The Dord* Is Sounding! (A Play)

*Dord- is a bronze horn native to Ireland.

Character List: Narrator, Man, Woman, Girl, Boy, Old Man, Three servants of the king, the king,

One thin white light spotlights the narrator, who is dressed in a suit. He is in his late 30's and situated at stage left. A trumpet is heard in the distance. The Dord sounded in the distance giving signal of the arrival of some truth.

Narrator (thundering voice rapid speech) : An army arriving, the sheep are grazing, the water is infested, the lights have ceased their shining, the old man is drunk again, the king is dead, men were murdered, the women forgot to dress themselves, the children have not been found, the gold has been lost, a feast awaits, the hero returns, the princess has been kidnapped, the hounds have been unleashed, the man in charge has fallen asleep, the maids are weeping in their sleep, the ghosts have awakened from their sleep, the queen is dead, the queen is dead, the floor is covered in bright bright red, the Dord is sounding, the trumpet is heard, the young men have grown a beard. Never come or leave too soon, down the streets the wagons ride, through beds and beds of flowers the wagons stride, and the rain is falling the rain is falling the rain is falling the rain is falling.

A blue light fills the room, the stage is set as the inside of the house of a well to do family. The transition is brisk allowing little time for adjustment.

Woman (in a soft voice) : How was your day?

Man: Good!

Woman: (reaching to unwind the man from his raincoat) That's great.

Man: Great! It is all great. Just great, great, great!

Woman: Calm down; the children shall hear.

Man: (his voice now slightly lower) I don't give a damn whether they hear or not. The whole town's gone baloney after the incident; as though a Chimera has devoured our town. And all this for some damn old man, who thinks he knows  hell about how things run around here.

And then that rain. The rain, Helen, the rain is ruined half the crops. Not that we had so many to begin with, but now we will be harvesting scrubs, and this used to be the best damn farming town in the entire state . . . (His voice has now turned to a whisper) I don't know what I'm gonna do, I just don't know.

Woman: Nobody does. Nobody knows anything.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            

Man: (not hearing) And what about the children? How am I to tell them there will not be any harvest?

Woman: They will know. You need not tell them, they will know.

Sudden music arises.

Narrator: (Calmer now and very slowly announcing each word individually )  The passionate cries do strike the castle walls, great cheers, great praise, the mighty lord has not forgotten his men, the queen has fallen and not a tear is shed, the queen is dead. The queen is dead. Dressed in red, she lies a puppet till her very death, and with one mighty last breath she lets forth a cry. What words had she spoken what words had she said? The queen shall be buried for the queen is quite dead. And no roses red shall dress her death bed.

Man: They have heard the sounds of the trumpet. Them damn fools are immune. That's what got us all in this mess.

Woman: They close their eyes.

Man: Like a cat they close their eyes, but that which is not seen is still there. Children like children.

Footsteps are heard back stage. Two children enter the stage garmented in their nightgowns, pink and blue.

Girl: Can't sleep.

Boy: It's the music. It just came out of nowhere.

Woman: I know, dear.

Man: That's it, I don't give a damn what them men over there have got to say; but I sure as hell know what I'm gonna say and do once I get my hands on those fellers.

Woman: No, dear, let's wait. It might stop.

The lights are removed from the stage.

Girl:( fear apparent in her voice) Mommy, it's dark.

Woman: It's just the electricity, honey.

Narrator: (whispers in the darkness) On and on the wagons stride. On and on they stride on streets wet that have not dried. On and on the wagons stride.

Man: (a flashlight in hand) Let's see who's living and who's dying.

Old Man (cranky voice from back stage): Well, as you can see, I'm not dead yet, and I ain't gonna be any time soon.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               

Man: What the hell's the idea with the music in the middle of the night?

Old Man: It ain't us. That's for sure!

Man: If it isn't you, then who's the cause of the sound and the sudden lack of electricity?

Old Man: Ain't nobody's fault, the damn city's gone mad.

Man: Mad isn't the right word for it.

Old Man: If that ain't mad, then I ain't sure what mad is any more.

Man: You are not sure what mad is?

Old Man: I ain't sure.

The old man is shoved onto the stage, he is now standing in the dark apartment with the man, in his right hand he is holding  bottle of whiskey.

Man: I heard ya write. Why don't ya write a complaint about it?

Old Man: Muse ain't coming tonight. Been a long time since she visited. Didn’t like me very much.

Man: Said ya drank too much.

Old Man: (ignorant of the man's words) Them darn good thoughts never did come rollin in, and when them did, fingers never did write quick enough.

Man: Never ya say anything as rational as that in a long time.

Old Man: Rational, ain't rational; writers ain't suppose to be rational,  just supposed to be entertaining like actors. Just ain't as famous.

Man: What ever happened to that woman of yours?

Old Man: Never did come back, never did come back; heard she ran all the way back to that good man, said she never like me, never heard from her again.

Man: Well that's how they are. They run, don't they?

Old Man: They run, that's why this place is so empty! Them run and they ain't ever come back. Ever. (he laughs as he drinks from the bottle.)Them never come back.

Narrator: On and on they go, never do they slow, and never do they know quite where they go.

The lights return, a loud cry of a woman is heard, her sweet voice can be heard and brings shivers to the man and woman . The old man vanishes from the stage. All is dark for an instant. The man and woman now reenter.

                                                                                                                                                        

Woman: What do ya think of her?

