Welcomeby Richard Stuart Dixon
© Richard Stuart Dixon, 2003
(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: Gothic horror
• suitable for general audiences
• 28 characters (24 female, 4 male)
• black-box staging (no set required)
• a good play for learning stillness and extreme economy of movement on stage
Summary of Script Content:
• “Lunatic Girls” is is a story about a group of creative, poetic young women who are institutionalized and rendered passive, with tragic and horrific results.
(This play was first performed in November, 2003, at Gleneagle Secondary School in Coquitlam, British Columbia, Canada.)
∗Published Online by Good School Plays, February 27, 2018.
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Scene 19
CHARACTERS:
The Staff:
DR. MARGARET ASHTON, Director of Gregory Institute
MISS ALICE WARREN, Head Matron of Gregory Institute
MISS ELLEN YATES, Asst. Matron, Gregory Institute
MISS JUDITH CROMPTON, Asst. Matron, Gregory Institute
The Engineers:
MR. THOMAS CLEGG, Mech. Engineer, Gregory Institute
DAVID CLEGG, Thomas Clegg’s Son.
ERIN CLEGG, Thomas Clegg’s Daughter.
The Housekeepers:
NELLY KAY, Charwoman
MINKA STRELIOVA, Charwoman
The Police :
POLICE INSPECTOR ROBERT MORRIS
CONSTABLE SIMON GOOD
The Lunatic Girls
VICKY OWEN
NAOMI PARRISH
JENNY RUSSELL
JANE MORGAN
KATIE LEIGH
ANNE RIGBY
EMMA NELSON
LIBBY PARKER
ISABEL MOSS
MOLLY LANDERS
SARAH KANE
MARY WALKER
ROSE O’BRIEN
CLARA MIDDLEFELL
KAREN MELTON
ESTHER KNOWLES
LILLIAN DEANE
Lunatic Girls by Richard Stuart Dixon, Good School Plays.
Scene 1:
SETTING: Gregory Institute, somewhere in Ontario, 1885.
(The cast is assembled on stage. DR. ASHTON, her STAFF, and the POLICE speak to the LUNATIC GIRLS carefully and emphatically, using repetition to make their message clear.)
INSPECTOR MORRIS
Lunatics!
(The seventeen LUNATIC GIRLS stir briefly.)
INSPECTOR MORRIS
Constable Good and I have brought you here on the order of the courts.
CONSTABLE GOOD
You have been committed to this place to receive treatment for your lunacy.
INSPECTOR MORRIS
You are lucky to be here. Behave or be returned to your old cells in the provincial asylum. Dr. Ashton?
DR. ASHTON
Thank you, Inspector Morris.
(DR. ASHTON casts her eyes over the motley assemblage of LUNATIC GIRLS.)
DR. ASHTON
Welcome, lunatic orphans, to Gregory Institute. I am Dr. Margaret Ashton. Think of me as your new stepmother. Here, we will cure you of your lunacy, your hysteria. We will reconstruct you through modern electro-mechanical treatments. Miss Warren?
MISS WARREN
I am Miss Alice Warren, Head Matron of Gregory Institute. I will not tolerate nonsense. Co-operate, and you will be rewarded. Misbehave, and you will be punished. Miss Yates and Miss Crompton?
(MISS YATES and MISS CROMPTON step forward.)
MISS CROMPTON
I am Assistant Matron Crompton. This is my colleague Miss Yates. Co-operate, and you will be rewarded.
MISS YATES
Misbehave, and you will be punished.
DR. ASHTON
We will cure you of your lunacy, your hysteria. We will reconstruct you through modern electro-mechanical treatments.
INSPECTOR MORRIS
On the order of the courts you have been committed to this place.
CONSTABLE GOOD
You will receive treatments for your lunacy.
MISS WARREN
You are lucky.
MISS CROMPTON
We will restrain you.
MISS YATES
We will reconstruct you.
MISS WARREN
Restraint and Reconstruction.
DR. ASHTON
You are orphan lunatics. I am Dr. Margaret Ashton. I am your new stepmother. Matrons?
MISS CROMPTON
We will lead you to your disinfected cells.
MISS YATES
They are not like your old cells.
MISS CROMPTON
No whitewashed walls. No hard metal cots. No rough gray blankets.
MISS YATES
Your new cells are as black as midnight.
MISS CROMPTON
Your new cots are wooden boxes lined in soft flannel.
