Free Rockabye and Other Short Pieces by Samuel Beckett Page A

long day
went down
in the end went down
down the steep stair
let down the blind and down
right down
into the old rocker
those arms at last
and rocked
rocked
with closed eyes
closing eyes
she so long all eyes
famished eyes
all sides
high and low
to and fro
at her window
to see
be seen
till in the end
close of a long day
to herself
whom else
time she stopped
let down the blind and stopped
time she went down
down the steep stair
time she went right down
was her own other
own other living soul
so in the end
close of a long day
went down
down the steep stair
let down the blind and down
right down
into the old rocker
and rocked
rocked
saying to herself
no
done with that
the rocker
those arms at last
saying to the rocker
rock her off
stop her eyes
fuck life
stop her eyes
rock her off
rock her off
    Together: echo of “rock her off,” coming to rest of rock, slow fade out.

NOTES
    Light
    Subdued on chair. Rest of stage dark. Subdued spot on face constant throughout, unaffected by successive fades. Either wide enough to include narrow limits of rock or concentrated on face when still or at mid-rock. Then throughout speech face slightly swaying in and out of light.
    Opening fade-up: first spot on face alone. Long pause. Then light on chair. Final fade-out: first chair. Long pause with spot on face alone. Head slowly sinks, comes to rest. Fade out spot.
    W
    Prematurely old. Unkempt grey hair. Huge eyes in white expressionless face. White hands holding ends of armrests.
    Eyes
    Now closed, now open in unblinking
gaze.
About equal proportions section 1, increasingly closed 2 and
3
, closed for good halfway through 4.
    Costume
    Black lacy high-necked evening gown. Long sleeves. Jet sequins to glitter when rocking. Incongruous frivolous headdress set askew with extravagant trimmings to catch light when rocking.
    Attitude
    Completely still till fade-out of chair. Then in light of spot head slowly inclined.
    Chair
    Pale wood highly polished to gleam when rocking. Footrest. Vertical back. Rounded inward curving arms to suggest embrace.
    Rock
    Slight. Slow. Controlled mechanically without assistance from W.

    Voice
    Lines in italics spoken by W with V a little softer each time. W’s “More” a little softer each time. Towards end of section 4, say from “saying to herself” on, voice gradually softer.

Ohio Impromptu

    Ohio Impromptu
was first performed in the Drake Union, Stadium 2 Theater, in association with Ohio State University, on May 9, 1981. It was directed by Alan Schneider.

    L =
Listener.
    R =
Reader.
    As alike in appearance as possible.
    Light on table midstage. Rest of stage in darkness.
    Plain white deal table, say 8’ x
4’.
    Two plain armless white deal chairs.
    L
seated at table facing front towards end of long side audience right. Bowed head propped on right hand. Face hidden. Left hand on table. Long black coat. Long white hair.
    R
seated at table in profile centre of short side audience right. Bowed head propped on right hand. Left hand on table. Book on table before him open at last pages. Long black coat. Long white hair.
    Black wide-brimmed hat at centre of table.

    Fade up.
    Ten seconds.
    R
turns page.
    Pause.
    R
(reading):
Little is left to tell. In a last—
    L
knocks with left hand on table.
    Little is left to tell.
    Pause. Knock.
    In a last attempt to obtain relief he moved from where they had been so long together to a single room on the far bank. From its single window he could see the downstream extremity of the Isle of Swans.
    Pause.

    Relief he had hoped would flow from unfamiliarity. Unfamiliar room. Unfamiliar scene. Out to where nothing ever shared. Back to where nothing ever shared. From this he had once half hoped some measure of relief might flow.
    Pause.
    Day after day he could be seen slowly pacing the islet. Hour after hour. In his long black coat no matter what the weather and old world Latin Quarter hat. At the tip he would always pause to dwell on the receding