Man: She's quite an actor.

Woman: So I've heard.

Man: Her life is a great tragedy, and she plays a great part. Death is end. As that of all others, but watch the path that she does lead. All she does deceive, she paints a portrait and smiles as though she was this portrait, this character she has composed, her great mask is the one she claims to be herself. A mask.

Woman: Why did you never go to college?

Man: Sally, we aren’t going to return to this. You know why I didn't go.

Woman: But you could've gone.

Man: It wouldn’t have made a difference then, and it don't make a difference now.

Woman: But you where always smart.

Man: No, I wasn't intelligent.

Woman: Sure you were, you could have made it.

Man: And left you.

Woman: You would've come back.

Man: Would I have come back? Ya know, in one of them old guy's work- Plato, I think. He said that men never come back once they've seen the light. And if they do no one likes them.

Woman: Sounds like the Bible.

Man: It's not the Bible, it's the cave.

Woman: (repeats, puzzled at the sound of the name)The cave.

Man: The cave. (He murmurs)

Woman: Ya would have come back to me and the children.

Man: I don't know. It's still raining.

Woman: It's still raining.

Man: It isn't gonna stop till it's done crying.

Woman: I best hurry, I can't possibly expect that bread shall rise in this weather.

Man: It isn't going to rise in any weather. Cause you didn’t use yeast. I'll go on down to the store and get some.

The man rushes out of the door. A boy comes tumbling in.

Woman: Yeast. (She murmurs.) Yeast!

Boy: Ma, something ain't right. It ain't stopped raining.

Woman: It hasn't stopped raining.

Boy: The river's flooded. It just said on the radio that no one saw it coming. They got old uncle Sam on the radio. It really cool, it got them fellas from the ranch by the Stevenson's and it's even got aunt Jody.

Lights fade from the stage, direct light on narrator.

Narrator: The creator did not withhold the utopia that surpassed all beauty and gave affable men the ability to acknowledge the beauty of his creation. It was not ambiguous and its characteristics were distinctly that of an agricultural paradise, a land enchanted with fruit, a harvest so great one could feast upon this and forever remain in the rays of its . . .(whips his head to peer behind the curtain to that which lays outside. We may witness a sudden anguish in the deadpan face. He responds to a voice that is unheard of by the audience) I meant no insult, my clever tongue has merely spoken without my consent. I do beg your forgiveness, pray it shall wag no more.

A short and stubby man enters , he is accommodated by three servants and is garmented in many fabrics

King: No more it will wag.

Narrator: I swear it shall not wag. The gods do give their consent.

King: I give my consent. Remove his tongue and feed it to the beasts, his tongue is no use to man.

The servants strike the man upon the head and take him by hand and foot and remove him from the stage. The stage remains dark, and in the light shines on the king. He moves to center stage.

King: (Addressing audience) What have we here to greet me? My people, the riches of my land, the brave citizens that compose my kingdom. What honor it is to meet you and greet you.

Narrator: (Screams from backstage.)

King: It is under my rule that all shall thrive and none shall suffer. It is under my rule that you shall at last be freed from the ropes that have tied you. It is in my country that you will find riches. It is in my land that all is good!

                                                                                                                                                                      

The man enters, his hands filled with groceries, the stage is re-lit.

Man: Who are you and what the hell are ya doing in my house?

King: What I am doing in your house? This land, this is my kingdom. What right have you to claim this your house?

Man: I'm callin' the police.

King: Police? What a strange name, I reassure you any servants of yours shall never be outdone by my own; I am ruler and you are part of my kingdom, you shall obey my wishes. You are, as all the people, a servant of mine.

Man: Great actor you are, but I didn’t ask for a person's performance, and I am gonna call the police if you don't leave my house.

King: (his temper has risen) Your house, your house, this your house?

Man: My house and that of my wife and children.

King: It is mine. All that is yours is mine.

Man: It is my house. She is my wife and they are my children.

King: Bring them to me, I wish to see them.

Man: They don't want to be seen.

King: They are to be seen.

Man: Who the hell do ya think you are, waltzing into my house? Do you need shelter from the rain? Is that what this is about? Do you want my money? What the hell are you doing in my house?

King: I need not tell you. That which I seek , all that I do is a matter of state.

Man: I said leave my house.

King: This is my kingdom; I am its ruler.

Man: This is my house. God dammit!

King: This is, if I am not mistaken, part of my estate as it has been my father's and my grandfather's, and my great grandfather’s and my great great-grandfather’s.

Narrator: No you are quite mistaken! This is my house; this my kingdom, for I am its inventor,  I am to tell it. The tale is mine and mine alone. Is that understood?

Man/King: No.

                                                                                                                                                        

King: Have my ears deceived me? You can speak but I have removed your tongue! It is my wife, she has returned to haunt me for all my ill doings? I was no husband and I was a coward in my doings. It is for she that I must weep.

Man: I don't give a damn who the hell you two are, but this here is my house and if ya like now that it's stopped raining, I would sure as hell like if ya left. Thank you.

Narrator: Yes I suppose we should leave for the dord is sounding and this production should have ended three hours ago. The wagons have ceased to ride and the rain has ceased its falling. The queen is in heaven  and I feel that my tale has come to an end.

The King, the man, and the narrator depart from the stage. Woman enters covered in flour.

Woman: Yeast, I believe there was to be yeast.....