Welcomeby Richard Stuart Dixon
© Richard Stuart Dixon, 2007
(Note: Performance of this play requires the author’s permission. Please contact Good School Plays for details.)
Production Notes:
• running time: approx. 45 minutes.
• style: mythic allegory
• suitable for general audiences
• 26 characters (19 female, 7 male)
• gender-flexible casting
• black-box staging (no set required)
Summary of Script Content:
• “Lost in Winter”.is a mythic tale, performed in verse, about a queen sick with grief and the descent into chaos of her withering, desperate realm.
(This play was first performed on December 5, 6, 7, 10, & 11, 2007, at Gleneagle Secondary School in Coquitlam, British Columbia, Canada.)
∗ Published Online by Good School Plays, February 24, 2018.
Go to:
Act One, Scene 1
Act One, Scene 2
Act One, Scene 3
Act One, Scene 4
Act One, Scene 5
Act Two, Scene 1
Act Two, Scene 2
Act Two, Scene 3
Act Three, Scene 1
Act Three, Scene 2
Act Three, Scene 3
Act Three, Scene 4
Act Three, Scene 5
Act Three, Scene 6
Act Three, Scene 7
Act Three, Scene 8
CHARACTERS:
LOST IN WINTER
by Richard Stuart Dixon
Characters:
QUEEN RASHIN
KING AZARANG, her second husband
LADY NIYAZ, the mistress of darkness
LORD FAILAK, Lady Niyaz’s lover
JAVDANEH, an oracle
AMINEH, an oracle
RASHIA, an oracle
LORD JALIL, minister to the Queen
LADY AZIN, wife to Lord Jalil
DELAVAR, the Queen’s guard
NADI, wife of Delavar
HESSAM, a beggar thief
HARIREH, his wife
NAJI, her sister
ZHAKFAR, a peasant
TOUFAN, his wife
VARDA, their daughter
BARAN, a peasant
AVISHEH, his wife
ATANAZ, their daughter
ZARI, a nomad
VANDA, a nomad
PARNA, a nomad
SHIBA, a money lender
AZARMINA, a drug merchant
KIMIA, a doctor
Lost in Winter by Richard Stuart Dixon, Good School Plays.
Act One, Scene 1:
(JAVDANEH, AMINEH, and RASHIA, the Oracles, stand center stage.)
ORACLES
Behold the kingdom
Lost in winter,
JAVDANEH
In endless blue and gray and white.
AMINEH
Wind and snow
Whip the landscape.
RASHIA
The sky above
Is blank and blind.
ORACLES
Behold the kingdom
Lost in winter.
The sky above
Is blank and blind.
(The ORACLES move upstage as QUEEN RASHIN enters and stands center stage.)
ORACLES
Queen Rashin
Moves in a dream.
JAVDANEH
Her heart is frozen
Like the snow.
AMINEH
She mourns the king:
Her royal husband.
RASHIA
She betrayed him
Long ago.
ORACLES
She mourns the king:
Her royal husband.
She betrayed him
Long ago.
Queen Rashin,
Queen Rashin,
Your heart is frozen
Like the snow.
JAVDANEH
Your royal husband
Found a letter
Hidden in your treasure-trove.
AMINEH
A letter from
Your secret lover;
Hidden deep beneath the gold.
RASHIA
He read the words
Of adoration
Praising all your female charm.
JAVDANEH
He knew he had to
Flee the palace
Or he’d do you grievous harm.
ORACLES
He read the letter
From your lover
Praising all your female charm.
He knew he had to
Flee the palace
Or he’d do you grievous harm.
JAVDENEH and AMINEH
Outside, the storm
Was wild and windy.
AMINEH and RASHIA
Outside, the blizzard
Tempted fate.
JAVDENEH and AMINEH
Outside, your husband
Staggered blindly,
Through the final palace gate.
ORACLES
Never to be seen again.
Never to be seen again.
JAVDENEH
And so you took
Your lover’s hand,
And married him and made him king.
AMINEH
But you are queen
Of this your kingdom,
And only you can rule this land.
RASHIA
Your lover husband
You made king,
But your kingdom’s in your hands.
ORACLES
You mourn the king:
Your royal husband.
You betrayed him
Long ago.
Queen Rashin,
Queen Rashin,
Your heart is frozen
Like the snow.
(The ORACLES form a tableau upstage.)
QUEEN RASHIN
The land is locked
In winter’s jail.
The solstice is approaching.
The nights grow long
My heart grows cold.
My heart!
ORACLES
Your heart will not forgive.
QUEEN RASHIN
I drove the rightful king,
My first and rightful husband,
Into the storm on solstice night
ORACLES
Your heart will not forgive.
You drove the rightful king
Into the frightful storm.
QUEEN RASHIN
And now I think of no one else.
Perhaps I too
Should perish in the storm
That wails beyond the palace walls.
ORACLES
If you should die
The kingdom falls
Into your lover’s hands.
QUEEN RASHIN
He is not fit to rule.
ORACLES
He is not fit to rule.
QUEEN RASHIN
I am cursed for loving twice.
Two men I’ve loved
And one is gone.
The other is not fit to rule
And love has proved that I’m a fool.
ORACLES
(to the AUDIENCE)
Some are born to duty.
They cannot have the simple pleasures
Lesser folk enjoy.
Kings and queens beware!
Your hearts must be a sanctuary
Where none but god may dare.
(QUEEN RASHIN exits.)
Return to Scene List
Lost in Winter by Richard Stuart Dixon, Good School Plays.
Act One, Scene 2:
(KING AZARANG enters with the QUEEN’s minister, LORD JALIL.)
ORACLES
Behold the new king:
Azarang!
Attended by the minister to the Queen.
Azarang!
He lusts for power
But has none.
KING AZARANG
Lord Jalil,
You are minister to the Queen.
LORD JALIL
I am he who offers what I can
In service to her Majesty.
KING AZARANG
Why is the Queen inept?
She does not lead.
LORD JALIL
I cannot answer,
For you are not the ruler of the land.
My counsel is for the Queen alone.
KING AZARANG
What if I offer gold?
You could line your pockets
In return for answers.
LORD JALIL
Gold is only yellow lead
To one such as me.
My words of counsel
Cannot be bought.
KING AZARANG
You had best beware, Jalil.
The day might come when all will change
And you could face the axe.
ORACLES
Beware, Jalil.
The day might come
When you could face the axe.
LORD JALIL
Come what may,
The Queen’s minister I’ll always stay.
And that is that.
KING AZARANG
Minister?
You’re just a lap dog.
If you were wise,
You’d play a subtle game.
Instead, you play a priggish toad
Loyal to a fault.
LORD JALIL
Call me what you will.
It does not change a thing.
I must serve the Queen herself
And not the second king.
ORACLES
He must serve the Queen herself
And not the second king.
(LORD JALIL exits.)
KING AZARANG
Those I cannot buy
Will one day find
A gift in black they’ve bought themselves:
Their own deaths!
(KING AZARANG exits.)
ORACLES
(to the AUDIENCE)
Always, always,
Forever and anon,
The quest for power absolute
Goes on and on and on.
Lost in Winter by Richard Stuart Dixon, Good School Plays.
Act One, Scene 3:
(LADY AZIN enters.)
ORACLES
Lady Azin,
Wife of Lord Jalil,
Chafes at her husband’s devotion.
LADY AZIN
My husband is a chump.
Power lies within his grasp,
But he does not seize it!
(LORD JALIL enters.)
LADY AZIN
There you are, Jalil.
