the script - transeduca · prologue (track 1) canterville chase, 1585 the stage is dark. we hear a...
TRANSCRIPT
THE CANTERVILLE GHOST
The script
Prologue (Track 1)
Canterville Chase, 1585 The stage is dark. We hear a mysterious music and light slowly fades in on the left of the stage. Simon of Canterville appears from the shadows, wearing a red heart-shaped necklace. SIMON I know you will never betray me.
(Eleanor of Canterville appears on the right side. She is wearing the same necklace and she is holding it in one hand.) ELEANOR
I will never betray you.
SIMON
I love you. I love you more than anything in this world.
ELEANOR
I love you. I love you more than anything in this world.
SIMON
(Singing):
BETRAYAL IS THE WORST CRIME
UNFORGIVEN FOR A LIFETIME
A TRAITOR LIVES IN CHAINS
IN AN EXISTENCE OF PAIN
SIMON
I want to give you something very important. And I am going to do it because I love you and because I know you will never betray me.
ELEANOR
I want to give you something very important. And I am going to do it because I love you and because I know you will never betray me.
SIMON This is the Bloody Heart. The most precious jewel of our family. It belonged to Queen Mary and was given to the Canterville family by Queen Elizabeth herself as a token of gratitude for supporting her in her succession. We could buy an empire with it.
ELEANOR
This is the Bloody Heart. The most precious jewel of the Canterville family. It belonged to Queen Mary and was given to the Canterville family by Queen Elizabeth herself as a token of gratitude for their support and their miserable obsequiousness. We could kill an empire with it.
(Behind Eleanor, Anthony Babington appears and he unfastens her necklace)
YOU GIVE ME THIS HEART
A GREATER TREASURE THAN I CAN SAY
THE REST CAN BE GIVEN AWAY
A KINGDOM FOR A HEART
SIMON
I GAVE YOU THIS HEART
IT WAS ALL IN VAIN
BETRAYAL’S YOUR NAME
YOU’RE BREAKING MY HEART
(MUSICAL BRIDGE INSTRUMENTATION GETTING LOUDER)
ELEANOR It is time for this jewel to return to a true Catholic queen.
ANTHONY
This will be enough. We will kill that filthy Protestant bastard and a true queen will rule.
ELEANOR
Mary Stuart.
ANTHONY
Mary Stuart. Well done, my love.
ELEANOR
I love you. Let us leave this filthy place. These nasty Cantervilles, they reek of Protestant.
ANTHONY
Get the carriage and the horses ready. Get dressed and do not take anything else; the Queen will reward us enough. I will take the necklace.
ELEANOR Let me wear it a few more seconds. I want to feel its weight on my neck.
SIMON Eleanor!! (Anthony and Eleanor start) ELEANOR Go! I will distract him. (Anthony leaves) SIMON What does this mean!? (holding a letter) ELEANOR
What?
SIMON Who are you? For real. What do you want from me?
ELEANOR
What are you talking about? Calm down, Simon.
SIMON
Who is he?
ELEANOR
You will have to kill me to know!
SIMON
So be it!
ELEANOR
Unless he kills you first. Anthony!!!
SIMON
(He grabs Eleanor, shakes her and throws her to the ground. She dies instantly. Simon realises and he reacts, full of regret.) Eleanor? Eleanor!! No! No! Wake up! Eleanor, my love… What have I done to you? What have I done to you!! Forgive me! Eleanor!
SIMON
ELEANOR BETRAYED ME
BUT I NEVER WANTED HER DEAD
ACCUSED OF MURDER
BY TRAITORS I AM SENTENCED
MY LOVE’S LOST FOREVER
AND NOW ALL I HAVE LEFT IS HATE
THIS IS HOW CANTERVILLE DIES
CHORUS
BETRAYAL IS THE WORST CRIME
UNFORGIVEN FOR A LIFETIME
THIS IS HOW CANTERVILLE DIES
SIMON
BUT VENGEANCE WILL BE MINE
Scene 1 (Track 2)
Canterville Chase, 1977
(We hear ‘Stayin’ Alive’ as the characters enter. First we see Cecil, wearing wide corduroy trousers, flashy glasses and long hair. He carries a stereophonic player hanging, with headphones, and a torch.)
CECIL
Holy crap! You scared me!
VIRGINIA
Will you stop messing around with the audio stuff!
CECIL
Hey, babe! I’m not messing around, these are the Bee Gees!
OTIS
Hey, Bee! Hurry up and bring all the material left! And find a switch.
CECIL
Ok, Mr. Otis.
OTIS
So this is the famous Canterville Chase.
VIRGINIA
Dad, this place gives me the creeps. It feels like there was a presence here.
CECIL It’s meeee!
VIRGINIA Cecil! You idiot!
OTIS
I assure you Virginia, there’s no presence here other than ours.
VIRGINIA
How can you be so sceptical?
OTIS
Child, I’ve worked in a million haunted houses before, and I’ve never found a ghost. Most of the cases turned out to be a fraud. I was not sceptical, life made me that way.
CECIL If you don’t think there’s a ghost here, why did we take the case?
OTIS Because of the Bloody Heart. A priceless jewel that was lost and never found after Simon of Centerville’s death.
VIRGINIA
But you know that it could just be a legend, don’t you, dad?
OTIS Yes, darling. But if it’s real, then this house might be the only place to find a clue about its location.
CECIL If we find it, we’ll be rich.
OTIS
True, but to find it, we’ll need some light. Cecil, did you find a switch?
CECIL
No, I don’t think there’s any electricity in these ruins.
OTIS
Daughter, with a little light, you’d see things much clearer.
(Light turns on. Lord Canterville appears. They start) LORD CANTERVILLE
Better this way? Oh, my apologies. Did I scare you?
VIRGINIA CECIL Yes!!!
OTIS Of course not! Mr. Canterville, I guess.