MISS WARREN
Each box has a lid which closes tight each night. You cannot harm yourselves.
DR. ASHTON
Take them away.
(The ASSISTANT MATRONS lead the seventeen LUNATIC GIRLS off right and left.)
DR. ASHTON
Inspector Morris, the papers are in order. I have signed them. The lunatics are mine.
INSPECTOR MORRIS
The community is grateful, Dr. Ashton. Lunatic girls are a burden upon the provincial treasury and a menace to society.
CONSTABLE GOOD
We hope you will render them harmless.
INSPECTOR MORRIS
And turn them into the benign workers the factories so desperately need and the dutiful wives our men so urgently require.
DR. ASHTON
That is my intention. Good day.
(INSPECTOR MORRIS and CONSTABLE GOOD bow curtly and exit.)
MISS WARREN
Your face is glowing, Dr. Ashton.
DR. ASHTON
I am in love with my work, Miss Warren.
(DR. ASHTON and MISS WARREN exit.)
Lunatic Girls by Richard Stuart Dixon, Good School Plays.
Scene 2:
SETTING: The Body Vault, a barren room in which elctro-mechanical experiments are performed.
(The two CHARWOMEN enter with red cloths and silver pails and begin to disinfect the area, vigorously scrubbing.)
MINKA STRELIOVA
We must scrub, Nelly, until every germ is dead.
NELLY KAY
We must scrub and scrub, Minka, and kill the germs.
MINKA STRELIOVA
Everything in the Body Vault must be dead.
NELLY KAY
Nothing can hope to survive in the Body Vault.
(The CLEGGS enter, wheeling in GENESIS, the Electro-Mechanical Device. The CHARWOMEN stop scrubbing and stand back respectfully. The CLEGGS fondle the machine as though it is a precious creature that must be calmed and restrained. They position it and stand back. )
MR. THOMAS CLEGG
Hygiene! We must have hygiene for Genesis, our Electro-Mechanical Device!
MINKA STRELIOVA
We have killed the germs, Mr. Clegg.
NELLY KAY
Everything in the Body Vault is as dead as a doornail, Mr. Clegg.
MR. THOMAS CLEGG
The Body Vault is an apt locale for Genesis.
DAVID CLEGG
The Body Vault is vast and hollow, my father, and yet the cold stone walls press in on us like cliffs of ice in the polar night.
ERIN CLEGG
The Body Vault reeks of disinfectant, my father, and the dead germs decompose and dissolve. Tiny corpses, unburied and unmourned.
MINKA STRELIOVA
The Body Vault is as dead as a doornail, Mr. Clegg.
MR. THOMAS CLEGG
An apt locale for Genesis, our Electro-Mechanical Device.
DAVID CLEGG
See how the machine rests and waits for its prey?
ERIN CLEGG
It is a patient device, our Genesis.
NELLY KAY
How does it work, Mr. Cleg?
MINKA STRELIOVA
What will it do to the lunatic girls, Mr. Clegg?
DAVID CLEGG
Genesis is Dr. Ashton’s brainchild.
ERIN CLEGG
Father built it to Dr. Ashton’s specifications.
DAVID CLEGG
Genesis will do what Dr. Ashton’s heart desires.
MR. THOMAS CLEGG
Two lunatics are placed here and here. The machine causes the erratic electrical currents in the lunatics’ brains to intermingle, thus cancelling out their lunacy by allowing a continual, unabbreviated flow.
DAVID CLEGG
Genesis will reconstruct the lunatics.
ERIN CLEGG
Genesis will render impotent their lunatic lunacy.
MINKA STRELIOVA
Perhaps it is dangerous to tamper with the natural laws of creation?
NELLY KAY
God has created the lunatics; who are we to recreate them?
MR. THOMAS CLEGG
Superstitious hags! You are nothing but pawns of the priests!
DAVID CLEGG
You cling to your ignorance like beggars cling to a handful of pennies!
ERIN CLEGG
Can’t you see that machines like Genesis are built to serve God’s highest purpose?
MR. THOMAS CLEGG
Machines are the means by which we obey God’s command to seek heaven on earth.
MINKA STRELIOVA
Forgive our stupidity, your honours. We are only charwomen.
NELLY KAY
Only poor, stupid charwomen.
(They exit. The CLEGGS make final adjustments to the machine.)
MR. THOMAS CLEGG
Let us leave the Body Vault, my sons. Genesis is ready for Dr. Ashton.
(They exit.)