LORD JALIL
Azin, my wife,
You state the obvious.
LADY AZIN
Listen, husband:
The Queen is lost to grief.
You must lead!
LORD JALIL
Don’t speak treason!
The Queen is still the Queen
And I am just her minister.
LADY AZIN
Take off your blinkers, stupid man!
Someone else is sure to seize the crown!
If it’s not you,
You’ll lose your life,
And I will too!
LORD JALIL
I am loyal to the Queen.
Your loyalty must be to me,
For though it may not suit your tastes,
I am husband and you’re my wife.
LADY AZIN
A husband?
You are a drowning man
Tied to sinking rock:
The Queen plunges to the depths
Dragging you behind,
And you drag me.
Husband, drag me any further
And I shall cut the rope.
LORD JALIL
To think I loved you once.
Where is the red-haired girl
Who laughed like sunshine
And let me touch her everywhere?
LADY AZIN
This is the time of darkness.
Winter makes the land a corpse
And I do not relish death.
You are forlorn:
I will not let you near me.
(LADY AZIN exits.)
JAVDANEH
To think she loved you once.
AMINEH
Where is the red-haired girl
Who laughed like sunshine?
RASHIA
And let you touch her everywhere.
ORACLES
To think she loved you once.
(LORD JALIL exits.)
ORACLES
(to the AUDIENCE)
Jalil and Azin
Are not a boy and girl
Kissing in a summer meadow.
He is lord and she is lady.
Pity them,
For they are you in the time of darkness
That lies before you, every one!
Lost in Winter by Richard Stuart Dixon, Good School Plays.
Act One, Scene 4:
(QUEEN RASHIN enters with DELAVAR, her guard.)
ORACLES
The Queen, alarmed by her lover king,
Summons Delavar, her guard.
He is her sword and shield!
In him her spark of life resides.
QUEEN RASHIN
Delavar, stay close!
I will not die by any hand but my own.
You must place yourself between
The killer’s arrow and my grieving heart.
DELAVAR
I am your sword and shield.
QUEEN RASHIN
I do not want you in my presence,
But close enough to hear my cry
If someone seeks to make me die.
DELAVAR
I shall remain nearby.
QUEEN RASHIN
Good Delavar, my trusted guard,
Stay close beside yet still afar.
(QUEEN RASHIN exits.)
ORACLES
She does not want you in her presence,
But close enough to hear her cry
If someone seeks to make her die.
(NADI, DELAVAR’s wife, enters.)
ORACLES
Nadi, wife of Delavar,
Irks him with her needling.
NADI
Must you always be on guard, Delavar?
The fireplace needs coal.
DELAVAR
Fetch it yourself.
NADI
I married you for your muscles,
But you save them for the Queen!
DELAVAR
She needs them most.
NADI
I’m too delicate to hump the coal
From the cellar to the grate!
And you make me cook and cook
To feed your bulky body.
DELAVAR
You knew all this before we wed.
NADI
I thought you’d change.
DELAVAR
I cannot grow another brain.
NADI
You may as well be married to the Queen.
DELAVAR
(taking her in his arms)
But Nadi, you’re my sweetheart!
NADI
(breaking free)
Don’t try that stuff on me!
DELAVAR
It used to make you melt.
NADI
I need more than words
And hairy arms clamping me down.
You’re serious for Queen Rashin,
But for me you’re just a clown.
DELAVAR
The Queen is ruler of the land.
I defend her life.
NADI
I hate her like the plague.
DELAVAR
If you threaten Queen Rashin
My sword must cut you down
Even though I love you.
NADI
Rashin is a weak queen.
You’ll die defending her,
And then what will I have?
DELAVAR
A memory of a man who died with honour.
NADI
(hitting him with her fists)
Stupid, stupid man!
I do not want you dead!
Don’t die like a fool
For a queen who cannot rule!
DELAVAR
(pushing her away)
I know my duty.
(DELAVAR exits.)
JAVDANEH
If you threaten Queen Rashin…
AMINEH
His sword must cut you down…
RASHIA
Even though he loves you.
NADI
What sort of husband
Kills his wife?
(she exits.)
ORACLES
(to the AUDIENCE)
Lord Jalil and Delavar
Serve the Queen with pure devotion.
Their duty is a sacred trust
As deep and wide as any ocean.
Lost in Winter by Richard Stuart Dixon, Good School Plays.
Act One, Scene 5:
(LADY NIYAZ and LORD FAILAK enter.)
ORACLE
Beyond the palace
In the winter wind
Two strangers straggle
Through the snow and cold.
JAVDANEH
Who are these bundles
Wrapped against the nailing ice?
AMINEH
What do they want?
Out on the blinding path
Obscured with driven snow?
RASHIA
Beware the travelers
Who venture through the worst
Of winter’s vengeful wrath!
(LADY NIYAZ and LORD FAILAK, who are heavily bundled for the cold,find respite against a cliff face protected from the wind.)
LADY NIYAZ
We will rest for a moment
In this carved out hollow.
LORD FAILAK
The devil’s in that wind.
My cheeks are chapped
And my nose is likely frozen.
LADY NIYAZ
(pulling him close)
Those aren’t the parts
For which I have most use.
How’s your brain?
LORD FAILAK
Somehow I think,
Though the icy thoughts
Are glacial due to cold.
LADY NIYAZ
Then remember you’re to be my brother,
Not what you are: my lover.
LORD FAILAK
Yes, I remember the ruse.
I will pose as your sibling
While you woo King Azarang.
LADY NIYAZ
That’s right.
The ambassador from another land
En route to the palace
Lies dead and frozen in a drift,
Stabbed by our daggers.
I will pretend to be her.
LORD FAILAK
Queen Rashin will treat you well
Believing you’re a minister
From another land.
LADY NIYAZ
That’s my hope.
When she’s off her guard,
I’ll win her husband’s love
And arrange her death.
LORD FAILAK
I don’t like the thought
Of her husband having you.
LADY NIYAZ
It won’t come to that.
LORD FAILAK
It better not.
LADY NIYAZ
(pulling out a dagger and pulling FAILAK up close)
I won’t be slave to any man,
Least of all to you!
LORD FAILAK
Then why drag me along
On this blizzard journey?
LADY NIYAZ
You have your uses
As a lover and a rogue.
Now behave
Or I’ll pierce your gullet.
LORD FAILAK
You won’t be slave to any man
But I won’t be your slave.
Kill me now if you must.
I’m not afraid.
LADY NIYAZ
(pushing him away)
I shouldn’t let you live.
You’ll kill me one day.
LORD FAILAK
We’re bound by blood.
That’s a tie that’s tight and true.
We’ve killed together:
To call us lovers is to say the least.
LADY NIYAZ
We must press on.
Our destiny awaits
Within the palace gates.
(They exit.)
ORACLES
These two,
Lady Niyaz and Lord Failak,
Outcasts exiled from afar,
Stumble onward through the storm
On their quest
To kill Queen Rashin.
JAVDANEH
Blood is on their hands.
AMINEH
An ambassador from another land…
RASHIA
Lies dead and frozen in a drift…
ORACLES
Stabbed by their daggers.
JAVDANEH
And now they plan to kill the Queen.
ORACLES
Behold the kingdom
Lost in winter,
JAVDANEH
In endless blue and gray and white.
AMINEH
Wind and snow
Whip the landscape.
RASHIA
The sky above
Is blank and blind.
ORACLES
Behold the kingdom
Lost in winter.
The sky above
Is blank and blind.