LORD CANTERVILLE Lord Canterville, if you don’t mind. Mr. Otis?
OTIS Hiram B. Otis. And my daughter Virginia Otis. (Cecil tries to introduce himself, but the others ignore him). VIRGINIA Nice to meet you.
LORD CANTERVILLE Is she also a parapsychologist?
OTIS She is studying and learning the profession. She is helping me with this case.
LORD CANTERVILLE
Maybe she chose a bad case to get started.
VIRGINIA What do you mean?
LORD CANTERVILLE
You may be very, very afraid.
CECIL
Mr. Otis.
OTIS
Oh, sorry. This is Cecil, our helper.
CECIL
Actually…
OTIS
Cecil please, set up all the equipment.
CECIL
Yes, Mr. Otis.
OTIS So the house is haunted.
LORD CANTERVILLE
Yes sir, it has been for the last three centuries.
VIRGINIA What kind of haunting?
LORD CANTERVILLE Ghosts. One specific ghost, although he has appeared in different shapes.
OTIS A ghost in disguise. Interesting.
VIRGINIA
That’s terrifying.
LORD CANTERVILLE
It is. He has been terrorizing all the dwellers in this house since three hundred years ago. No one lives here anymore; the place was abandoned for good fifty years ago.
CECIL Excuse me. But as well as Mr. Otis’ helper, I am a telecommunications engineer and a computer technician… well, besides a parapsychologist, you know? And…
VIRGINIA
Cecil?
CECIL Well, nothing, it’s just that I will need a table. And a plug for the equipment.
OTIS Oh, for God’s sake, Cecil…
CECIL Sorry… I’ll take that one.
VIRGINIA Wait, let me help you.
OTIS
So, how has that... ghost appeared?
LORD CANTERVILLE
Oh… As I said, different shapes. Once he showed himself as a skeleton to Lady Tremouillac. On another occasion, he was seen in broad daylight bowling with his own bones on the lawn-tennis grass field…
VIRGINIA
Eww!
CECIL
That’s disgusting! It looks like…
LORD CANTERVILLE
Blood.
OTIS
Dry blood, indeed.
LORD CANTERVILLE
More than dry. We could say it is… engraved on the wood.
VIRGINIA
Whose blood?
LORD CANTERVILLE
Lady Eleanor of Canterville’s. She was murdered by her husband, Sir Simon of Canterville. They say he hit her head against this table and then he vanished. Sir Simon’s body was never found, but his guilty soul keeps haunting this house. And this stain remains here.
CECIL Well, it’s disgusting, we’ll have to clean it.
LORD CANTERVILLE
The blood stain is a sign of the tragedy of this house, and the origin of its strange phenomena. It has been admired by many and feared by others. But to remove it? That’s impossible.
OTIS You’d be surprised to know how many indelible stains I’ve found in most of my cases. Luckily we always carry some holy water. Cecil, bring me the blue bottle.
LORD CANTERVILLE
With all due respect, I don’t think you will be able to…
OTIS It was blessed by the Pope Paul VI himself.
CECIL (whispering) Sorry sir, but there’s only Mr. Clean in this bottle.
LORD CANTERVILLE Mr. Clean?
CECIL Oh! It’s wonderful product from our land…
LORD CANTERVILLE I know perfectly what Mr. Clean is, thank you. If you are here to make fun of…
VIRGINIA There are only a few drops of Mr. Clean, sir. The rest is holy water.
CECIL Yeah, blessed… by the Pope… you know.
OTIS Voila! The stain is gone.
(Suddenly there’s a loud wind noise, as if a window had opened. Light flickers, and among the blizzard we hear a voice saying ‘Begone!’) SIMON Begone! VIRGINIA
Who was that?
LORD CANTERVILLE It is him! He is warning us! OTIS Nonsense! It is just the wind. Cecil, close the window!
VIRGINIA That was terrifying.
CECIL I hope we had it recorded!
LORD CANTERVILLE You must leave. He will never let me sell this house. It was a silly idea to hire you.
OTIS Lord Canterville. You called us to free this house from a haunting. I promised you that if there was a ghost here, I would get rid of it. So far I have already removed that three hundred-year-old bloodstain. Trust us. I promise I will clean this house so you can sell it. Deal?
LORD CANTERVILLE Deal.
CECIL Good.
VIRGINIA
You won’t regret it.
(Light flickers a moment and goes out). CECIL
Uh oh… Light’s out.
OTIS
Cecil, Virginia, the flashlights.
LORD CANTERVILLE I will not let you stay here at night without light. You can come back tomorrow. I will walk you to your hotel.
OTIS Alright. Let’s go.
(They start to leave) LORD CANTERVILLE
I will have the electrical installation checked tomorrow. It is very old.
CECIL Oh! I could help with that. I am good at that too. I am also an electronic technician.
OTIS
Cecil…
CECIL Well, in my free time, you know?
VIRGINIA
Oh! I forgot my purse!
CECIL
Once I repaired my grandparents’ electrical installation…
(Virginia comes back holding a torch. A heart beating and a breath have been fading in until it is louder than Cecil and the others’ voices. Virginia hardly lights the scene with her torch. Suddenly a hand enters the light, holding Virginia’s purse. Shocked, she takes the purse). VIRGINIA Thank… Thank you.
SIMON You are welcome.
(Virginia drops the torch and runs away, leaving the stage. Simon picks up the torch and lights up his face from below. As he starts laughing grimly, the light goes out).
Scene 2 (Track 3)
Canterville Chase, the next day…
(Cecil is in the room. He is wearing the headphones and we hear ‘Hotel California’. He is repairing a transistor radio. There’s static, Cecil hits the transistor, chains are heard, and then the song is back. This happens about three times, the chain noise getting louder each time. The last time Cecil manipulates the transistor and a clear psychophony is
heard saying “Begone” while a light flickers shortly. Then Otis enters, startling Cecil).
