The Tell-Tale Heart

By
Edgar Allen Poe
Adapted by
Jaspar Grinling

Scene 1: Empty Office Room

INTERIOR: DEAD OFFICE ROOM
SFX: NIL

HEAVY FIRE DOOR OPENS AND CLOSES, FOOTSTEPS ARE HEARD AS LIV
WALKS TO THE TABLE IN THE CENTRE OF THE ROOM. SHE PULLS OUT
THE CHAIR AND SITS DOWN. WE HEAR THE SOUND OF HER PLACING
THE TAPE RECORDER ON THE TABLE AND PREPARING HERSELF TO
LISTEN.
AFTER SOME DEEP BREATHS SHE PRESSES THE PLAY KEY ON THE TAPE
RECORDER
SFX: THE SOUND OF A TAPE (CIRCA 1993) PLAYING - A SLIGHTLY TINNY AND
MUFFLED SOUND

1. DI USHER:

This interview is being recorded and is being conducted at

Innsmouth House, Briarsgate, Bournemouth. I am Kevin USHER, Detective

Inspector of the Dorset Police. DS Thomson would you introduce yourself with your
name, collar number and date of birth please?
2. DS THOMSON: Im David Michael Thomson, Detective Sergeant 467 of the Dorset
Police and I was born September 23 1967.
3. DI USHER: Thank you. We are in interview room 3 and I am interviewingcould you
please state your name, address and date of birth?
4. MARY: Mary Godwin, Maine House, Dulwich, 30th August 1973
5. DI USHER: Thank you very much. Also present is?
2

SFX: TAPE BECOMES UNCLEAR

1. DI USHER:

Thank you very much. The date is Tuesday 14th

September, 1993 and the time is 5:24pm. Okay, so Mary just to
remind you this interview is being taped so everything you say will
be recorded and if this ever goes to court or becomes relevant to
any court proceedings one of these tapes will be sealed and it can
be used as evidence, understood?

2. MARY:
5. DI USHER:

(QUIETLY) Understood
Good (SOUND OF PAPERS BEING SHUFFLED), now Mary
could you please explain for the tape why we were called to your
house this early this morning.

6. MARY:
7. DI USHER:

You said my neighbour heard screaming.

Yes.

8. MARY:

(SILENCE)

9. DI USHER:

Was there anyone else in the house with you this morning?

10. MARY:

Just my daughter Lavinia my husband wasnt there.

11. DI USHER:

Okay, tell me about your husband John, isnt it?

12. MARY:

Yes. Hes away at the moment.

13. DI USHER:

Okay, Mary do you remember what you said to DI Thomson

when he came to see you this afternoon?

14. MARY:
15: DS THOMSON:

Wait. Can you hear something?

Like what Mary?

I can hear something, something. (Beat) sorry what was the

1. MARY:

question?
2. DI USHER:

Thats okay Mary. I was asking if you remember what you said to
DI Thomson this afternoon about your husband, John.

3. MARY:

(RELAXING SLIGHTLY) Oh yes, I said he was away, on business.

Has been for the past couple of days.

4. DI USHER:

Thats right. Now, remind me, how long have you two been
married?
hmm, about a year now though it only feels like yesterday we

5. MARY:

were getting married. I remember how blue the sky was that day
so very blue.
6. DI USHER:

And your daughter, Lavinia, she came along?

7. MARY:

3 months ago

8. DI USHER:

Okay, thats good Mary. So would you say that you were a happy
family?

9. MARY:

(SHARPLY) Of course we are. We have everything we need. Liv is

fine, John is fine, Im fine were all happy. Look, I dont
understand why Im here.

10. DS THOMSON: When was the last time you saw your husband, Mary?
SFX: MARY SHIFTS IN HER SEAT
11. MARY:
12. DS THOMSON:
13. MARY:

What? Sorry, theres this noisecant you hear it?

When was the last time you saw your husband, Mary?
Err (BEAT) aboutyes, it was 2 weeks ago. Hes in China
on a business deal.

1. DS THOMSON:
2. MARY:

Tell us about the last time you saw him.

Why do you? (BEAT) Fine. (BEAT) I remember he had to
leave early the following morning. Liv, Liv was poorly that week.
Crying and crying all night. Course he just slept through it but I
couldnt. Typical really, of men. Expect us to do all the work when
it comes to babies. I would go and make sure Liv was okay which
might take hours and then crawl back to bed. I remember the night
before he left, opening the bedroom door in the pitch black and
just looking at him sleeping there as if nothing was happening,
as if he was the only one in the house. (SHE SIGHS)

3. DI USHER:

So youre saying that John left you to deal with Liv all the time.
That must have been tough (BEAT) wearing even.

4. MARY:

No, no. It was fine. I mean to be honest I dont think John

could deal with having a baby. The house had always been so
quiet before the silence stretching and now, with
Liv(BEAT)so yes, I dealt with all that while he continued doing
what he always did always sleeping, always watchingalways
judging.

5. DS THOMSON:
6. MARY:
7. DI USHER:
8. MARY:

Judging? Judging who?