Lunatic Girls by Richard Stuart Dixon, Good School Plays.
Scene 3:
(DR. ASHTON enters with the MATRONS. The ASISTANT MATRONS are restraining VICKY OWEN and NAOMI PARRISH, who struggle helplessly for a bit when they see Genesis, then give up, staring in fear at the apparatus.)
DR. ASHTON
Do not be afraid, lunatics. This is Genesis. Think of him as your step-father, just as you must think of me as your step-mother.
VICKY OWEN
My mother is the sun and my father is the moon. Mother, Father, climb down from the sky and save me!
NAOMI PARRISH
What has happened to the light of day? Why has it gone away? How can flowers grow from the cold stone floor of this vault?
MISS WARREN
Place them on the Electro-Magnetic Device.
MISS CROMPTON
(putting VICKY on the machine and strapping her in)
On you go, Vicky. You’re sitting on your father’s lap.
MISS YATES
(putting NAOMI on the machine and strapping her in)
Lucky girl, Naomi, to be so close to your father, who wants to give his little girl a treat.)
VICKY OWEN
Father! Your lap is cold!
NAOMI PARRISH
Father! Your arms are crushing me!
DR. ASHTON
Now we must leave the body vault and activate the controls from the adjacent booth.
(They exit, leaving the frightened girls, whose eyes are wide with terror. A moment passes; then the girls strain at their bindings, uttering muffled sounds of distress. Then their heads fall forward, unconscious. DR. ASHTON and the others return.)
DR. ASHTON
Miss Warren, administer the smelling salts.
MISS WARREN
Yes, Dr. Ashton.
(MISS WARREN uncaps a small bottle and waves it under the noses of VICKY and NAOMI. They raise their heads, but their eyes are lifeless.)
DR. ASHTON
Unstrap them and remove them from the device.
MISS CROMPTON
Yes, Dr. Ashton.
(MISS CROMPTON and MISS YATESremove the girls from the machine. The girls are docile and unresistant. They stand impassively, with their arms limp by their sides. DR. ASHTON approaches them and handles them, peering into their eyes and testing their arms for limpness etc.)
DR. ASHTON
They are calm and silent. No more raving. No more struggling. The reconstruction has been successful.
(The CLEGGS enter.)
DR. ASHTON
Mr. Clegg, please take the device and refit it for the next two lunatics. It performed magnificently.
MR. CLEGG
At once, Dr. Ashton. David! Erin! Assist me, please.
DAVID and ERIN
At once, Father!
(The CLEGGS wheel GENESIS offstage.)
DR. ASHTON
Come, Miss Warren, we must make a record of these proceedings. Miss Crompton and Miss Yates, fetch the other lunatics. Then we will go into the booth and observe their interactions with the reconstructed lunatics.
MISS CROMPTON
At once, Dr. Ashton.
(All exit except VICKY and NAOMI, who stand impassively throughout the next scene.)
Lunatic Girls by Richard Stuart Dixon, Good School Plays.
Scene 4:
(The remaining lunatics enter and take up positions around VICKY and NAOMI. Each one speaks animatedly, in turn.)
JENNY RUSSELL
Cakes and candles! Crisp white linen! Little knives and forks! Cups and plates! Spoons and tureens! Splendid feast for the King! May I sit beside you, your Highness? Your queen is so beautiful in her golden gown. But I am nothing but a scullery maid. I am in rags amongst the riches.
JANE MORGAN
In every shadow there is a small voice that cries, “See me! Hear me!” In every dark corner there is a small child who sniffles about like a little terrier searching for a crumb to gobble. Night is a hiding place for the dark-eyed demons who scribble and scrabble while I try to sleep.
KATIE LEIGH
Up and up the tiger climbs, up the giant tree, to find a spot that’s hot in the sun. See him sleeping now until it’s time to feed? He will devour me bit by bit until nothing is left except my left eye, and I will continue to see everything but me.
ANNE RIGBY
How does the wheel turn? Why does the ball bounce? When does the snow fall? Where does the end begin and the beginning end? Is this heaven in hell or hell in heaven? May I enter the door to that great warehouse of secrets? Will I ever know anything at all?
EMMA NELSON
A ship is sinking beneath the green swelling waves and in every porthole a face peers out with wondering eyes. See them? And on every face is a little red mouth saying, “Alas! I am drowning! I shall never eat breakfast again!” My poor dears, how sad you all look. If I could pluck you from the ocean I would do it in a trice, but my arms are heavy as lead.