OTIS Cecil!
CECIL
Oh God!! Doesn’t anyone knock in this house?
OTIS Do you have anything?
CECIL
I got the light to work. Unfortunately, we must take electricity from the next room.
OTIS Nothing else?
CECIL A strange interference. But only in one frequency. Look. (He tunes in to the chain noise) OTIS Hmm… Interesting. Maybe a local radio station? The police?
CECIL
There is nothing like this around. Maybe some ham radio, but they usually identify themselves. I don’t know—it’s weird. Besides, call me crazy, but it sounds… I don’t know, it sounds like…
OTIS Chains. It sounds like chains.
CECIL
Creepy. They’re chains being dragged. Who would broadcast a noise of dragging chains?
OTIS Someone who wants us to believe there’s a ghost.
CECIL
Do you think it may be a trick?
OTIS It’s always a trick, Cecil. Find where the broadcast comes from and we’ll have the trickster.
CECIL
Ok, give me a second. The signal seems to be coming from very close by. It almost seems that…
OTIS Impossible…
CECIL
Oh… I’m losing it, I’m losing it…
VIRGINIA Hi!!
OTIS We lost it.
VIRGINIA What are you doing?
CECIL We are following the trail of a chain noise.
VIRGINIA I’ve gone to the city hall to check the register. I’ve found some old drawings of the house. It doesn’t seem like there’s any secret passage, but we’ll need to verify it.
OTIS Did you bring the screen and the projector?
VIRGINIA Yes.
OTIS Good. Get on with it. There’s something I want to show you.
VIRGINIA What is it?
OTIS I’m going to show you the real reason why we’re here.
CECIL Aren’t we here to catch some ghost?
VIRGINIA
Come on! Shut up and help me! (They set the projector and the screen) OTIS Come on, it can’t take us all day. Cecil, turn off the light.
CECIL Coming.
VIRGINIA Is it necessary?
OTIS Virginia, I assure you there is no ghost here.
VIRGINIA If you say so… Oh my God!!
CECIL That’s what I call an ugly woman!
OTIS Let me introduce Bloody Mary.
CECIL Bloody Mary? Isn’t that a cocktail with vodka and tomato juice?
OTIS Cecil, please.
CECIL Ok, I get it.
VIRGINIA
She’s Mary Tudor of England. She tried to reinstate Catholicism and murdered Protestants all over the country. By killing so many people she earned that nickname… Bloody Mary.
CECIL
That’s mental! So why are we seeing this?
OTIS Because of the necklace she’s wearing.
VIRGINIA The Bloody Heart.
OTIS Bingo! That necklace was a wedding gift from Pope Marcellus II for her service to the Catholic Church.
CECIL That woman got married? I don’t want to think about the husband.
VIRGINIA Philip II of Spain!! She married him to give a Catholic heir to England. Of course! That’s the reason for the Pope’s gift!
OTIS
Indeed. But she failed. She died without bearing any children.
CECIL Thank God…
VIRGINIA So what happened with the Bloody Heart?
OTIS As you know, the succession to the throne wasn’t easy. Some were in favour of Philip II, a Spanish and Catholic king, while others supported his half-sister Elizabeth I, a Protestant queen.
VIRGINIA Anne Boleyn’s daughter.
CECIL Whoa! I’m confused. What does it all have to do with the Cantervilles?
OTIS The Canterville family supported Elizabeth I, and she rewarded Henry of Canterville with the Bloody Heart, which had become one of the Crown Jewels.
VIRGINIA And a sign of the Catholic defeat.
OTIS An insult, we may say.
CECIL
Ok, I think I’m getting it… And Sir Henry of Canterville is…
VIRGINIA
The father of our beloved ghost. Sir Simon of Canterville.
CECIL Ok. I got it. But why isn’t the Bloody Heart with all the belongings of this house? What happened to it?
OTIS It disappeared with Sir Simon of Canterville. The night he murdered his wife.
VIRGINIA Why would he murder his wife?
OTIS I have the feeling that if we find out the reason, we’ll find a clue to the Bloody Heart’s location.
VIRGINIA In the house drawings there was an old library, but its walls must be sealed or something. Maybe we can find some kind of document there.
CECIL I don’t think that would be a good idea. If it’s sealed, there must be some reason.
(The radio turns on with the chain noise interference. They all go to listen to it). CECIL
The chains again. Now the sound is very clear.
OTIS Can you track the frequency?
CECIL I’m trying.
OTIS It’s becoming clearer. They must be very close.
CECIL Really close. I’d say… It can’t be. I’d say it’s coming from this very house.
OTIS Can you find out where?
VIRGINIA Let’s check the drawings! We’re here.
CECIL I think… Here! They are broadcasting from here.
VIRGINIA That’s…
OTIS CECIL VIRGINIA The library!!
VIRGINIA
The ghost is inviting us to go to the library.
OTIS Don’t be ridiculous. There’s no ghost. It’s just somebody trying to make us believe that.
CECIL Shush! Shut up! It’s moving. I’m losing it… I’m losing… I’m…
(The sound from the radio vanishes and the scene remains silent. Then the sound of chains is heard again, but right there. Behind them, in the shadows, we see the ghost’s shape with the chains. For some seconds, they are silent as they hear the ghost behind them. They breathe falteringly and they whisper).
CECIL Shush! What the hell is that?
OTIS Don’t move. It’s him, he’s behind us.
VIRGINIA It’s the ghost.
OTIS I assure you, he’s as human as you and I. I’ll get close to him. Cecil, if it turns ugly, shoot.
CECIL What??
VIRGINIA Dad, no!
OTIS Excuse me, I couldn’t help hearing the noise of your chains. I think we could help you with this. This is 3 in 1 lubricating oil. If you let me show you, I…
SIMON Grrrrrr!! Begone!!!
OTIS Cecil, shoot!
VIRGINIA Noooo!!