Lost in Winter by Richard Stuart Dixon, Good School Plays.
Act Two, Scene 1:
(ZHAKFAR, TOUFAN, and VARDA enter.)
ORACLES
Three peasants shiver in the cold.
They’re waiting for a bit of bread
Promised by their neighbours.
ZHAKFAR
Where’s that damned Baran?
He owes me a loaf.
TOUFAN
What if he doesn’t have one?
We’re all so bloody poor.
VARDA
My belly screams, Mama!
Can’t you hear it?
“I’m dying” it cries.
“Put something in me right away!”
TOUFAN
Hush, Varda.
Griping won’t help.
Zhakfar, you better hope
That Baran brings the bread.
ZHAKFAR
Don’t threaten me, Toufan.
It does no good at all.
Baran either brings a loaf
Or we go hungry tonight.
TOUFAN
I hate this life:
The endless winter and the freezing hut.
I was born for better things.
My mother warned me not to marry
Someone weak like you.
VARDA
Don’t be mean to Daddy.
He does his best.
Why blame him for being puny?
He didn’t ask to be so small.
TOUFAN
Small or tall, it makes no difference.
A man must work to feed his brood.
Your father’s lazy and deceitful.
That’s why your belly cries for food.
ORACLES
Throughout the land the peasants gripe
For everyone is in despair.
There is no magic spell to save them,
No magic loaves fall through the air.
(BARAN, AVISHEH, and ATANAZ enter.)
BARAN
There you are.
You’re hard to find
In the blowing wind and snow.
AVISHEH
You’d best be grateful
For the bread
Resting in my garment.
ATANAZ
Mum kept it there to keep it warm.
Isn’t she clever?
ZHAKFAR
(grabbing at AVISHEH)
Give it to me, then.
AVISHEH
(drawing back)
Not so fast.
What have you got for us?
TOUFAN
For you?
Why should we have something for you?
It’s the other way around, woman.
BARAN
Don’t talk to my wife
In such a nasty way, Toufan.
ATANAZ
(to VARDA)
There’s going to be a fight!
I’ll box your ears!
VARDA
Try it and see
How quickly
I can gouge your eyes!
BARAN
Do you want that loaf or not?
ZHAKFAR, TOUFAN, and VARDA
Yes! Yes!
Give it! Give it!
BARAN
Perhaps we shan’t!
ZHAKFAR
You owe a loaf
And we’re starving!
AVISHEH
Why give such greedy guts
Our precious, precious loaf?
VARDA
They’re going to keep it for themselves!
Grab it from them, Daddy!
ZHAKFAR
I’m warning you, Baran!
Make your hag produce the loaf!
AVISHEH
Hag? Hag?
Look upon your own repulsive wife!
I’m a rose and she’s a thorn!
ATANAZ
And look at Varda!
She’s a little twisted dwarf!
VARDA
A dwarf? A dwarf?
Why, you’re a piggy:
All dirt and snort!
ZHAKFAR
Just give the loaf.
It’s mine and you know it.
BARAN
Ungrateful man!
My family and I
Struggled through the drifts
To get the loaf into your bellies.
And yet you gripe and whine and insult my wife!
TOUFAN
Your wife is holding that loaf!
Make her turn it over!
AVISHEH
Every awful word you say
Makes me want to keep the loaf.
Go ahead and starve!
VARDA
Mama, Daddy, you must be nice
Or we won’t get the loaf!
I’m sorry, Atanaz, for shouting.
You’re my friend.
ATANAZ
I am not!
You say nice things because you starve.
If you were full, you’d hate me.
ZHAKFAR
Enough!
The talking is done!
We will take the loaf.
Family, attack!
(ZHAKFAR, TOUFAN, and VARDA attack BARAN, AVISHEH, and ATANAZ.)
ORACLES
They tussle!
The fools don’t understand
That fighting makes them vulnerable!
(HESSAM, HARIREH, and NAJI enter.)
HESSAM
What have we here?
HARIREH
A wrestling match!
NAJI
Someone must have something tasty
That the others want to take!
HESSAM
(pointing to AVISHEH, who is grunting and fighting with TOUFAN)
That one has a bulge in her garment!
HARIREH
I’ll bet it’s not a baby!
NAJI
Perhaps it’s food!
HESSAM
Watch me sneak it from her garment!
(HESSAM nips in close to AVISHEH, and without her knowing it, he pulls the loaf out of her robe
and holds it up triumphantly. The peasants keep on fighting.)
HARIREH
My husband, you’re a wonder!
NAJI
My brother, you move like a greasy snake!
HESSAM
Let’s escape and quickly!
We’ll scoop a hole in the damned snow
And sit inside and gobble!
(The THIEVES exit. AVISHEH separates herself from TOUFAN and feels for the loaf.)
AVISHEH
(crying out in despair)
The loaf! It’s gone!
It must have fallen in the snow!
(This prompts the others to stop fighting and to search for the loaf.)
ZHAKFAR
Where is it?
Where is it?
(After some fruitless searching, they give up and lament.)
BARAN
Gone! The loaf is gone!
TOUFAN
The devil must have taken it!
ATANAZ
Such a waste!
We should have eaten it ourselves, Mum!
VARDA
I might as well lie down and die!
AVISHEH
What cruel and hopeless lives we lead!
ORACLES
The peasants are simple.
They are easily duped.
See them lamenting in the snow
Over a lost loaf of bread?
And the worst is yet to come.
Lost in Winter by Richard Stuart Dixon, Good School Plays.
Act Two, Scene 2:
(SHIBA, AZARMINA, and KIMIA enter.)
ORACLES
Queen Rashin has a frozen heart
And so she does not see
The awful deeds
Of those who plague the peasants.
SHIBA
Kimia, what have we here?
KIMIA
Peasants moping in the snow.
AZARMINA
What do they need, I wonder?
SHIBA
Whatever it is, we’ll give it to them.
KIMIA
(going to VARDA)
This child is sick.
(prodding at VARDA)
Her stomach bloats.
She’s close to death.
ZHAKFAR
How do you know?
KIMIA
I’m a doctor.
VARDA
Daddy, Mama, I’m going to die!
AZARMINA
(going to ATANAZ)
Look at this one, Kimia.
Her skin is leprous.
(KIMIA goes to ATANAZ and prods at her.)
KIMIA
This one too
Is standing at the door of death.
ATANAZ
Mummy, Papa, help me live!
SHIBA
You are in luck, children.
The doctor can save you.
AZARMINA
What do you suggest, Kimia?
KIMIA
These children need a powdered toadstool
Called “Belli-boon”.
TOUFAN
Where can we get it?
KIMIA
From a drug merchant, of course.
You’re in luck.
Azarmina, reveal the wonderful news!
AZARMINA
Though the damned winter
Has made my potions scarce,
I am a drug dealer.
AVISHEH
Do you have some powdered toadstool?
BARN
Do you have some “Belli-boon”?
AZARMINA
I do.
It is the last, the very last.
It’s in a tiny pouch I saved
For a time such as this.
KIMIA
Your children can be saved.
TOUFAN
Thank the gods, wherever they are.
ZHAKFAR
Good Doctor Kimia, give the toadstool
To our children.
Don’t waste a single second
KIMIA
Of course.
Azarmina, please give to me
The precious pouch.
AZARMINA
Of course, for six gold coins.
SHIBA
A bargain!
Just think: your children shall live
For six paltry golden coins.
TOUFAN
But we have no coins.
AVISHEH
Nor do we.
AZARMINA
What a pity!