LIBBY PARKER
There you are! Just in time for tea! My, how you’ve grown. Your blue pants are too short and your red shirt sleeves end at your elbows! Why do you scowl at me? Am I not your tender childhood lover? Did I not give you everything, even my little silver necklace with Christ on the cross?
ISABEL MOSS
The rain falls and Falls and never stops. I wish I had an umbrella. Soon, the streets and fields will fill with water. Already it has risen above the top of my boots. Where is Noah and his ark? I must climb on board with my lost lover and all the frightened animals.
MOLLY LANDERS
My love, I write you letter after letter, and you do not answer. In my dreams, we are riding on great stallions across the greenest fields of England and the great sandy deserts of the Sahara. But when I awake, I see only four black horses pulling a heavy black hearse to the graveyard. And so I throw my letters into your open grave and wait and wait for your reply.
SARAH KANE
A raven with ginger hair! A pair of black leather shoes with snakes for laces! A stone with an angel’s wings! A tiny baby with a solid silver nose! A book with thin gray pages made from an old woman’s brains!
MARY WALKER
How vibrant is the constant melody that follows me everywhere. Violins and trumpets, drums, and pianos! See the notes float through the air, each one making a chime when I touch it? Every pattern on every tiled floor is a melody, every arrangement of flowers is a song.
ROSE O’BRIEN
Twenty-four sisters do I have: Jenny, Jill, Jane, and Jasmine. Mary, Maria, Martha, and Mabel. Hazel, Hilda, Hayley and Hyacinth! Penny, Petra, Peggy, and Portia. Esther, Eleanor, Emma, and Elizabeth. Sally, Sheila, Samantha, and Sue! And all of them, all of them, tell me story after story so I cannot sleep.
CLARA MIDDLEFELL
Who are you? Why are you following me day and night? When I walk, I feel your warm breath on my neck. Do you want something? Why won’t you speak? I will give you a golden coin if you like. There are so many lying on the ground waiting for me to give them a home.
KAREN MELTON
Pink stockings on my dolly as she parades down the promenade! She’s the proud parent of my favourite dream. I see her dolly eyes, which grow and grow until they are enormous holes for the world to fall into; all that is good and all that is bad, tumbling side by side!
ESTHER KNOWLES
Gentlemen and ladies ride their fine gondolas through the tunnels of my veins, floating on the rivers of my red, red blood to the palace in my heart. Welcome to the ball! I feel the silver slippers of the ladies dancing, dancing. I hear the golden music of the orchestra, ringing in my ears! Such handsome gentlemen! If only one would marry me!
LILLIAN DEANE
You are so messy, my dear sister. And your knees, how bruised they are. You must have fallen. I warned you that the forest is dangerous, but you ran away into the trees in your red dress. Your quick little legs took you away from me, but now you’re back with bruises and blood and eyes full of fear.
(The LUNATIC GIRLS exit, but the reconstructed girls VICKY and NAOMI remain. DR. ASHTON enters with the matrons.)
DR. ASHTON
The lunatic girls and the reconstructed girls do not disturb each other. That is good. In the future, let the two groups mingle freely and unobserved, like children in a field of flowers. I want my girls to believe they are free.
MISS WARREN
Very well, Dr. Ashton.
Lunatic Girls by Richard Stuart Dixon, Good School Plays.
Scene 5:
SETTING: The auditorium at Gregory Institute.
(The two POLICE OFFICERS and the CLEGGS enter. DR. ASHTON speaks as though addressing an audience of distinguished scientists and doctors.)
DR. ASHTON
August colleagues and learned ladies and gentlemen: two lunatic girls were restrained, and the Electro-Mechanical Device named “Genesis” aligned the brainwaves of the two so as to cancel out the erratic impulses that produced their hysteria. Thus, as you can see, the “reconstructed” girls are docile and easily controlled. Since the procedure, neither has demonstrated any undesirable behaviour. Inspector Morris?
INSPECTOR MORRIS
Dr. Ashton’s revolutionary procedure has direct application in the field of criminal rehabilitation, providing an inexpensive and permanent cure for female criminals, prostitutes, and miscreants.
CONSTABLE GOOD
Dr. Ashton’s machine will eliminate the need for women’s prisons and asylums, and will release doctors from endless pandering to women who claim to be suffering from hysteria.
MISS WARREN
The “reconstructed” girls submit completely to the manipulations of our assistant matrons.