(Cecil shoots and the ghost furiously pushes Otis and runs away, while the light flickers. There is confusion, Cecil runs after the ghost. Virginia helps her father. Then Cecil comes back). VIRGINIA Dad! Are you okay?
CECIL He’s gone! I think I hit him, but he disappeared in the corridor, he… he just vanished!
OTIS He couldn’t just vanish, it’s a person, not a goddamn ghost!
VIRGINIA Maybe he is. (She looks at the stain on the table. Then they all realize and keep looking at it).
CECIL The bloodstain. It’s back!
VIRGINIA Maybe it is a ghost.
(Lights out)
(Song ‘It can’t be real’. Concerto with the 3 characters. Otis sings first ‘it can’t be real, someone is playing with us, whoever it is, it’s not a ghost, he will be unmasked’. Cecil continues ‘it can’t be real, it must be an illusion, after so much searching for a real ghost, there’s something/somebody here, but it doesn’t belong here’. Then Virginia sings ‘It can’t be real, I must have dreamed it, I saw pain in his eyes, it can’t have happened’, etc. A ghost in Canterville, a haunted house, echoes from the past not willing to leave. Etc…)
IT CAN’T BE REAL OTIS
IT CAN’T BE REAL
IT MUST BE A TRICK
SOMEONE IS PLAYING ON US
UNMASKING HIM IS ALL WE NEED
CHORUS
A GHOST IN CANTERVILLE CHASE
A HAUNTED HOUSE CASE
ECHOES FROM THE PAST
NOT WILLING TO GO AWAY
CECIL
IT CAN’T BE REAL
BUT WHAT IF IT WAS
AFTER ALL THIS TIME
A REAL GHOST FOR US
CHORUS
A GHOST IN CANTERVILLE CHASE
A HAUNTED HOUSE CASE
ECHOES FROM THE PAST
NOT WILLING TO GO AWAY
VIRGINIA
IT CAN’T BE REAL
IT MUST BE A DREAM
I KNOW HOW HE FEELS
BUT IT GIVES ME THE CHILLS
CHORUS
A GHOST IN CANTERVILLE CHASE
A HAUNTED HOUSE CASE
ECHOES FROM THE PAST
NOT WILLING TO GO AWAY
CECIL
IT CAN’T BE REAL
VIRGINIA
IT IS NOT CLEAR
CECIL
IT CAN’T BE REAL
CECIL
A MYSTERY UNVEILED
VIRGINIA
WHAT DOES HE NEED?
OTIS (CONTRACANT DURANT CECIL I VIRGINIA)
IT CAN’T BE REAL
IT MUST BE A TRICK
SOMEONE IS PLAYING ON US
UNMASKING HIM IS ALL WE NEED
CHORUS
A GHOST IN CANTERVILLE CHASE
A HAUNTED HOUSE CASE
ECHOES FROM THE PAST
THAT WILL BE SOLVED AT LAST
Scene 3 (Track 4)
Library. There are some old books, but not many; some old stuff scattered, and a small locked chest with an inscription. LORD CANTERVILLE I told you that bloodstain wouldn’t leave. It has been here for over three hundred years. If you thought you could get rid of it with some Mr. Clean, you were mistaken, Mr. Otis. OTIS Don’t worry, next time we’ll scrub more insistently. LORD CANTERVILLE Well, this is what remains of the library. Search all you want, but I doubt you find anything to interest you. CECIL Not many books for a library. All I see here is dust and rubbish. LORD CANTERVILLE I told you so before you made me knock down the wall that sealed the entrance. OTIS If there’s nothing here, why was it sealed? LORD CANTERVILLE Precisely to avoid people wasting their time searching in an empty place. But I see that you insist on wasting your time and mine. VIRGINIA What’s that? LORD CANTERVILLE Old pictures. They have no real artistic value, except for their age. CECIL Hey, look! That one looks a bit like you, Virginia!
VIRGINIA Don’t be silly. It doesn’t look like me at all! CECIL I think she does somehow. Who is she? LORD CANTERVILLE She is Lady Eleanor Canterville. The picture was left in the library because it can’t remain hanging on the wall. It always falls down with no explanation. OTIS Curious, the ghost of Simon Canterville knocks down the picture of his wife that he himself murdered. LORD CANTERVILLE Well, I see you are finally considering the possibility that there is a ghost. OTIS Yes, a ghost that always shows up when you’re not with us. LORD CANTERVILLE What are you implying? OTIS Nothing. VIRGINIA What about this chest? It has a strange inscription. (Cecil approaches and blows the dust off the chest) CECIL ‘When the young lady makes a prayer bloom from the sinner’s lips and gives freedom to the tears, then the house shall become calm again, and peace shall return to Canterville.’ VIRGINIA What does it mean? LORD CANTERVILLE Not a clue. It is unknown how long this inscription has been here. Gentlemen, I must leave, if you don’t mind, you can continue another day. OTIS We’ll stay a little longer, if you don’t mind. LORD CANTERVILLE I insist that you will find nothing else here. OTIS Let us do our job, sir. That’s why you hired us, isn’t it?
LORD CANTERVILLE Of course. VIRGINIA Can we keep the picture? LORD CANTERVILLE Of course not. I remind you that anything you find belongs to the house and to the Canterville family. You can touch whatever you want, but do not take anything away. CECIL Hey, what’s wrong with you? We’re parapsychologists, not thieves. OTIS Cecil, please. LORD CANTERVILLE Of course. OTIS Don’t worry, you can go. You can trust us. (Otis offers Lord Canterville his hand to shake and Lord Canterville drops a cuff link from his blazer. Otis picks it up, looks at it a few seconds, and gives it back.) OTIS Nice cuff link. LORD CANTERVILLE Yes, thank you. Goodbye. VIRGINIA CECIL Goodbye. CECIL He knows! He knows who we are. He knows we’re after the Bloody Heart!! OTIS Yes. Yes, Cecil, he knows. Since the beginning. Since the very beginning. VIRGINIA If he doesn’t trust us, why doesn’t he fire us? It doesn’t make sense. OTIS Maybe that’s exactly what he wants us to do. To find the Bloody Heart. The fake ghost is only an excuse to bring us here.
