The Painting

The stage is divided into quarters. Lights come up in the first quadrant only. It is a childrens playroom. There is an electronic set up upstage centre/right, with a Television, X-Box and controllers. Slightly to the right of centre stage is a collection of bean bags to compliment the TV set up. There are several posters on the wall with a contrast of Halo, Gears of War and similar boy posters, with Barbie, My Little Pony and other girl posters. Upstage right is a dolls house. Throughout the entire stage is a litter of games such as Connect-Four, Twister, Battle Ships, Snakes and Ladders etc. Downstage centre, JACKSON and LYDIA are playing Snap!. JACKSON is winning by a significant margin. He is grinning gleefully; she is sitting moodily, but with intense concentration. JACKSON: LYDIA: JACKSON: LYDIA: [slapping the pile of cards] Snap! [grumpy] You always get it! Let me get one! [starts new game] You snooze you lose, sis. [whines while continuing to play] Its just cause youre older Jack! Youre not playing fair! JACKSON: LYDIA: games! JACKSON: Thats because the games you play are boring! Ello? Barbies? No way am I playing those. Theyre girls games! LYDIA: JACKSON: LYDIA: JACKSON: [frustrated] Well what do [emphasizes] you want to play then? [beat]Lets play X-box. [getting excited] Halo! [vexed] No! Thats as bad as all the rest! Worse, even! I think its about time we split the playroom. You dont like my games and I dont like yours. LYDIA: [petulantly] Fine! Snap! [Laughs meanly] No! Im not playing with you anymore! We only ever play your

JACKSON:

Fine! JACKSON and LYDIA glare angrily at each other for a moment. Then, as an afterthought But I get Mums painting. Shotty!

JACKSON puts thumb upside down onto forehead and walks over to stand near painting touching the wall to indicate where the painting is. LYDIA: JACKSON: [follows JACKSON] No Fair! You didnt even give me a chance! [turns to face her, his back is to the painting ] Well why would you want it? Its a boys painting anyway! Its got wolves and ogres and stuff! LYDIA: JACKSON: LYDIA: [sniffing] But [emphasized] mum painted it! Oh, is little biddy Lydia gonna cry about her mummy? [shoves JACKSON roughly] I [yells] hate you! JACKSON, caught off guard, topples backwards and falls through the painting. LYDIA is startled, but simply suspects a trick from the older boy. Jack? Lydia stops sniffing, looks scared and goes to inspect the painting. Jack? [increases volume] Jack! LYDIA begins to bang the painting trying to work out what has happened to Jack, all the while calling to him. When this doesnt work she tries a new tack. [yells, scared] Daddy! LYDIA runs off stage still calling for her Dad. Lights down in quadrant 1.

Lights up in quadrant 2. JACKSON is sprawled on the floor at the back of the painting. There is a projection of a full moon and pine trees as the backdrop. It is

eerily silent. JACKSON gets up and brushes himself off. He then makes his way back to the wall where the painting is and tries to go back through. He soon finds he cant. JACKSON: on?! An owl hoots and JACKSON looks around in fright, exploring with his eyes. [shifting uneasily] Lydia? What have you done? Is this some kind of trick? Ghostly laughter sounds quietly followed by a voice. VOICE: JACKSON: [sinisterly] Oh no, boy this is no [emphasizes] trick. [looks up at the sky where the voice comes from, demanding] Well what is it then? [grumpily, like a spoilt child] What did she do to me? [Kicks feet] VOICE: [emphasizes] She didnt do anything. You did it all yourself. Selfish [pause] thats what you are. [JACKSON wraps his arms around himself] JACKSON: VOICE: [shuffles uneasily] Well, where am I? Where do you think? In your mothers painting, of course. You Lyd? [drawn out] Lydia. [getting agitated] Lydia! [yells] Whats going

did want it so badly. JACKSON looks around himself, very scared. He tries banging the painting again but it doesnt work. [roars, frustrated and nervous] Whats going on? The ghostly laughter sounds again, louder this time. JACKSON: [calms down, but is still angry] How do I get home? Laughter begins to fade. Hello? [yells now] How do I get home?

There is a loud growl followed by a baying howl and JACKSON yelps in fright. Barking gets increasingly louder. JACKSON begins to walk quickly left along the stage into the quadrant 3. As he goes the barking gets softer and fades altogether together with the lights. JACKSON sighs in relief, but soon notices that the backdrop of this quadrant is a large campfire with a human like shape slowly roasting on a spit. There is loud grumbling with words like hungry and tasty human reaching him. There are silhouettes of large ogres milling around the campfire. One appears to look up at JACKSON and gives a shout. OGRE: OGRE 2: Look! More Meat! Get Him! OGRE 2 kicks neighboring ogre who grunts in pain and retaliates by kicking the first ogre. Soon all the ogres are kicking and fighting each other. JACKSON gratefully slinks away into the final Quadrant. When he has arrived he sinks down onto the ground and wraps his arms around himself. Lights dim in quadrant 4 so that JACKSON is only just visible. LYDIA appears to be arguing with someone offstage. LYDIA: [pleading] Daddy please! Im not lying! He fell into the painting! He did! FATHER: [sternly from offstage] Lydia thats enough! I dont have time to deal with your childish fantasies! Sit down and play one of the games and tell Jackson that Im very disappointed in him. He knows better than to play games like this. LYDIA sits down on the floor with her back to the painting. LYDIA: [whispers] Jack?

LYDIA stays on the ground in quadrant 1. She starts to build a card castle with the discarded Snap! cards. She is distracted so the castle rarely stays up for long.

Spotlight in quadrant 4 illuminates JACKSON. He is still on the floor with his arms around his knees. JACKSON: [quietly] Lydia? Im so sorry. We can share everything. [ begins to sob] I just want to go home! [whispers] Please? At the far end of the stage, the screen of the painting slides up so that the light shines through the gap into quadrant two, showing that the portal is open again. The spotlight follows JACKSON as he runs back to the portal and slips through it into the playroom. Lydia? LYDIA: sorry! JACKSON: Oh Lyddy, Im sorry too! Can we just share? LYDIA nods vigorously. LYDIA: Of course! Will you help me finish the card castle? JACKSON and LYDIA sit down together and continue building the castle as JACKSON accidently knocks it over. [smiling] Butterfingers! Both laugh. Black out. [screams happily and moves to hug JACKSON ] Jack! Oh Jack, Im so