MISS CROMPTON
They are like lambs.
MISS YATES
We can do anything to them.
MR. THOMAS CLEGG
As the engineer responsible for the construction of the machine called “Genesis”, I can assure the investors in the audience that they stand to make a considerable profit from the manufacture and sale of more such machines, subject, of course, to paying the licensing fees under the patent laws of the dominion.
DR. ASHTON
I conclude this lecture with an admonishment: we must not allow sentimental considerations to stop our program of “Restraint and Reconstruction”. We must forge ahead in our efforts to end the needless suffering of all female lunatics and misfits.
(There is clapping. DR. ASHTON and the others exit, leaving VICKY and NAOMI standing impassively on the stage.)
Lunatic Girls by Richard Stuart Dixon, Good School Plays.
Scene 6:
SETTING: A common room in Gregory Institute.
(JENNY RUSSELL enters. She goes up to VICKY and NAOMI, and curtsies.)
JENNY RUSSELL
Your Most Royal Highnesses, dinner is served! Tonight, you shall feast on pheasant and fine wine!
(VICKY and NAOMI remain impassive.)
JENNY RUSSELL
Do you not wish to dine, my King? Are you not hungry, my Lady? Surely the delicious aroma whets your appetite?
(VICKY and NAOMI, slowly and lovingly, strangle JENNY. JENNY writhes, but VICKY and NAOMI are powerful, and limit JENNY’S movements. Then, they exit impassively, leaving JENNY sprawled on the floor.)
Lunatic Girls by Richard Stuart Dixon, Good School Plays.
Scene 7:
(MISS CROMPTON and MISS YATES enter. They stop when they see JENNY’S body, then run to her and discover that she’s dead.)
MISS CROMPTON
It’s Jenny Russell. She’s dead. Fetch Dr. Ashton.
(MISS YATES exits. MISS CROMPTON inspects the body.)
MISS CROMPTON
There are no signs of violence.
MISS YATES
(entering with DR. ASHTON and MISS WARREN)
We found her lying there stone dead, Dr. Ashton.
DR. ASHTON
I see.
(DR. ASHTON briefly inspects JENNY’s body.)
DR. ASHTON
Miss Yates, fetch the charwomen. Tell them to bring a stretcher. At once.
MISS YATES
Yes, Dr. Ashton.
(MISS YATES exits.)
MISS CROMPTON
Can you determine how she died, Dr. Ashton?
DR. ASHTON
Yes. She died of natural causes, of course. Her heart simply stopped beating. There was nothing anyone could do. These lunatic girls have fragile minds, and fragile minds lead to fragile bodies.
(MISS YATES enters with the CHARWOMEN, who have a stretcher.)
DR. ASHTON
Mrs. Kay and Mrs. Streliova, take this body to the morgue. After dark, take it to the forested area behind the institution and bury it. Do not mention her death to anyone.
MINKA STRELIOVA
Yes, Dr. Ashton.
NELLY KAY
At once, Dr. Ashton.
(MINKA and NELLY put JENNY’S body on the stretcher and exit.)
MISS WARREN
Should we summon Inspector Morris, Dr. Ashton?
DR. ASHTON
Absolutely not. I will not allow this incident to jeopardize my program of restraint and reconstruction.
MISS WARREN
Yes, Dr. Ashton.
(They exit.)
Lunatic Girls by Richard Stuart Dixon, Good School Plays.
Scene 8:
SETTING: A hallway in Gregory Institute.
(The CLEGGS enter, pushing GENESIS. They halt midstage, and tenderly attend to the machine.)
DAVID CLEGG
Genesis is ready for the next two pairs of lunatics.
ERIN CLEGG
What a wonderful machine!
MR. THOMAS CLEGG
Genesis is more than a machine. He is a stepfather to these lunatic girls. He loves them and saves them. And now, he is strong enough to reconstruct four girls at one time.
DAVID CLEGG
Dr. Ashton is waiting, Father, with the four lunatics in the Body Vault.
ERIN CLEGG
We must hurry to the Body Vault. Dr. Ashton wants the girls reconstructed within the hour.
(They exit with GENESIS.)
Lunatic Girls by Richard Stuart Dixon, Good School Plays.
Scene 9:
SETTING: A common room in Gregory Institute.
(VICKY and NAOMI enter, followed by the dead girl JENNY, who stands upstage from them.)
JENNY RUSSELL I forgive you for strangling me, Vicky and Naomi. Show me that you accept my forgiveness.