CECIL But then why all that mess? He could have hired us only as treasure hunters, we find the heart and he gives us our reward and then goodbye. VIRGINIA A ruby that’s over three hundred carats. It belonged to the Crown Jewels of England. It’s priceless! He knows he would have to pay too much. OTIS For the job and our silence… of course. CECIL Why our silence? He’s the owner of the house; the heart actually belongs to him. OTIS I’m not so sure that he’s who he says he is. His cuff links… they have an old papal coat of arms emblem. He’s a Catholic. VIRGINIA That doesn’t make any sense. Queen Elizabeth II rewarded the Canterville family with the Bloody Heart because they supported the Anglican Church, didn’t she? CECIL Maybe the family became Catholic eventually. OTIS Or maybe he’s not a Canterville… (We hear a ‘click’, like a cassette tape ending) VIRGINIA What was that? It came from there! (They hurry to find something hidden under one of the books. It is Cecil’s tape recorder) CECIL Hey, that’s my tape recorder. Why is it here? VIRGINIA Didn’t you bring it? CECIL No, I left it in the hall, with all the equipment. VIRGINIA It’s just a music tape. You must have left it turned on and the tape ended. CECIL But I didn’t bring it here. I’m sure I left it in the hall. OTIS Maybe our Lord Canterville did it, to record our conversations and spy on us.
CECIL It can’t be. This is an original tape. One can’t just re-record it. Wait, it’s not possible… Someone sealed the security holes of the cassette with tape. VIRGINIA What does it mean? OTIS It means the tape is now re-recordable. CECIL (He rewinds and we hear ‘I’m not so sure that he’s who he says he is. His cuff links… they...’ He stops it) Oh no, no! The conversation’s been recorded on my Supertramp tape. OTIS It was him. There’s no doubt. He must have wanted to come back later to get back the tape so he’d know what we said during his absence… Clever. CECIL It’s the best LP of this year! OTIS Come on Cecil. Don’t cry. Let’s go back to the hall and check if there are any more recorders in the house. VIRGINIA I’ll stay a bit longer. OTIS Don’t be late.
Scene 4 (Track 5) Library, Virginia and the Ghost. The light flickers and dims. Virginia takes out a torch and she reads the inscription again). VIRGINIA ‘When the young lady makes a prayer bloom from the sinner’s lips and gives freedom to the tears, then the house shall become calm again, and peace shall return to Canterville.’ What young lady? What sinner? I wish I could understand it. (Virginia presses a letter on the chest that looks like a button. We hear a ‘click’ and it opens a small drawer on the bottom of the chest). What the hell… Letters! ‘Dear Eleanor, my love, my heart; I can’t wait for the moment we meet again. Life is not life without you’. ‘My dear Eleanor, I would dry the sea
that keeps us apart to be with you again’. So you really loved her… then why did you kill her? SIMON (off) Help me! VIRGINIA What? Who? Who’s there? SIMON Help me! VIRGINIA Simon? (The light flickers again, a shadow crosses quickly behind Virginia, grazing her. She falls on the ground). VIRGINIA What do you want from me? SIMON Help me! VIRGINIA But how? How can I help you? SIMON The prophecy. Eleanor. Help me! (She is scared again, crossing to the other side. Then the other 3 actors appear dressed with black hooded robes hiding their faces. They will appear in different places of the stage creating the illusion that the ghost moves unnaturally fast. The voice will be recorded). VIRGINIA The prophecy? ‘When the young lady makes a prayer bloom...’ Do you think I am the young lady that will help you? It’s not me, it’s not… SIMON Help meeeee!!! (Pushing her to the ground again) VIRGINIA Enough! I’m not helping you if you scare me again! You’ve been terrorizing people in this house for years! You killed your wife! You are evil! SIMON Enooough! (He screams supernaturally, scaring Virginia to death, and she curls up on the ground, crying) It was not my intention. I only wanted to know the truth.
VIRGINIA The truth. SIMON She betrayed me. All of us. She was not who she said. I never wanted her dead, I was furious, she fell down. Treason! Betrayal!! Eleanor!! VIRGINIA She betrayed you? With another man? SIMON Grrrr!! Treason! Betrayal!! VIRGINIA Enough! Calm down! You’re scaring me again. SIMON I don’t know any other way. I was left with no more than hatred and betrayal in my last moments. They chained me, with all the questions and not a single answer. For centuries I have wandered. Never buried, never mourned… They made a criminal of me… (grimly, ghostly) WHYYYY??!! ELEANOR!! WHY??!! VIRGINIA I’m not Eleanor! I haven’t got the answers! I don’t know! Who chained you? Who killed you? SIMON Hahahahaha! Eleanor knows! (Eleanor’s picture falls down, Virginia picks it up and rips the cloth of the back of the picture. From inside it falls the portrait of a man. Virginia looks at it) VIRGINIA Was it this man? He killed you? Did he? (With a scream full of rage, the ghost throws Virginia to the ground again). VIRGINIA Enough! Stop it! I’ll help you, I’ll help you! Just tell me how to do it. SIMON The prophecy... you must cry for me, for I have no tears left. Only that will save me. VIRGINIA I… I wish I could understand your pain. SIMON Come with me and you will understand. (Song Ghost-Virginia. During the song, the ghost gets closer to Virginia, hypnotizing her, until the end of the song, when he removes his cloak revealing a skull face. Virginia screams and faints in his arms. The ghost vanishes with Virginia. Cecil and Otis enter on a rush as they heard Virginia screaming, but they see she is not there.