(LAUGHS BRITTLELY) Me, who else but me?
What do you mean, Mary?
Oh he didnt think I was a good enough Mother. He used to
watch me with Liv, I saw himwatching me with those eyes of
hisconstantly watching me. Those eyes of his, blue like the sky
at our wedding, blue, blue, electric blue.

9. DI USHER:
10. MARY:

Its been tough for you, hasnt Mary? Looking after Liv?
(SILENCE)
5

1. DI USHER:

Mary?

2. MARY:

That noise..thatdrumming noise. Cant you hear it?

3. DS THOMSON:

No Mary, I cant hear a drumming noise, can you?

4. DI USHER:

No, no I cant. Listen Mary can you tell us what happened this
morning at roughly 2am.

5. MARY:

I (BEAT) yes, I had a bad dream. It was me the neighbours heard

screaming.

6. DS THOMSON:

It wasnt Liv, it was you screaming because of a nightmare?

7. MARY:

Of(BEAT) of course it wasnt Liv. I mean, she can scream with

the best of them but she was asleep by then.

8. DI USHER:
9. MARY:

How often has Liv kept you up at night? Most nights or.
Oh, Im sure you know how it is Inspectorbut yes, every night.
I dont think Ive had a decent nights sleep in 3 months.
(LAUGHS)

10. DS THOMSON:
11. MARY:

So the last time you saw John.?

Wait therethere it is again. You dont hear it?
Like..drumming, scratching.
SFX: MUFFLED SPEECH

12. MARY:

No, no Im fine. I just want to get this over and done with.

13. DS THOMSON:

So, Mary, just to check the last time you saw John was how
many weeks ago?

14. MARY:

I told you, 2 weeks ago.

15. DS THOMSON:

Yeah, thats what the neighbours say as well. Did you..(BEAT) did
you happen to have an argument that night?
6

1: MARY:

What? No, dont be ridiculous that would have woken Liv up and
Id only just got her off to sleep.

2. DS THOMSON:

Well your neighbours say that they heard a row that night. What
was it about? Were you fed up of him not helping you with the
baby?

3. MARY:

What? No, I was fine. Liv was fine, we were all fine. (UNDER HER
BREATH) god, what is that noise?

4: DS THOMSON:

You see Mary, I dont entirely believe you and neither does my
colleague. We think, and stop me at any time if Im getting close,
we think that you and John had an argument and that he left, is
that right?

5. MARY:

No, no, no, no. Everything is fine (SLIGHTLY MORE PANICKED)

hes in China. I told you. God what is that noise? Wait, wheres
Liv? Whos looking after Liv?

6. DI USHER:

Okay, its okay Mary. Liv is being looked after just fine, dont worry.

7. MARY:

I knew this would happen. He was right all along, Im a terrible

mother. Its all I could see in his eyes, those eyes. (DESPAIR) God
its all my fault.

8. DI USHER:

What is Mary? Whats all your fault?

SFX: MUFFLED PROTESTATIONS

9. MARY:

No, I..god, this noise, thisnoise. (MORE AND MORE

PANICKED) fine. I did it. I killed him. I couldnt take it any more
the way he looked at me, the way he kept judging me.

10. DI USHER:

Wait, hold on. Are you saying?

1. MARY:

(PRACTICALLY SCREAMING + SFX: HANDS HITTING TABLE)

Yes, I killed John. (QUIETER, FULL OF DESPAIR) I waited until
he was asleep, cut him up in the bathtub and hid his body in the
garden(BEAT)under the flowers, (BEAT)the blue oneslike his
eyesoh for Christs sake would you stop that noise
SFX: TAPE CLICKS OFF
DOOR OPENS AND CLOSES
FOOTSTEPS INTO ROOM

2. DI MERRIL:

So (BEAT) did you listen to the tape?

3. LIV:

(QUIETLY) Yeah, it just finished.

4. DI MERRIL:

Did it (BEAT) did it help at all?

5. LIV:

I(BEAT) I dont know, Guv. I wanted to know more

about her but

6. DI MERRIL:

Dont beat yourself up about it Liv, sometimes things like

this justhappen. (BEAT) It was just too much for her to beara
difficult pregnancy, post-natal depression followed by your
fatherit was all just too much.

7. LIV:
8. DI MERRIL:

If shed just had more supportmaybe

(SIGHS) Come on Liv, lets get you home.

FIN

Dramatis Personae
1. Mary Godwin Young mother of Lavinia. Difficult pregnancy lead to Post Natal
Depression and her husbands behavior lead to psychosis. Its up to the listener
to decide whether she killed her husband.
2. Lavinia Godwin Grown daughter of the above, now a DC after growing up in
care. Has not had any contact with her birth mother and wishes to understand
what happened.
3. John Godwin: Father/Husband not voiced in story. Not a nice guy.
4. DI Usher Inspector in Bournemouth (or wherever). Understanding. Good Cop
to Thomsons bad cop.
5. DS Thomson younger copper, plays bad cop during interview.
6. DI Merril Livs Guv. Kind and sympathetic.