KIMIA
Your children shall die.
VARDA
Mama! Daddy!
ATANAZ
Mummy! Papa!
SHIBA
My heart breaks
To see them moan!
But never mind.
I have six gold coins
That I shall lend
And then you’ll see
Your children mend.
ZHAKFAR
I will borrow three, and Baran,
You must borrow three.
BARAN
But how will we pay it back?
SHIBA
When you can.
I shall take your children
And keep them ‘til you pay.
TOUFAN
Never!
AVISHEH
How could you ask for such a thing?
AZARMINA
Would you rather have your children dead?
Give them to Shiba for the golden coins
And they’ll live to see tomorrow.
ZHAKFAR
It must be done.
TOUFAN
Poor Varda.
I must give you to that woman.
VARDA
It’s either that or see me die.
BARAN
Little Atanaz,
You will live with the money lender.
Perhaps that’s not so bad.
AVISHEH
My darling daughter!
Perhaps we’ll never meet again!
ATANAZ
Just let me live!
Give me the Belli-boon at once!
ZHAKFAR and BARAN
(to SHIBA)
You have a deal.
SHIBA
(giving them the coins)
Three for you and three for you.
AZARMINA
Now give me the coins,
And I’ll give Kimia the Belli-boon.
(ZHAKFAR and BARAN hand her the coins, and AZARMINA gives a tiny pouch to KIMIA.)
KIMIA
Come here, children.
(VARDA and ATANAZ go to her.)
KIMIA
Eat this.
(KIMIA gives each CHILD a pinch of something from the pouch, placing it in their mouths.)
VARDA
(swallowing)
Will I live now?
ATANAZ
And me, will I live too?
KIMIA
Of course.
SHIBA
Your children have been saved.
Now go away and don’t come back
Until you can pay.
(The PARENTS hug their CHILDREN.)
ZHAKFAR and TOUFAN
Farewell, Varda, our little child.
BARAN and AVISHEH
Goodbye, goodbye, little Atanaz.
(The PARENTS part from their CHILDREN and exit. KIMIA and AZARMINA grab the CHILDREN.)
KIMIA
Now we have you.
AZARMINA
You shan’t escape.
SHIBA
Give me back my money.
AZARMINA
Gladly.
(AZARMINA hands SHIBA the six gold coins.)
AZARMINA
(to the CHILDREN)
You little fools.
There was nothing wrong with you.
Your bellies were empty, that’s all.
VARDA and ATANAZ
Let us go!
Let us go!
SHIBA
Soon enough.
KIMIA
We have plans for you.
AZARMINA
Just wait and see.
ORACLES
A doctor,
A drug merchant,
And a lender of money;
Using the peasants for personal gain.
Queen Rashin has a frozen heart,
And her kingdom writhes in pain.
Lost in Winter by Richard Stuart Dixon, Good School Plays.
Act Two, Scene 3:
(ZARI, VANDA, and PARNA enter.)
ORACLES
Nomads wander through the land
And seize whatever they may.
They know that children can be sold
To those who trade for slaves.
ZARI
What have you got for us?
VANDA
Lovely little girls?
PARNA
We’ll take them and eat them!
VARDA
Spare us! Spare us!
ATANAZ
We’re only peasants,
And have no flavour
Except perhaps a hint of onion.
SHIBA
What will you give us for these plump young hens?
AZARMINA
We’ll only take the best you have.
KIMIA
Don’t try to cheat us or you die.
ZARI
(as she, VANDA, and PARNA pull out knives)
You talk as if you’re in control
But no weapons do we see.
VANDA
Why should we give you anything?
When we could take those girls for free.
PARNA
Give those peasant tarts to us,
And you won’t have to moan and bleed.
(HESSAM, HARIREH, and NAJI enter with clubs.)
HESSAM
You have knives but we have clubs!
HARIREH
And we’ll beat you on your heads!
NAJI
So make a deal that suits us all,
HESSAM, HARIREH, and NAJI
Or we’ll club you ‘til you’re dead.
(The three THIEVES find this funny and laugh about it.)
ZARI
No need for that.
VANDA
We’ll make a deal.
PARNA
We’ve got something you might want.
SHIBA
What is it?
ZARI, VANDA, and PARNA
A story.
AZARMINA
A story? You think a story
Is worth two peasant girls?
ZARI
Let us tell the tale to you.
VANDA
And you decide what it’s worth.
PARNA
We’ll tell you straight
And tell you true.
ZARI, VANDA, PARNA
Then you decide what you must do.
HESSAM, HARIREH, and NAJI
Then tell it and be quick!
SHIBA, AZARMINA, and KIMIA
And none of your nomad tricks!
(The THIEVES and CON ARTISTS sit while the NOMADS tell their tale, acting it out as they do so.)
ZARI
The wind was blowing cold and wild.
VANDA
We found a cave in which to hide.
PARNA
And scribbled on the damp cave wall…
ZARI, VANDA, and PARNA
…was this tale we’ll tell you all.
ZARI
There was a time when winter never came.
VANDA
All the land was always warm and light.
PARNA
And no one knew the terrors of the night.
ZARI, VANDA, and PARNA
And no one knew the terrors of the night.
ZARI
But deeds of evil must be hidden
By those who want to hide from blame.
VANDA
And so a deal was made with Death
To hide with darkness acts of shame.
PARNA
And so the darkness grew and spread
And filled all loving souls with dread.
ZARI, VANDA, and PARNA
And darkness marched with awful might
Until the winter solstice night.
ZARI
And on that dark and dreary day
The land was almost dead.
VANDA
But Life rebelled against the reign
Of darkness, Death, and acts of shame.
PARNA
And light grew stronger day by day
Bringing love and hope and play.
ORACLES
Somehow life must survive
The darkest day of winter,
The longest night,
The moment when Death
Tries to strike down Life.
JAVDANEH
The Queen! The Queen!
She is fertility and renewal!
AMINEH
The Queen! The Queen!
She leads the rebirth of the land!
RASHIA
The Queen! The Queen!
The fate of Life is in her hands!
ZARI, VANDA, PARNA
The legend on the cold rock wall
Gives a warning to us all.
ZARI
If the Queen dies on the longest night
Death will win the ancient fight.
VANDA
All who live will pass away
Turning into wraiths of gray.
PARNA
Doomed to serve the cruel commands
Of the cruelest in the land.
(All the remaining cast except the QUEEN now enter, moving about as if they are gray wraiths, with LADY NIYAZ orchestrating them in a ghostly trance/dance as the ORACLES speak.)
ORACLES
If the Queen should die on the longest night
Death will win the ancient fight.
All who live will pass away
Turing into wraiths of gray
Doomed to serve the cruel commands
Of the cruelest in the land.
(The WRAITHS and LADY NIYAZ exit and the NOMADS await the response of their frightened watchers.)
KIMIA
(releasing VARDA and pushing her into the arms of ZARI)
Take her! Your story frightens me.
AZARMINA
(releasing ATANAZ and pushing her into the arms of VANDA)
Take her too! I want no part of your witchcraft!
ZARI, VANDA, and PARNA
You have chosen wisely.
These children are for us.
We’ll take them now.
Do not try to follow.
(The NOMADS exit with the CHILDREN.)
HESSAM
I didn’t like that story.
HARIREH
Gray wraiths! Did you see them?
NAJI
Yes, and did you smell the awful vapours?
SHIBA, AZARMINA, and KIMIA
The scent of everlasting Death.
HESSAM
(producing the stolen bread)
Let’s go and eat this bit of bread.