(VICKY and NAOMI remain impassive and unresponsive.)
JENNY RUSSELL
Please show me that you hear me! I know Dr. Ashton has put little iron cages around your hearts, but please try to hear me!
(They do not respond and JENNY exits.)
Lunatic Girls by Richard Stuart Dixon, Good School Plays.
Scene 10:
(MISS CROMPTON and MISS YATES enter with the four newly reconstructed girls: JANE MORGAN, KATIE LEIGH, ANNE RIGBY, and EMMA NELSON. All are completely docile and impassive.)
MISS CROMPTON
There. Now you have four new playmates, Vicky and Naomi.
MISS YATES
Though I don’t suppose you’ll get up to much mischief together.
(MISS YATES and MISS CROMPTON laugh at the little joke. MISS WARRENenters with the other LUNATIC
GIRLS. DR. ASHTON enters with the CLEGGS, the CHARWOMEN and the POLICE. DR. ASHTON makes a speech.)
DR. ASHTON
I want all of you to look at Vicky, Naomi, Jane, Katie, Anne, and Emma. See how peaceful they are? Thanks to my procedure, they no longer suffer. Soon, the rest of you will be restrained and reconstructed, and then you will be free from the torment of lunacy.
INSPECTOR MORRIS
Congratulations, Dr. Ashton.
(All the STAFF, HELP, and POLICE clap and exit with some of the LUNATIC GIRLS. The six reconstructed girls and LIBBY, ISABEL, and MOLLY remain onstage.)
Lunatic Girls by Richard Stuart Dixon, Good School Plays.
Scene 11:
(JENNY enters and watches from upstage.)
LIBBY PARKER
Will you never stop growing? You are becoming a giant! Do you remember when we played hide and seek, and you became stuck in that tiny barrel? Yes, I know I didn’t pull you out for ages, and you were crying and crying, but I only did it because I loved you, and I still do.
(covering her ears)
No, I will not listen to you tell me that you’re dead! I will not. Don’t be so silly. You are standing right in front of me.
ISABEL MOSS
When will the rain stop falling? Can you tell me? Do you have a boat I can ride in? I can’t swim and the water is cold.
MOLLY LANDERS
Can you post a letter for me? My love is far away, you see, and I have tried to drop my letters into his grave, but it does no good. Look at the four black horses; how proud they are to pull the hearse with the heavy coffin. They are stepping so high and proudly as they journey with my love to the graveyard.
(In the same way JENNY was strangled, VICKY and NAOMI strangle LIBBY. JANE and KATIE strangle ISABEL, and ANNE and EMMA strangle MOLLY. They leave the sprawled bodies of the three girls on the floor and exit.)
Lunatic Girls by Richard Stuart Dixon, Good School Plays.
Scene 12:
(DR. ASHTON enters with the MATRONS and the CHARWOMEN)
MISS WARREN
This is how they were found, Dr. Ashton. All three are dead.
DR. ASHTON
Mrs. Kay and Mrs. Streliova, remove these bodies and bury them tonight.
NELLY KAY
Yes, Dr. Ashton.
(The two CHARWOMEN start taking out LIBBY, ISABEL, and MOLLY as DR. ASHTON and the MATRONS converse.)
DR. ASHTON
We must work quickly to reconstruct the remaining girls so that we can save their lives.
MISS CROMPTON
Dr. Ashton, forgive me, but shouldn’t we isolate the reconstructed girls?
DR. ASHTON
Why?
MISS CROMPTON
They may be in some way responsible. We should at least keep them under constant supervision.
DR. ASHTON
No. The reconstructed girls are incapable of violent action. They are a calming example to the lunatic girls and I will not separate the two groups. That would be counter-productive to our great struggle. I must consult with Mr. Clegg. Genesis must be reset for further restraint and reconstruction work as soon as possible.
(DR. ASHTON exits. As the matrons talk, the THREE DEAD GIRLS enter and stand beside JENNY. Each DEAD GIRL takes the hand of the DEAD GIRLshe is standing beside.)
MISS CROMPTON
Miss Warren, four girls have died. Shouldn’t we at least report this to the police?
MISS WARREN
Absolutely not, Miss Crompton. We have sworn to serve Dr. Ashton and Gregory Institute. Dr. Ashton knows best what course to take in these tragic circumstances.
MISS YATES
Four girls have died, but six have been saved.