They look for a possible exit and Otis finds Anthony Babington’s portrait. Then Lord Canterville appears showing amazement). CECIL Virginia! Virginia! OTIS She’s gone. LORD CANTERVILLE No, she hasn’t gone, the ghost took her. (Dark)
CRY FOR ME SIMON (A)
CRY FOR ME
CRY FOR ME
ALL I NEED FROM YOU ARE TEARS
CRY FOR ME
CRY FOR ME
AFTER ALL THIS TIME MY EYES ARE DUSTY AND DRY
SIMON (B)
I WAS BETRAYED AND THEN THEY LOCKED ME AWAY!
THEY TOOK FROM ME ALL I CARED FOR THAT DAY
CRY FOR ME
ALL I NEED FROM YOU ARE TEARS
CRY FOR ME
I AM BEGGING, DON’T YOU SEE?
AFTER CENTURIES I’LL BE ABLE TO REST IN PEACE
VIRGINIA
I AM HERE
BUT I THINK THAT YOU SHOULD KNOW
I AM HERE
THAT I’M NOT THE ONE YOU THINK YOU’RE WAITING FOR
YOUR LIFE WAS TORN APART IN A DAY
SO MUCH INJUSTICE ONLY LEADS TO PAIN
I’LL CRY FOR YOU
IT’S THE ONE THING I CAN DO
THE SORROW YOU ENDURED, I CAN FEEL IT TOO
BOTH
I/YOU WAS/WERE BETRAYED AND THEN THEY LOCKED ME/YOU AWAY!
MY/YOUR LIFE WAS TORN APART IN A DAY
NO TEAR’S UNFIT TO HEAL A BROKEN HEART
AFTER THE RAIN THERE’S ALWAYS LIGHT
NO CHAIN CAN HOLD YOU BACK FOREVER
IF WE’RE TOGETHER IN THIS FIGHT
CRY FOR ME
Scene 5 (Track 6) (Hall. Otis, visibly nervous, dishevelled, looking like he hasn’t slept for days, drinking alcohol, spinning plates with Cecil’s equipment desperately. The machine emits the chain sound). OTIS Virginia! Virginia! Can you hear me? Give me a sign! Virginia, God damn it!! (He hits the machine, some static is heard) Cecil!! Come on, answer me! Answer me!! (Lord Canterville enters) LORD CANTERVILLE Hey! Hey, calm down! Breaking the equipment won’t solve anything! On the contrary! OTIS My daughter is in this house! She is here, I can feel it! Where have you hidden her, you damn trickster! Where is she? Give me my daughter back! (He hits him, Lord Canterville hits him back and they start a fight, although the Lord is just trying to calm him down). LORD CANTERVILLE Enough! Enough! I do not have your daughter! Don’t you understand it is not me?! OTIS You lie! Damn you!! (They fight again, but this time Cecil enters and stops them). CECIL Enough! Have you gone mad? Virginia is lost somewhere in this house and you’re fighting like kids! OTIS He has her! God-damned impostor! LORD CANTERVILLE I have done nothing! The ghost did! CECIL Stop it! I’ve been talking to the police. OTIS The police! Are you mad? LORD CANTERVILLE We cannot call the police. Are they coming? Time to go.
CECIL Easy, it was a bluff. Anyway they wouldn’t believe me. You can’t report a kidnapping by a ghost. OTIS Why are you running from the police? Damn impostor! Your cuff links! The Pope’s emblem! You’re not who you said! Who are you!? LORD CANTERVILLE Alright! Alright! I am not Lord Canterville. My name is John. Just... John. For God’s sake! Check things out before you take a job! Lord Canterville is about eighty years old and he’s doddering in an institution. I pretended to be a caretaker, it was a piece of cake to get him to talk about the house and he gave me the keys. OTIS Impostor! LORD CANTERVILLE I’m an impostor? What about you? Renowned American parapsychologists! Ha! You’re only treasure hunters undercover; not even one of the cases in your books is real! Not one! But everybody knows you have made a fortune selling antiques from allegedly “haunted houses”. OTIS Why did you call us? What do you want from us? LORD CANTERVILLE The same thing you want! The Bloody Heart. OTIS Jesus Christ! Where is my daughter!? LORD CANTERVILLE I don’t know! Don’t you get it? All I wanted was the heart! The old man told me about it, and the ghost! He said the ghost had the heart hidden and no Canterville had found it for centuries, and I thought he was just doddering! I got the keys and I came to this house looking for the heart. OTIS So? LORD CANTERVILLE I couldn’t. That damn ghost. It’s real! I was scared! I heard about you and I phoned you! That’s all. I thought you would do the hard work. OTIS Ghosts don’t exist! LORD CANTERVILLE This one does.