It’ll help us shake this state of dread.
THE OTHERS
(except the ORACLES)
Yes, let’s go and eat
To ease the pain of this defeat.
(They exit)
ORACLES
The Queen! The Queen!
She is fertility and renewal!
The Queen! The Queen!
She leads the rebirth of the land!
The Queen! The Queen!
The fate of Life is in her hands!
Lost in Winter by Richard Stuart Dixon, Good School Plays.
Act Three, Scene 1:
(QUEEN RASHIN enters with KING AZARANG.)
ORACLES
The Queen confronts her restless husband.
He wants what she can’t give.
What irks him most is blind tradition:
He can’t rule though he is king.
KING AZARANG
The land is in the dead of winter
And anarchy stalks the land.
You are paralyzed and cannot act.
Let me lead.
QUEEN RASHIN
No. I am sovereign by law and right.
Whatever happens is my plight, not yours.
KING AZARANG
You loved me once.
QUEEN RASHIN
Perhaps I did.
Those days are gone.
But you and I are wed
And that is that.
KING AZARANG
Your first husband wandered off
And you blame me.
QUEEN RASHIN
I blame myself.
KING AZARANG
And so you drag the kingdom
Down to wrack and ruin.
QUEEN RASHIN
It is the darkest time of winter.
My heart is frozen like the snow.
KING AZARANG
But mine is warm and beating!
I could restore the kingdom’s health.
QUEEN RASHIN
You must stop asking me for power.
You shall not get it
No matter what you say.
KING AZARANG
Or what I do.
QUEEN RASHIN
I warn you, Azarang:
Do not plot to overthrow me.
That would guarantee
The end of this: our kingdom.
KING AZARANG
You loved me once.
(AZARANG exits.)
ORACLES
You loved him once.
His heart is warm and beating.
And yours is frozen like the snow.
(LORD JALIL enters.)
LORD JALIL
Queen Rashin,
An ambassador has arrived.
She wants your approval.
QUEEN RASHIN
Out of the storm
Comes a stranger.
LORD JALIL
Her papers are in order
And she has the royal seal
Of her sovereign Kingdom.
QUEEN RASHIN
Is she alone?
LORD JALIL
No. A man is with her.
She says he is her brother.
QUEEN RASHIN
Do you trust her, Lord Jalil?
LORD JALIL
I trust no one but you, my Queen.
QUEEN RASHIN
Bring her to me.
LORD JALIL
And her brother?
QUEEN RASHIN
Bring him too.
LORD JALIL
As you wish.
(LORD JALIL exits.)
ORACLES
Out of the storm
Comes a stranger.
QUEEN RASHIN
(calling)
Delavar!
(DELAVAR enters.)
DELAVAR
Your Majesty, I am your sword and shield.
QUEEN RASHIN
I am to meet an ambassador.
Remain with me throughout.
DELAVAR
I am commanded.
(LORD JALIL enters with LADY NIYAZ and LORD FAILAK)
LORD JALIL
Your Majesty, Lady Niyaz
And her brother: Lord Failak.
QUEEN RASHIN
Welcome.
LADY NIYAZ
Thank you.
We are indeed in need
Of a welcome.
LORD FAILAK
Our journey has been
Less than pleasant.
QUEEN RASHIN
Yes. The winter
Is rather hard this year.
LADY NIYAZ
I trust we have permission
To stay here in the palace.
I am an ambassador after all
And my position dictates privileges.
QUEEN RASHIN
Of course. Now forgive me,
It is late and I am weary.
Lord Jalil will take you to your chambers.
Tomorrow you may tell me why you’re here.
LADY NIYAZ
I look forward to that moment
With all my heart.
QUEEN RASHIN
Your heart?
LADY NIYAZ
Yes, with my heart
Which is warm and beating.
LORD JALIL
This way, please.
Your chambers are awaiting.
(LADY NIYAZ and LORD FAILIK exit with LORD JALIL.)
QUEEN RASHIN
Thank you, Delavar,
For standing guard.
DELAVAR
I do not like her.
QUEEN RASHIN
Nor do I.
But she is a royal ambassador
And I must be polite.
I go now to my bedchamber.
You may rest.
(QUEEN RASHIN exits.)
ORACLES
Poison has entered
The body of the palace.
This Delavar knows,
But he is just a guard.
Lost in Winter by Richard Stuart Dixon, Good School Plays.
Act Three, Scene 2:
(NADI, wife of DELAVAR, enters.)
ORACLES
Nadi, wife of Delavar,
Sees the strangers,
And sets upon her husband
Like a ferret on a rat.
NADI
What haughty man and woman
Skulk through the palace
As though they own it?
DELAVAR
An ambassador and her brother.
NADI
Dunce! She’s not an ambassador.
Her eyes are hard and empty.
DELAVAR
The Queen has welcomed her,
So shut up.
NADI
Queen Rashin will be our death.
DELAVAR
You needle and needle
And poke and whine.
NADI
Because you will not listen.
DELAVAR
Duty is duty, Nadi.
You must understand.
NADI
Pah! You love the Queen, my husband,
And that’s why you’re her slave.
DELAVAR
What I love and don’t love
Doesn’t matter.
Duty is duty.
(LORD JALIL enters with LADY AZIN.)
LADY AZIN
Delavar, that ambassador:
Do you think she’s normal?
DELAVAR
The Queen has welcomed her.
LADY AZIN
That’s not what I asked.
LORD JALIL
Don’t torment him, Azin.
He is a guard, not a minister.
NADI
Pardon me, your Ladyship,
But I do not trust that woman.
LADY AZIN
Why not?
NADI
Her eyes are hard and empty.
ORACLES
Her eyes are hard and empty.
LORD JALIL
The Queen has welcomed her,
And her brother too.
They are part of the palace now,
And must be respected.
LADY AZIN
You’re supposed to be a minister,
But you don’t think for yourself.
If the Queen said, “Eat your foot!”
You’d do it.
NADI
My husband Delavar
Is the same, your Ladyship.
He has no mind for me or himself.
LADY AZIN
The hapless Queen holds these men
In the spell of her beauty
While the kingdom falls to ruin.
NADI
Perhaps they should run off with her,
And let you be Queen, your ladyship.
LORD JALIL
You’re the wife of the palace guard.
Take back what you say,
Or I will see you locked away.
DELAVAR
She’s become rotten, Lord Jalil,
Like so many in the land.
LADY AZIN
If you lock her away,
I’ll go with her.
You men are the ones who rot.
You no longer do a thing.
LORD JALIL
No longer do a thing?
We hope, my dear,
And that is something you must do
Instead of endless bickering.
LADY AZIN
I cannot stand this endless winter.
Everything is cold and dead.
The Queen fades day by day.
An ending is drawing near.
NADI
Death, death, death.
It’s all around.
Can’t you feel it?
LORD JALIL
Winter solstice falls upon us
Like a black and freezing fog.
These are not easy times,
But we must persevere.
LADY AZIN
Why do we do so little?
All that is good is slowing down.
And so I’m frightened.
Jalil, you persevere,
But only in dithering.
LORD JALIL
I do not dither.
I wait.
That is all there is to do,
Mark my words.
LADY AZIN
Waiting, waiting, waiting!
While a woman with hard eyes
Slithers in our midst!
NADI
Hard and empty eyes.
LORD JALIL
Lady Azin, my wife,
You will say nothing more tonight.
DELAVAR
And you too, Nadi.
You must be silent.
LORD JALIL
Obedience is what we ask,
Just as we obey.
