing is GUARD 1: Urban legends Although, were they true, they’d be entirely justified After all, you can’t be too careful MANDY: Pike’s no terrorist GUARD 1: Perhaps you don’t know him as well as you think you MANDY: I know him well enough GUARD 1: Really? Who knows you well enough to get into your bank accounts? To resign you from your job, oh we checked Letter of resignation signed by you on their files Who could that? MANDY: Anyone All they’d need is the information on my card GUARD 1: Who is the only person who knows you well enough to make those pictures, Mrs Lightspeed? Presuming they’re not real (PAUSE) Will you co-operate with us now? (PAUSE) MANDY: Alright Can you at least step outside while I put on some clothes? GUARD 1: Of course (GUARD steps outside MANDY throws on some clothes, opens a window and runs The guard knocks on the door) Mrs Lightspeed? Mrs Lightspeed you’re not dressing for the year twelve formal, throw anything on (PAUSE) Mrs Lightspeed? (GUARD opens the door and steps in to find her gone He peers out the window at the drop.) Nimble little bitch aren’t you? (She gets on the radio) All points bulletin Be on the look out for a Caucasian female in the northern exclusion zone, height about five nine, blond, name Lightspeed, Mandy… (MANDY is running through the streets PIKE is in a doctor’s lab coat at the hospital standing over GUARD 2’s bed MANDY takes out her mobile, it’s not working.) MANDY: Typical (She takes off the back to check the sim card There is a piece of paper in between the battery and the back She reads it.) Took your sim card Shouldn’t be using the phone anyway Give it back when I see you PIKE: Good morning officer Let’s just check your condition GUARD 2: (slow) They reckon I’m okay Just shock and a broken nose PIKE: Well, sometimes these things have unexpected complications (MANDY turns the paper over.) MANDY: Major exchange Exhibition Midday (PAUSE, She runs.) PIKE: Oh dear GUARD 2: What? PIKE: This looks bad GUARD: It’s just a broken nose PIKE: No, see, the cartilage went into your brain That’s why you’re talking so slowly Why you can’t feel cold or happy GUARD 2: My brain? PIKE: Are you in a lot of pain at the moment? GUARD 2: I feel okay PIKE: Still, cruel to leave you like this Let’s just up your cortisone hey GUARD 2: Okay PIKE; Poor bastard You don’t have a clue what I’m doing you? GUARD 2: No? PIKE: Great Just say when (PIKE takes a hypo out and injects GUARD with far too much cortisone The GUARD eyes close and don’t open again.) (MUM sneaks back into their house She looks around and finds the pad She looks at it closely and then takes a pencil and does a rubbing of the dents on the paper She cradles PIKE’s mobile phone between her shoulder and her ear.) MUM: Hello, Michael, yes, yes that’s right (PAUSE) No not really It’s my son He’s come back Yes, that’s right, Pike (PAUSE) I thought so too, but he’s changed I think the New Guard did something to him (PAUSE) Yes I know I know, that’s what they say, not to listen to the gossip but… (PAUSE) No, he’s not home now I don’t know where he is (PAUSE) I couldn’t call the authorities because I’m not sure I don’t have any proof but… he tried to send me to Brisbane Wanted me to pack some things and get on a plane yesterday No, I’m staying with friends here in Melbourne now (PAUSE) Well, I don’t know what to That’s why I called you (PAUSE) No, this is his phone I’m calling from (PAUSE) I don’t think he’d like that He told me I shouldn’t ever go back to… Really, he put all my CD’s of yours in the microwave Yes I think so Okay It’ll take a little while, I don’t have the car Oh you can, great Okay I’ll be here, just get them to give toot and I’ll come down (At the exchange PIKE is amongst the telephone relays He has a small portable stereo It is playing Symphony for the New World.) MANDY: Pike? Pike are you there? PIKE: In here babe MANDY: Pike, come out of there PIKE: In a minute Mand, gotta finish this first MANDY: Is that what I think it is? PIKE: I dunno, you think its home made napalm? MANDY: Oh my god PIKE: Guess not MANDY: What are you doing? PIKE: Easy shit to make Couple of jerry tins of petrol and some kitty litter Or orange fruit drink To act as a coagulant Told you that cheap sugary breakfast juice you drink would be bad for you MANDY: There are a couple of hundred people above us, Pike People you used to work with PIKE: And this, this is a fertilizer bomb Take out anything in a fifty foot radius Honestly, I just love me a good hardware store MANDY: They didn’t anything to you, Pike You’re gonna kill hundreds of innocent people What can you possibly think this is gonna prove? PIKE: Did you know if you take a tennis ball and stuff it full of match heads and stick a wick in it, you’ve got a grenade? Here catch (He throws one at her, she freaks but catches it, it’s not lit.) MANDY: Fuck PIKE: This isn’t about proving anything This is a sign MANDY: Of what? PIKE; This and Lonsdale and Sth Melbourne Every phone line in Victoria DSL, cable tv, security camera’s, everything runs through here This building’s the brain of god and we’re about to become the ice pick MANDY: You’ve been there too? Done this? PIKE: It’s all connected up Internet runs through here Closed circuit TV Whole smart card network runs through here You can get to anyone from here Find out anything Do anything you like That’s how I got into your file MANDY: They said it was you PIKE: They’re clever people MANDY: Why? PIKE: Everybody walks around with their eyes shut Even you No feelings anymore Cause it’s too hard to feel Cause if you all you can feel is anger and these days anger gets you killed So everyone’s pretending its all okay, that it’s always been this bad, that it’s just the news reporting crisis more, that nothings changed Everything’s fucking changed Mandy, and it’s not enough to just keep pretending It’s alright for Mum, she’s too old, and it’s too late But you… You needed to see MANDY: Why didn’t you just tell me? PIKE: You wouldn’t have believed me I had to get the New Guard themselves to show you who they really are MANDY: So you made them think I’m a terrorist? What you expect me to do? I see, okay, we’re not stupid, we can all see it happening What can I do? PIKE: You are a terrorist, Mandy You used to be Just remembering the history of your country is a revolutionary act these days Do you keep your diary any more? (PAUSE) MANDY: It seemed childish PIKE: No, it didn’t It seemed dangerous Anything that helps you remember how things were yesterday helps you recognize the lies today That’s why you stopped MANDY: What makes you think I’m gonna fight your war for you? What makes you think I’m not just gonna turn you in right now? (Knocking at the door) GUARD 1: This is the new guard We know you’re in there, Pike All the exits are covered Come on out and we can talk about this PIKE: Well, now would be the time to decide (PAUSE) MANDY: They’ve got the exits covered PIKE: They say that but I think they’re just bluffing (PIKE yanks open a manhole) Down there You’re gonna have to hang off the wires at points but they’ll hold Co-ax as thick as your wrist in some places Take you down in to the main pipe line Don’t be surprised by the occasional deafening roar, this goes down into the loop Try not to fall Keep going til you hit another one like it Climb up that and you’ll be in Lonsdale Go on Go MANDY: Pike, this isn’t gonna make anything any better They’ll bring in martial law PIKE: All the more reason to get going You know something now they don’t want anyone to know That gives you a choice most of us didn’t get You get to choose whose side you’re on GUARD 1: You’ve got thirty seconds and we’re coming in PIKE: twenty nine, twenty eight (PAUSE MANDY hesitates) Twenty seven Twenty six Guns Bullets Torture Go (She drops through the manhole cover.) Sorry officer, Declan Pike is not at his desk at the moment, I can put you through to his voice mail if you like GUARD 1: Ten seconds PIKE: Putting you through now (PIKE strikes a match Symphony for the New world swells to fill the space Black out) 10 (Symphony from the New World continues, orange light begins to glow through the smoke from behind In the smoke we can see the shadows of protesters running to and fro Red and Blue lights flash through the orange The sound of the riot grows Coughing, vomiting and voices can be heard shouting out of the chaos…) VOICES: …back, back around the side… where are the gas masks They said there were masks… to the gate, get back to the gate… down down… there’s vinegar in the van, soak the bandanna’s in it and give it to anyone you see, tell them to breath through it… Haige street, they’re coming down Haige street… the first aid tent, I’ve gotta get to… get out of the way… where’s the organising committee, where are they… they’ve already been taken, they were taken last night… I’m cut, I’m bleeding… what are we supposed to be doing, aren’t we supposed to rush the fence… pigs out pigs out… No blood for oil… we were supposed to rush the