MISS WARREN
And the dead girls have no relatives. It would be stupid to put Dr. Ashton, Genesis, and the entire “Restraint and Reconstruction” program at risk by telling the world what it never needs to know.
MISS YATES
If the four girls did not die of natural causes, we are all implicated.
MISS WARREN
We will have to be patient. I suspect that once all the girls are reconstructed, there will be no more deaths.
(MISS WARREN, MISS YATES, and MISS CROMPTON exit.)
Lunatic Girls by Richard Stuart Dixon, Good School Plays.
Scene 13:
The SIX RECONSTRUCTED GIRLS enter and stand impassively and the DEAD GIRLS speak to them.)
MOLLY LANDERS
Don’t be sad, Anne and Emma. I know your hearts are broken, but I forgive you.
ISABEL MOSS
I forgive you, Jane and Katie. I forgive you.
LIBBY PARKER
You have not sinned, Vicky and Naomi. You were only trying to help. I forgive you.
JENNY RUSSELL
Show us that you hear us. Give us some small sign. We must cross through the dark curtain, but cannot go until we know you hear our blessing.
(The RECONSTRUCTED GIRLS do not respond. The dead girls exit hand-in-hand.)
Lunatic Girls by Richard Stuart Dixon, Good School Plays.
Scene 14:
The seven remaining LUNATIC GIRLS run in amongst the RECONSTRUCTED GIRLS. The LUNATIC GIRLS laugh, play, dance, and sing, each in her own mad world, improvising or reprising speeches based on her character’s main obsession. After all have entered, the RECONSTRUCTED GIRLS exit impassively. Once they are gone, the LUNATIC GIRLS exit in the same order they entered.
Lunatic Girls by Richard Stuart Dixon, Good School Plays.
Scene 15:
SETTING: The office of the police.
(INSPECTOR MORRIS and CONSTABLE GOOD enter.)
INSPECTOR MORRIS
What do you make of this report from Miss Crompton about the deaths of four girls at Gregory Institute, Constable Good?
CONSTABLE GOOD
I’d say it’s true, in all probability, Inspector. No assistant matron would send us a false report on such a serious matter.
INSPECTOR MORRIS
I agree. The report says they died of natural causes, but chances are extremely remote that four girls out of seventeen would die within days of each other. And Miss Crompton is very likely trying to save herself from being implicated in the deaths.
CONSTABLE GOOD
Should we seek a court order to have the bodies exhumed and examined, Inspector?
INSPECTOR MORRIS
No. Dr. Ashton’s program has strong support among some members of the government. I think we had better suppress this report for a week or two.
CONSTABLE GOOD
I hope you don’t think I’m out of order in saying this, sir, but I think perhaps, in a way, those dead girls may be better off than those poor souls who have undergone reconstruction.
INSPECTOR MORRIS
You are out of order, Constable Good. You’re a policeman, not a priest.
(They exit.)
Lunatic Girls by Richard Stuart Dixon, Good School Plays.
Scene 16:
SETTING: MR. CLEGG’S workshop at Gregory Instutute.
(The CLEGGS enter with GENESIS and service it.)
MR. THOMAS CLEGG
Genesis has performed flawlessly on six lunatics. Now Dr. Ashton wants to restrain and reconstruct four more of them.
DAVID CLEGG
It will be easy enough to do that. Genesis seems to get stronger and better with every use.
ERIN CLEGG
Genesis is happy with his work, and so am I.
MR. THOMAS CLEGG
So let’s get on with it, then. We’ll have those lunatics reconstructed in time for lunch.
(They exit with the machine.)
Lunatic Girls by Richard Stuart Dixon, Good School Plays.
Scene 17:
SETTING: The Auditorium at Gregory Institute.
(SARAH KANE, MARY WALKER, ROSE O’ BRIEN, and CLARA MIDDLEFELL enter with MISS YATES. They have been reconstructed and are impassive. They are joined by the six other reconstructed girls, who are brought in by MISS CROMPTON. DR. ASHTON, the CLEGGS, and the CHARWOMEN enter. The police enter. DR. ASHTON speaks as if she is addressing the audience of scientists, doctors, and dignitaries.)
DR. ASHTON
I am proud to announce that we have restrained and reconstructed a total of ten girls. As you can see, they are unified, harmonious, and at peace. They have been released from their lunacy, and have found a state that I believe approaches that of heaven-on-earth. Look at them closely. You can see that they are beautiful, even saintly. They are remarkable role models for troubled women everywhere.