LADY AZIN
When did you become a fool, husband?
I don’t recall the hour.
But there’s no doubt it happened.
(LADY AZIN exits.)
NADI
Come to bed, Delavar.
I need your warm bulk
To drive away the chill.
That’s all you’re good for.
DELAVAR
I’ll clamp you with my hairy arms.
(DELAVAR exits with NADI.)
LORD JALIL
This is the time to wait,
And watch our unfolding fate.
(LORD JALIL exits.)
ORACLES
The winter solstice falls upon us
Like a black and freezing fog.
This is the time to wait
And watch our creeping fate.
Lost in Winter by Richard Stuart Dixon, Good School Plays.
Act Three, Scene 3:
(LADY NIYAZ enters with LORD FAILAK.)
ORACLES
Waiting, waiting, waiting!
While a woman with hard eyes
Slithers in our midst!
LADY NIYAZ
Stand straighter, Failak.
You don’t look like a noble.
LORD FAILAK
(straightening himself)
I huddle because it’s cold
Outside the palace in this forest.
How’s that?
LADY NIYAZ
Better.
LORD FAILAK
When I’m king,
I’ll stand like an oak tree,
And no one will defy me.
LADY NIYAZ
Idiot!
You’ll be king in name only.
Or would you rather be a gray wraith?
LORD FAILAK
You think you are more evil than me,
Lady Niyaz,
But I have darkness in me beyond all measure.
LADY NIYAZ
To be the one who is most cruel,
You must also be clever.
So, that puts you out of the running.
(ZARI, VANDA, and PARNA enter with VARDA and ATANAZ.)
ZARI
Here we are, your Ladyship.
VANDA
Just as you commanded.
PARNA
We have the goods.
(They throw VARDA and ATANAZ on the ground in front of LADY NIYAZ.)
LADY NIYAZ
(pulling VARDA and ATANAZ to their feet)
Don’t be frightened, my pretties.
I am your benefactor.
Let me squeeze you
To see if you are real.
(She embraces VARDA and then ATANAZ. Each faints following the embrace.)
ZARI, VANDA, and PARNA
Pay us what you owe!
LADY NIYAZ
I will let you live for now.
That is your payment.
ZARI, VANDA, and PARNA
(taking out their knives)
Let us live?
You are the one who flirts with death.
LADY NIYAZ
Kill me and you kill yourselves,
For your hopes rest with evil,
And I am she who is most cruel.
ZARI, VANDA, and PARNA
What will we get in the end?
LADY NIYAZ
You’ll be my agents
And never die.
I offer immortality.
ZARI, VANDA, and PARNA
Immortality!
LADY NIYAZ
You see?
I pay you well.
Go now.
You’ll know when to return.
ZARI, VANDA, and PARNA
Immortality!
(ZARI, VANDA, and PARNA exit.)
LADY NIYAZ
Revive them.
(LORD FAILAK pulls VARDA and ATANAZ to their feet. They are in a daze.)
LORD FAILAK
I could use these maids
In a thousand ways.
LADY NIYAZ
You’ll not use them at all.
They’re for me.
LORD FAILAK
When you are through,
Might I kill them?
LADY NIYAZ
This Solstice Day,
There will be more than enough of that
To satisfy your bloody wants.
LORD FAILAK
I shall relish it.
LADY NIYAZ
Bring the waifs.
We’ll parade them before the Queen
As evidence of our goodness.
(She, LORD FAILAK and the CHILDREN exit.)
ORACLES
If the Queen should die on the longest night
Death will win the ancient fight.
All who live will pass away
Turing into wraiths of gray.
Lost in Winter by Richard Stuart Dixon, Good School Plays.
Act Three, Scene 4:
(ZHAKFAR, TOUFAN, BARAN, and AVISHEH enter.)
ORACLES
Behold the grieving peasants,
Lamenting for their children:
TOUFAN
Zhakfar, I no longer want to live
Without my darling Varda.
ZHAKFAR
At least she is alive,
Saved by the Belli-boon.
AVISHEH
And lovely little Atanaz,
Gone away into the wind and snow.
BARAN
Our peasant lives are harder now,
Because we have no children.
ZHAKFAR
We can make others.
Breeding’s quite a pleasant chore.
TOUFAN
(giving him a shove)
You won’t breed with me!
You’re the reason Varda’s gone!
BARAN
Leave him be, Toufan.
He’s done his best.
But this land won’t yield a living.
AVISHEH
Better to be the last of our line.
Who wants more children
Who’ll only starve and die?
(SHIBA, AZARMINA, and KIMIA enter.)
SHIMIA
Have you got the six gold coins?
I need them right away.
ZHAKFAR
But the loan was only yesterday.
We’ve had no time to get your pay.
SHIMIA
Pay me now or I’ll have you jailed
As is the law.
BARAN
But we would wither in that jail,
And never pay you back.
KIMIA
Shimia, give to me six gold coins.
SHIMIA
Of course. You always pay me back.
(SHIMIA gives KIMIA six coins.)
AZARMINA
Kimia, lend me those coins.
KIMIA
Of course. You always pay me back.
(KIMIA gives AZARMINA the six coins.)
AZARMINA
I’ll give you peasants all these coins
So you can pay your debt.
But you must promise faithfully
To do what I request.
TOUFAN
What do you request?
AZARMINA
I’ll tell you later.
Do you want the coins?
AVISHEH
Yes! I do not want
To mould away in the awful jail!
(AVISHEH takes the coins from AZARMINA.)
SHIBA
Give me what you owe!
(AVISHEH gives the coins to SHIBA.)
SHIBA
Good. Your debt to me is settled.
Now you must satisfy Azarmina.
ZHAKFAR
What do you want from us, Azarmina?
AZARMINA
The four of you shall be our servants
And do our bidding day and night.
You must find the food to feed us
And keep our fireplace alight.
TOUFAN
But we can’t find food enough
For ourselves!
AZARMINA
That is not my problem.
You owe me six gold coins.
Until you pay, you’ll be our slaves.
KIMIA
I will require back rubs.
SHIBA
I must have my monthly bath.
AZARMINA
Time is short for all of us.
I must have a few small luxuries
Before I turn into a wraith.
BARAN
A wraith?
AVISHEH
What do you mean?
SHIBA
Nothing that you would understand
With your simple peasant minds.
AZARMINA
Come along, come along:
Your servitude has now begun.
(They exit.)
ORACLES
Those who own gold
Pass it around,
And all those who touch it
Turn into slaves.
Lost in Winter by Richard Stuart Dixon, Good School Plays.
Act Three, Scene 5:
(HESSAM, HARIREH, and NAJI enter.)
ORACLES
Thieves and cheaters
Thrive in darkness.
Evil deeds remain unseen.
Selfish motives stay well-hidden
In the endless nightmare dream
As Winter Solstice stalks the Queen.
HESSAM
I’m hungry again.
A chunk of bread isn’t much
For a man of my size.
HARIREH
There’s hardly anything left to steal
In this damned and barren land.
NAJI
An empty pocket can’t be picked,
There’s nothing in our empty hands.
HESSAM
Wife, you’re still plump.
Perhaps I should roast you like a pig.
HARIREH
You think I’m plump?
It’s just these rags
That bulk me up against the cold.
Underneath, I’m withered and old.
NAJI
With some luck we’ll find a corpse
Frozen in the icy muck.
Human meat can roast or fry
And make it so we do not die.
HESSAM
Queen Rashin won’t play her part.
I’d like to roast her frozen heart.