fence… what way is… I can’t see a damn thing… I can’t breath… get back, you can’t stay here, you can’t stay… here they come… (Blinding flood lights fill the space casting the long shadows of Riot police over everything A voice booms through a loud speaker over the chaos.) GUARD 4: This is an illegal demonstration Disperse or be moved on (There is a loud cry of protest from the crowds.) You are in contravention of the illegal gathering act of 2006 You will disperse or you will be taken into custody for processing If you are found to be in possession of illegal weapons you will be taken into custody for processing If you are found to be without your identity card you will be taken into custody for processing If you are found to be in possession of contraband substances you will be taken into custody for processing You will disperse Those of you who are injured will lie down on the ground and not move If you not resist you will be given medical assistance Those of you who resist will be taken into custody for processing You are in contravention of the illegal gathering act of 2006 This is an illegal demonstration Disperse or be moved on (From the chanting and screaming crowd we can hear the voices of police chanting.) POLICE: Move Move Move Move Move Move Move Move (From the smoke and the flickering shadows comes PIKE in a suit, clutching a handkerchief to his face Coughing and spluttering The smoke is beginning to clear and we can see some of the protesters around him One protestor with a bandanna tied around his face comes close to him and PIKE grabs him, shouting into his face.) PIKE: What is this, what’s going on? PROTESTER: FUCK THE PIGS (The protester has a large rock in his hand which he swings back and throws back towards the flood lights.) PIKE: No, don’t… (But it is too late The protester throws the rock and seconds later the sound of gun fire rings out followed by panicked screaming The briefcase PIKE is holding up to his head to protect himself explodes as a rubber bullet tears through it Blackout and silence.) 11 RADIO: …was Dvorjak’s Symphony for the New World Coming up on eleven o’clock and as I promised last night as part of our remembrance of the Melbourne Exchange bombings we’re continuing our broadcast of the infamous Mandy Lightspeed tapes, the chilling diary of a terrorist still at large We remind listeners that these recordings contain sensitive material and could be disturbing to many In the interests of those who might be affected by their broadcast the tapes have been edited and approved by the department of internal security MANDY: Six months since the exchanges at Exhibition and Lonsdale and South Melbourne were brought down I check in on his Mum, now and then She’s gone to ground of course, all of us have The New Guard are still searching every inch of Australia They’ll find us eventually I guess, but it’s a big place Could take them a while (PAUSE) I’m worried about her She can’t shake the thought that she’s responsible Maybe if she’d just gone to Brisbane like he told her to… (PAUSE) And besides, she’s got to keep her spirits up She’s going to be a grandmother soon (PAUSE) I look at this place, passing through little country towns, seeing the blue shirts everywhere More and more of them Standing in front of shops, offices, leaning on their guns, eyeing everybody walking past Wondering which of us is against them Cause there’s no distinguishing feature You can’t tell just by looking at us We’re just like you We are you Maybe standing next to you on the train, maybe sitting next to you at work, maybe living in the house next door There’s more of us out there than you know A lot more (PAUSE) It’s going to be a boy, by the way Had the ultrasound a few weeks ago I’d like to name him after his dad They might not know It’s becoming a common name for new babies now But I probably won’t Can’t draw attention to ourselves Can’t be too careful End ... and the anti-terrorism laws These are not meant to be examined in great detail The central idea of the play is that the actions Pike takes in response to his torture and the rise of totalitarianism... takes control of an Australia The main events of the play’s history take place in the back ground of the personal lives of our main characters and we only see their effects on the lives of the. .. date of publication, and which have been exaggerated for effect to act the tools of the unnamed totalitarian government Examples of these elements include the Smart Card, the Hilltop church and