MISS WARREN
Dr. Ashton hopes that one day, the dominion will be home to thousands of other reconstructed women, all doing their duty without complaint and without disruption.
DR. ASHTON
My remaining lunatic girls must have complete access to the reconstructed girls, so as to be infected with enthusiasm for the great change that lies waiting for them in the tender restraining arms of their step-father Genesis.
(The CLEGGS, CHARWOMEN, MATRONS, and POLICE applaud and all, including DR. ASHTON exit, leaving the ten RECONSTRUCTED GIRLS on stage.)
Lunatic Girls by Richard Stuart Dixon, Good School Plays.
Scene 18:
(KAREN MELTON, ESTHER KNOWLES, and LILLIAN DEANE enter, the last three unreconstructed lunatic girls. They move amongst the RECONSTRUCTED GIRLS, singing and playing.)
MISS CROMPTON
enters with MISS WARREN and MISS YATES. KAREN, ESTHER, and LILLIAN stop their moving and sit, quietly entertaining themselves.
MISS CROMPTON
Miss Warren, Ellen, please watch for a while, just a few minutes of observation.
MISS WARREN
Dr. Ashton will be angry. She has ordered us not to interfere with the lunatics and the reconstructed girls.
MISS YATES
Nothing will happen. You can see that all is well.
MISS CROMPTON
Just a few minutes. Please.
MISS WARREN
Very well.
(MISS CROMPTON, MISS WARREN and MISS YATES go upstage and stand observing the girls.)
KAREN MELTON
Have you seen my dolly? She was toddling about in her pink stockings. I must find her and gaze into her enormous black eyes, for I want to fall and fall forever.
ESTHER KNOWLES
I am a city in the middle of the sea and my veins are canals in which boats of all kinds drift on the current of red blood.
LILLIAN DEANE
My dear sister, don’t go back into the forest! It is dark and dangerous and you will tear your red dress on the thorns!
(They continue to sit and entertain themselves. VICKY, NAOMI, JANE, and KATIE go upstage and and take hold of the three MATRONS, so they cannot move. ANNE and EMMA strangle KAREN, SARAH and MARY strangle ESTHER, and ROSE and CLARA strangle LILLIAN. VICKY, NAOMI, JANE, and KATIE release the MATRONS and all the RECONSTRUCTED GIRLS again become passive and exit.)
MISS CROMPTON
We must fetch Dr. Ashton at once. We must make her face the truth.
MISS YATES
But the police will become involved.
MISS WARREN
Miss Crompton, you are to say nothing to Dr. Ashton about this. As far as we’re concerned, those three girls died of natural causes, like the other four.
(MISS WARREN and MISS YATES move close to MISS CROMPTON threateningly.)
MISS WARREN
You must obey me, Miss Crompton, or else we shall all be ruined.
MISS CROMPTON
Yes, Miss Warren.
(The three MATRONS exit.)
Lunatic Girls by Richard Stuart Dixon, Good School Plays.
Scene 19:
(The four other DEAD GIRLS enter and arrange the other three neatly as though in their graves. Then they lie down beside them: seven bodies at rest. DR. ASHTON enters with the POLICE, the CLEGGS enter with GENESIS, the MATRONS, the CHARWOMEN, and the ten RECONSTRUCTED GIRLS. DR. ASHTON speaks as though performing a eulogy to the DEAD GIRLS at their graveside.)
DR. ASHTON
The Program of Restraint and Reconstruction is complete. Seven lunatic girls died before we could save them. The weakening effects of their lunacy brought about a catastrophic collapse of their vital functions. However, the other ten girls will be able to live long lives as properly reconstructed women, thanks to our prompt actions. The unity of humanity and machines is a holy marriage that will beget a golden age of peace, order, and good government. Now I must have some time alone with my girls and Genesis. I am, after all, their beloved step mother, and Genesis is their beloved step-father.
(All exit except the DEADGIRLS, the RECONSTRUCTEDGIRLS, and DR. ASHTON.)
DR. ASHTON
If only you could return my love for you by embracing me, I would at long last be complete. I would at long last know happiness.
(The RECONSTRUCTED GIRLS gather around DR. ASHTON and strangle her, casting her body down. The DEAD GIRLS get up and go to the GIRLS that killed them. The DEAD GIRLS make hopeless gestures of comfort and love to the impassive RECONSTRUCTED GIRLS.)
END OF THE PLAY.
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Published online by Good School Plays, February 27, 2018.