And eat it just before my end.
At last I’d get my sweet revenge
For her incompetence.
(DELAVAR enters.)
DELAVAR
Why do you cluster
Outside the gates of the palace?
HESSAM, HARIREH, and NAJI
Where else are we supposed to go?
There’s nothing but the endless snow!
We wait in hope of scraps and bones
That may be from your kitchens thrown.
DELAVAR
Nothing’s wasted.
Times are hard.
There are no scraps and bones.
On your way!
HESSAM, HARIREH, and NAJI
The law allows us to stay!
DELAVAR
You are gaunt:
Come with me.
I’ll give you my soup.
No breakfast for Delavar.
HESSAM, HARIREH, and NAJI
Bless you, Delavar!
You are so good.
You do not smite us with your sword;
You feed us with your breakfast food.
DELAVAR
Come along, then,
Even though you stink.
HESSAM, HARIREH, and NAJI
How are we to bathe
When we have no fire
To melt the snow and ice?
If you smell us now,
Just wait until we’re warm!
(They exit with DELAVAR.)
ORACLES
Bless you, Delavar.
You are so good.
You do not smite them with your sword;
You feed them with your breakfast food.
Lost in Winter by Richard Stuart Dixon, Good School Plays.
Act Three, Scene 6:
(QUEEN RASHIN enters with KING AZARANG.)
ORACLES
The dawn has brought the Solstice Day;
Will the fatal dark hold sway?
Light grows weak as dark enhances;
Life retreats and Death advances.
Behold the Queen:
In her the fate of all resides.
KING AZARANG
Who are the dark twosome
Who arrived in the black of night?
QUEEN RASHIN
An ambassador and her brother.
KING AZARANG
Nobility does not travel in winter.
QUEEN RASHIN
She is the exception to the rule.
KING AZARANG
It is Winter Solstice Day.
QUEEN RASHIN
I will see it through somehow.
KING AZARANG
You do not look well.
QUEEN RASHIN
There’s not much left inside me.
A small smouldering lump
Deep within a dark corner of my mind
Is all that remains.
KING AZARANG
No wonder you can’t lead.
QUEEN RASHIN
As I grow weak, you grow bold.
But the day is not yet ended.
Don’t turn on me, Azarang,
For you are undefended,
Though you do not know it.
KING AZARANG
What you say makes no sense to me.
QUEEN RASHIN
That is my burden.
ORACLES
Don’t turn on her, Azarang,
For you are undefended,
Though you do not know it.
(LADY NIYAZ enters with LORD FAILAK, VARDA, and ATANAZ.)
LADY NIYAZ
Queen Rashin, good morning.
My brother and I took a stroll
In the forest wild and cold
And there we found these two,
And brought them home to you.
QUEEN RASHIN
They are not mine.
LADY NIYAZ
But you are merciful.
Surely you’ll protect them?
QUEEN RASHIN
Each person in my kingdom
Must protect himself.
LADY NIYAZ
Then with your permission,
I’ll take them with me when I leave.
I’ll nurture them with love
And help them to achieve
A sort of greatness born from fate.
VARDA and ATANAZ
May the angels praise you, madam.
KING AZARANG
You are indeed a noblewoman.
LADY NIYAZ
I thank you.
KING AZARANG
I am King Azarang.
LADY NIYAZ
I am Lady Niyaz,
And this is my kind brother,
Lord Failak.
KING AZARANG
I wish I could welcome you more warmly,
But we lack fuel and food.
LADY NIYAZ
Charity is sharing what you have
And this you have done.
I thank you.
QUEEN RASHIN
You know why you want those children,
And I don’t.
If you must have them,
Take them.
As for me, I must rest.
(QUEEN RASHIN exits.)
LADY NIYAZ
Brother Failak,
Take the children to my chamber
And feed them with the last
Of our traveling food.
LORD FAILAK
Come children:
Sweets await you.
VARDA and ATANAZ
Sweets! We are blessed and grateful!
(LORD FAILAK exits with the children.)
ORACLE
King Azarang!
You are undefended!
But your lust for power
Makes you unaware
That danger’s lurking there
In the cold and empty eyes
Of a cold and empty woman.
Lost in Winter by Richard Stuart Dixon, Good School Plays.
Act Three, Scene 7:
(LADY NIYAZ moves closer to KING AZARANG.)
ORACLE
The serpent slides towards the man
Who sees but is blind.
LADY NIYAZ
My heart breaks for those children
And others suffering on this Solstice Day.
KING AZARANG
We have had a hard winter.
LADY NIYAZ
You look to me
Like a man of strength,
And yet something holds you back.
What’s wrong?
KING AZARANG
By law in this our kingdom,
The surviving spouse of a dying monarch
Must become the next to rule.
Thus, my wife Queen Rashin
Commands the land
While I twiddle my thumbs.
LADY NIYAZ
In my land, the strongest must command.
KING AZARANG
I would it were so here.
LADY NIYAZ
(going close to him)
You are the strongest.
I can see it in your eyes.
Beauty and strength:
That’s what’s best in a man,
And you have both.
KING AZARANG
You are saintly, saving children.
And yet I think you coach rebellion.
Am I right?
LADY NIYAZ
I trust my heart
Which told me in an instant
That I am yours.
KING AZARANG
Mine?
LADY NIYAZ
I have waited long
For the man to whom I’d give myself.
You are he.
KING AZARANG
So suddenly?
LADY NIYAZ
(taking him in her arms)
I trust my heart.
KING AZARANG
(responding to her embrace)
And I trust my eyes.
You are magnificent.
LADY NIYAZ
If the Queen should die,
Then you would rule.
Is that not true?
KING AZARANG
It’s true but she does not die,
Though she is weak and chokes the kingdom.
LADY NIYAZ
I tell you, King Azarang,
She is at the door of death
And needs only a gentle push
To cross the threshold.
KING AZARANG
To slay the Queen is a fearsome act.
LADY NIYAZ
You would save the kingdom
And wear the true crown.
Queen Rashin would join her lost husband,
The one who died because of you.
KING AZARANG
Would you be my consort?
I would need a lovely queen
To comfort me as I strain to bring reforms.
LADY NIYAZ
I will be your queen, I swear.
But you must act or all is lost.
KING AZARANG
How will I do the deed?
LADY NIYAZ
(handing him a knife)
With this blade.
It’s forged from the finest steel,
And sharper than a razor.
Drive it in between her ribs
And she’ll be dead in an instant.
KING AZARANG
(taking the knife and looking at it)
This blade changes everything.
She will join her first husband,
And I will take my second wife
And rule the kingdom.
LADY NIYAZ
Yes.
Set her free.
Show her this final kindness.
KING AZARANG
I will do it.
LADY NIYAZ
My love.
(embraces him)
Do not delay.
Her death must come this very day.
(She exits.)
ORACLES
The blade is formed from finest steel
And sharper than a razor.
Drive it in between her ribs
And death comes in an instant.
Lost in Winter by Richard Stuart Dixon, Good School Plays.
Act Three, Scene 8:
(QUEEN RASHIN enters.)
ORACLES
Queen Rashin! Queen Rashin!
Alone on Solstice Day!
Queen Rashin! Queen Rashin!
Your life force ebbs away!
QUEEN RASHIN
Why do you bear a knife, Azarang?
KING AZARANG
It is a gift from the ambassador.
QUEEN RASHIN
Then it is meant for me, for I am Queen.
KING AZARANG
Yes, it’s for you.
Let me present it
In a true and proper manner.