OTIS And what do you know about this ghost? LORD CANTERVILLE I know nothing about him or the history of this house. You know more than I do. CECIL Okay. Let’s open our minds. Try to think that the ghost kidnapped Virginia. OTIS Alright. Virginia stayed in the library; she found those love letters and then that guy’s portrait. Have you found anything about him, Cecil? CECIL Yes. In the local library. (He turns on the projector) His name was Anthony Babington. A renowned English conspirator who was executed by Queen Elizabeth I. OTIS Yes, I know the story. He was raised secretly as a Catholic. He conspired to murder Queen Elizabeth I, so Mary Stuart, also a Catholic, could ascend to the throne. CECIL Indeed, his letters to Queen Mary proved his conspiracy, and so they were both executed. LORD CANTERVILLE But all this has nothing to do with Simon of Canterville, has it? CECIL Philip II of Spain was also involved in this conspiracy. LORD CANTERVILLE So? OTIS Of course! Eleanor of Canterville’s birth name, it’s in the love letters! CECIL Eleanor Sandoval. Niece of the Duke of Lerma. One of Philip II’s trusted men. LORD CANTERVILLE I still don’t see the link. OTIS Eleanor of Canterville, born Sandoval, was another conspirator. She had some relationship with Anthony Babington. They both were Catholics. Probably they were lovers. CECIL And she married Simon of Canterville to…
OTIS In order to take the Bloody Heart back and to give it to Mary Stuart. A Catholic heart for a Catholic queen. CECIL Simon of Canterville catches them in the act and bang! OTIS He kills her! CECIL Then what happens to Simon? LORD CANTERVILLE Old Lord Canterville told me a story about Eleanor’s presumed lover. CECIL What are you waiting for? Tell us! LORD CANTERVILLE Come on, really? The old man’s doddering! OTIS My daughter is lost in that house. And the only explanation I have about it is that a ghost took her. So give me any information you have, no matter how ridiculous it may be, or I swear I’ll smash this projector on your head. CECIL Come on, Otis, calm down. Talk. LORD CANTERVILLE Well, according to the old man, Simon murdered his wife when he found out that she had a lover, whose name remained unknown. They say that this lover took revenge by putting Simon in chains somewhere in this house. That’s why his body was never found. CECIL That’s why we heard that chain noise. LORD CANTERVILLE So there are two things lost in this house already. The Bloody Heart and Simon of Canterville’s corpse. OTIS And my daughter. Three. And they’re probably all together. But where? CECIL Pffff… I think we’d better take a break. (They take a short break. Cecil and Lord Canterville sit down by the table thinking. Otis walks to the opposite side of the stage, exhausted but thinking too).
LORD CANTERVILLE Yes, much better. Oh, you found the tape recorder! I wanted to know if you knew anything about the bloody heart. I’m sorry. CECIL Yeah, you must be stupid to erase my Supertramp tape. LORD CANTERVILLE Supertramp? CECIL Sure. How did you bring the recorder in and set it up without any of us noticing? We all came together. LORD CANTERVILLE I put it there before. I came earlier and left it there recording. CECIL Ok… OTIS The recorder! CECIL There might be something. OTIS Let’s try. LORD CANTERVILLE What? What are you talking about? OTIS Psychophonies. LORD CANTERVILLE Psycho… what? CECIL It is believed that in places charged with paranormal activity sounds can be recorded from another dimension. OTIS Rewind, it should be at the beginning of the tape. LORD CANTERVILLE Another dimension? CECIL You see, the chain noises appear to come from this house, but there’s no one else in this house, not in this dimension.
OTIS It’s possible that Simon of Canterville is right here, but not in this world, but in another. And there’s a chance that we could find a gate in this house, a door that communicates our world with this other world. The world of the dead. CECIL And since Virginia disappeared in the library, the door must be there. LORD CANTERVILLE And what are we doing with this tape? CECIL OTIS We’re checking it! CECIL Shush! I hear something. OTIS Yes. Shush! (We hear a low noise. The three of them remain silent for a while, so the audience is listening too. When there’s absolute silence, a loud psychophony will be heard with the ghost yelling ‘Traitor!’ The three characters are very scared). CECIL Clearly there’s something in the library. OTIS Let’s go. We must perform a session there. If there’s a door to hell in there, let’s go and open it. John? John? CECIL He’s white. John? LORD CANTERVILLE I quit, from the bottom of my heart. Everything. I just want to get out of here. CECIL Nothing will happen. It’s only a spiritist session. We’ll get in contact with the ghost and we’ll ask him what he wants. LORD CANTERVILLE He’s… He’s coming for me… (He points at the screen where there’s clearly Simon’s image floating). CECIL God! He’s there.
OTIS Calm down, it’s not him. It’s just a memory captured on the screen. It’s like the psychophony. It’s there but it isn’t. He can’t harm us. LORD CANTERVILLE Turn… Turn it down… please turn it down. I’m terrified. I quit, I don’t want the heart. He’s coming for me. CECIL Calm down. LORD CANTERVILLE No… no… I must leave. CECIL Don’t worry. (He rolls up the screen and behind it there’s the ghost in a cloak). LORD CANTERVILLE No… Nooooo! (Dark).
Scene 6 (Track 7)
(Library, spiritist session. Otis and Cecil. Later Virginia and Simon). CECIL I’m worried about John. Maybe we should have taken him to town. I’m not sure he was ready to drive. OTIS He’ll make it. We can’t waste any more time. CECIL But he was terrified. OTIS Not everyone is capable of getting in touch with paranormal beings. Are you? CECIL Are you kidding? I’ve been preparing for this my whole life, Mr. Otis. A real ghost. Maybe we won’t have another chance like this. OTIS Get on with it. The Ouija will allow us to reach him. Did you bring the equipment? The frequency meter? CECIL Everything’s here. With this we’ll notice if there’s any abnormal electromagnetic source.
OTIS The door. CECIL The door indeed. OTIS Ok, let’s do this. CECIL It’s moving, he’s talking to us. (They sit in the middle front stage. Music starts and everything is sung from here).
OUIJA SONG
OTIS
IS ANYBODY THERE?
CECIL
IS ANYBODY THERE?
OTIS
SHOW YOURSELF.
CECIL
SHOW YOURSELF.
OTIS
IS ANYBODY THERE?
CECIL
IS ANYBODY THERE?
OTIS
SHOW YOURSELF.
CECIL
SHOW YOURSELF.
CECIL (SPOKEN)
IT’S MOVING, HE’S TALKING TO US.
SIMON
I AM HERE. (APPEARING FROM ONE SIDE OF THE STAGE).
I AM AN ECHO OF THE PAST
OTIS
WHO ARE YOU?
CECIL
WHO ARE YOU?
SIMON
A MEMORY OF THE DEAD.
OTIS
WHERE ARE YOU?
CECIL
WHO ARE YOU?
SIMON
I AM HERE.
OTIS
WHERE ARE YOU?
IS ANYBODY THERE?
CECIL
HE IS AN ECHO OF THE PAST, A MEMORY OF THE DEAD.
SIMON
I LIVE IN THE SHADOWS, I AM THE DARKNESS.
VIRGINIA (APPEARING FROM THE OPPOSITE SIDE OF THE STAGE)
I AM THE LIGHT.
I’LL BE YOUR GUIDE.
CECIL (SPOKEN)
IT’S VIRGINIA! SHE’S WITH HIM!
VIRGINIA
I AM THE PATH THAT WILL BRING YOU TO THE LIGHT.
OTIS
COME TO US.
CECIL
WHERE ARE YOU?
SIMON
THIS IS THE WORLD BETWEEN DREAMS AND REALITY.
YOU’LL BE MY GUIDE.
VIRGINIA
I’LL BE YOUR GUIDE .
OTIS
WHERE ARE YOU? WHO ARE YOU?
SIMON
I AM AN ECHO OF THE PAST
A MEMORY OF THE DEAD.
I AM THE SUFFOCATED CRY
I AM TERROR, I AM DREAD
VIRGINIA
I AM THE LIGHT (X2)
I’LL BE YOUR GUIDE.
SIMON
I LIVE IN THE SHADOWS, I AM THE DARKNESS.
VIRGINIA
I’LL BE YOUR GUIDE.
VIRGINIA AND SIMON:
THIS IS THE WORL BETWEEN DREAMS AND REALITY
VIRGINIA
I’LL BE YOUR GUIDE.
SIMON
YOU’LL BE MY GUIDE
VIRGINIA I found him. I saved him. (Virginia faints in Cecil’s arms). (Dark).
Scene 7 (Track 8) (Final scene. Graveyard. Otis, Virginia, Cecil. Later John. They are in the graveyard. There are different crosses and gravestones. There’s a central cross. They carry shovels, as if they had just dug a tomb. Low light). CECIL It’s done.
VIRGINIA Oh Lord. Forgive him and take him. (Leaving a rose on the grave). OTIS Rest in peace, Simon of Canterville. VIRGINIA Do you think he’ll be able to rest? OTIS I hope so. JOHN Otis. CECIL John. I thought you’d be far from here. JOHN I tried. But I felt like an utter coward. CECIL We found him, John. We found his remains and buried them. JOHN Buried? OTIS That’s the reason why he was haunting the house. He wanted a proper burial. He wanted us to know his story. VIRGINIA And his pain. (She cries, Otis hugs her). CECIL I think our job at Canterville is done. We should leave. A storm is coming. VIRGINIA Leave me with him for a while. CECIL I’ll be loading the van with all the equipment. Help me, John. JOHN Sure. Mr. Otis, Virginia, I’m sorry about all this. I’ll go help Cecil. OTIS Thanks for everything. I’m sorry we didn’t find the Bloody Heart. It’s been three hundred years, it was probably lost long ago.
JOHN Don’t worry. It doesn’t seem so important to me anymore. Thank you. And goodbye. (Cecil and John Leave). VIRGINIA I could feel his pain. Three hundred years of pain with no chance to rest. His wife’s betrayal, the unfair accusation of murder, the torture he went through in chains, the agony of a slow death… How can so much pain be possible? (She cries). OTIS You helped him, Virginia. Thanks to you, he’s been relieved from that pain. He’s free now. Wherever Simon of Canterville is now, he’ll thank you for your deed. VIRGINIA Not yet. There’s something else I must do for him. OTIS What? VIRGINIA (From inside her shirt, she draws the Bloody Heart). OTIS The Bloody Heart!! Virginia! Where did you find it? VIRGINIA He gave it to me. OTIS Oh my…! Daughter! Do you realize what… VIRGINIA No, dad. We can’t keep it. OTIS What? Are you crazy? Do you know the worth of… VIRGINIA Yes, dad. The worth of three hundred years of a tortured soul. No. We won’t keep it. We’ll go to that institution and we’ll give it to the real Lord Canterville. It belongs to him, not us. OTIS But… VIRGINIA Do you prefer to live with an angry ghost haunting you for the rest of your life? OTIS Alright. Old Canterville is over 80 years old and he’s rolling in it. I bet he’ll give us a
good reward for it. VIRGINIA Sure. JOHN Not so fast! (Pointing a gun. The storm is upon them, first low but its intensity is growing slowly). The heart! Give me the heart!! OTIS John? What are you doing? Put the gun down, that’s unnecessary. JOHN Give me the heart, God damn it! OTIS John, I’m sure the true Lord Canterville will give us a good reward for this. We’ll share the prize, easy! JOHN No! You give it to me! VIRGINIA You know it doesn’t belong to you. This heart belongs to the Cantervilles! JOHN And what would you know about it?! This jewel should never have fallen into Protestant hands! OTIS What? Come on! Why would you care? What are you talking about, John? JOHN Babington! John Babington! Yes, I am descended from Anthony Babington! He was murdered and humiliated by those filthy Protestants, the heart belongs to me. VIRGINIA Come on, John. That was three centuries ago! JOHN What do three centuries mean when your family has been executed and dispossessed? When they’ve been treated as traitors and conspirators. That heart belongs in Catholic hands. In Babington hands. I deserve it! SIMON Traitoooooor!!! (Suddenly, with a flash of lightning, the ghost appears with his black cloak. John turns around and shoots twice, but the ghost hits him with the shovel. With another flash of lightning, the ghost vanishes, leaving John lying on the ground. Then Cecil enters).
CECIL What happened? I heard shots and voices. They could be heard from the other side of the street! VIRGINIA He killed him! He killed him! OTIS He’s not dead, he’ll live. But it will take him awhile to regain consciousness. Cecil, call the police and an ambulance. (We hear police sirens). CECIL Not needed, someone must have heard the shots. (Suddenly a bright light lights up the actors’ faces). What’s that? OTIS It’s a light. VIRGINIA Simon’s leaving, finally. He’s gone now. (Dark). The End.