(AZARANG drives the knife into the QUEEN.)
QUEEN RASHIN
Delavar! Delavar! Lord Jalil! Save me!
(AZARANG withdraws the blade, drops it, and flees. QUEEN RASHIN falls to the floor. DELAVAR and LORD JALIL enter.)
LORD JALIL
(going to the QUEEN and helping her head rest against his chest)
The Queen is stricken!
(DELAVAR picks up the knife.)
DELAVAR
Here is the blade that did it.
LORD JALIL
She was alone with the King. Regicide!
DELAVAR
The King shall answer for this.
LORD JALIL
She is not yet dead.
Her pulse is weak but steady.
Summon all hereabouts!
Gather them in this palace hall.
We must warm her with our spirits
Or some sort of hell befalls us all!
DELAVAR
I’ll bring them all!
(He exits as LADY AZIN enters with NADI.)
NADI
Where does my husband go?
Why is the Queen upon the floor?
LADY AZIN
Something wicked has occurred.
The Queen is limp and lifeless.
LORD NIYAZ
But not yet dead,
Though stabbed between the ribs.
We must strive
To keep her alive.
LADY AZIN
Why not let her slip away?
She’s not fit to rule.
LORD NIYAZ
Azin, you are a fool.
This Queen is all there is
Between us and endless darkness.
NADI
What do you mean?
LORD NIYAZ
It’s Solstice Day
And Death is strong,
But Life is weak and dying.
LADY AZIN
Superstition.
LORD NIYAZ
Don’t you feel it, Azin?
We’re becoming weaker.
Our limbs are like lead.
NADI
He’s right.
It’s as if life runs from us
And leaves us with the dead.
(ZARI, VANDA, and PARNA enter.)
ZARI, VANDA, and PARNA
The Queen lies stricken!
The legend comes true!
Gray wraiths! Gray wraiths!
That’s what we all shall be!
LADY AZIN
What do you mean?
ZARI, VAND, and PARNA
Wait and see;
Wait and see.
(HESSAM, HARIREH, and NAJI enter.)
HESSAM, HARIREH, and NAJI
No longer do we need
To scavenge for meat.
The end approaches;
The dead do not eat.
LADY AZIN
There is heaviness in me,
As if I were being pulled down
Into the dark and grave-like ground.
(SHIBA, AZARMINA, and KIMIA enter.)
SHIBA, AZARMINA, and KIMIA
Upon the stones the Queen must lie;
Gold does no good for those who die.
(Shiba throws the gold coins on the floor.)
SHIBA, AZARMINA, and KIMIA
Worthless coins!
You cannot save us now!
LADY AZIN
We are passing out of the Kingdom of Life!
(ZHAKFAR, TOUFAN, BARAN, and AVISHEH enter.)
THE FOUR PEASANT PARENTS
Our children are gone,
And the Queen is dying.
Listen! On the distant wind
Hear our children crying.
LADY AZIN
We are entering the Kingdom of Death.
ORACLES
You are passing out of the Kingdom of Life
And into the Kingdom of Dying
Listen! On the distant wind
You can hear the children crying.
(KING AZARANG enters with LADY NIYAZ and LORD FAILAK and DELAVAR.)
KING AZARANG
(picking up the knife and holding it up)
On this Solstice Day.
The Queen takes her own life with this knife.
I shall be your true ruler
And return you all to life!
(DELAVAR steps up to AZARANG and takes the wrist of the hand holding the knife, twisting it down into AZARANG’S body. AZARANG collapses.)
DELAVAR
He stabbed the Queen!
LORD JALIL
And so he forfeits his life!
(LADY NIYAZ goes to AZARANG, pulls out the knife, and holds it up)
LADY NIYAZ
The Queen is not yet dead,
For you all are still alive!
I will go to her
And help her to revive!
Trust me.
A deft and careful cut with this knife
Will tear your Queen away from death
And bring her quickly back to life!
(LADY NIYAZ kneels beside QUEEN RASHIN, and prepares to stab her. QUEEN RASHIN suddenly revives and with strength born of desperation, seizes the knife and kills LADY NIYAZ, then slumps back into LORD JALIL’s arms.)
LORD FAILAK
Your Queen is dead and taken over
By some sort of demon strength
And so she must be killed again
To save her from herself!
(FAILAK tries to cross to QUEEN RASHIN but DELAVAR intercepts him and strangles him.)
ZARI, VANDA, and PARNA
If the Queen dies on Solstice Day,
We’ll waste away, forever gray,
Wraiths forever and ever.
HEESAM, HARIREH, and NAJI
We’ll wander through the snow and ice
Never to return to life.
SHIBA, AZARMINA, and KIMIA
Slaves to the cruelest in the land.
THE PEASANT PARENTS
Lord Jalil! Don’t let her die!
Please try!
LORD JALIL
Queen Rashin!
Queen Rashin!
QUEEN RASHIN
(opening her eyes)
Fetch the little girls
Slaughtered in the snow
Beyond the castle walls.
DELAVAR
I’ll go, and quickly.
HESSAM, ZHAKFAR, and BARAN
As will we!
(DELAVAR, HESSAM, ZHAKFAR, and BARAN exit.)
TOUFAN and AVISHEH
Our children!
Slaughtered?
What misery!
QUEEN RASHIN
Winter Solstice Day
Brings us close to Death.
I must act to save us all.
ORACLE
Beyond the castle walls,
Where the forest grows,
The little peasant girls
Lie slaughtered in the snow.
Lord Failak’s dreadful blade
Stabbed their little hearts,
But even though they’re gone,
They still must play their part.
(DELAVAR and the other men enter carrying the two dead girls. They lie them down beside QUEEN RASHIN.)
QUEEN RASHIN
Don’t cry for these little girls.
Cry for me.
I will die and they will live
For I have one last gift to give
Upon this Solstice Day.
ORACLES
She has one last gift to give
Upon this Solstice Day.
QUEEN RASHIN
Let me touch them with my hands
And then you’ll understand.
(LORD JALIL helps her reach out to touch the girls, one with each hand.)
QUEEN RASHIN
There. Now I can go
Far from this land of ice and snow.
(QUEEN RASHIN falls back and dies. As she does so, the two girls stir And return to life.)
VARDA
(going to her PARENTS)
Mama? Daddy? I’ve been asleep.
ATANAZ
(going to her PARENTS)
Mummy? Papa? Why do you weep?
TOUFAN and AVISHEH
What does this mean?
LORD JALIL
Life has passed from Queen Rashin
Into the hearts of these children.
They are the seeds of renewal.
Death retreats
As life moves forward.
ZARI, VANDA, and PARNA
Who will now be monarch
Of this our sovereign land?
HESSAM, HARIREH, and NAJI
Lord Jalil.
He is next in line
And now has come his time.
(LORD JALIL stands, carefully letting the dead QUEEN lie with dignity.)
LORD JALIL
I am King,
And Lady Azin is my queen,
But I must wield the power.
And now in my first hour,
I give my first command:
The fallen must be burned.
Light and life have returned.
(The CAST, except the ORACLES, form formal tableaux, and the ORACLES move among them.)
ORACLES
Behold the kingdom
Lost in winter,
JAVDANEH
In endless blue and gray and white.
AMINEH
Wind and snow
Whip the landscape.
RASHIA
The sky above
Is blank and blind.
ORACLES
Behold the Kingdom
Lost in Winter,
In endless blue and gray and white.
Wind and snow whip the landscape;
The sky above is blank and blind;
The sky above is blank and blind.