They Have Oak Trees in North Carolina Read online

  First published in 2007 by Oberon Books Ltd

  Electronic edition published in 2012

  Oberon Books Ltd

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  They Have Oak Trees in North Carolina © copyright Sarah Wooley 2007

  Sarah Wooley is hereby identified as author of this play in accordance with section 77 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. The author has asserted her moral rights.

  All rights whatsoever in this play are strictly reserved and application for performance etc. should be made before commencement of rehearsal to United Agents, 12-26 Lexington Street, London, W1F 0LE ([email protected]). No performance may be given unless a licence has been obtained, and no alterations may be made in the title or the text of the play without the author’s prior written consent.

  You may not copy, store, distribute, transmit, reproduce or otherwise make available this publication (or any part of it) in any form, or binding or by any means (print, electronic, digital, optical, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise), without the prior written permission of the publisher. Any person who does any unauthorized act in relation to this publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages.

  A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

  PB ISBN: 978-1-84002-818-8

  E ISBN: 978-1-8494-3893-3

  eBook conversion by Replika Press PVT Ltd, India.

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  Contents

  Acknowledgements

  Characters

  Scene One

  Scene Two

  Scene Three

  Scene Four

  Scene Five

  Scene Six

  Acknowledgements

  I would gratefully like to acknowledge the following authors and their books: John Walsh, Tears of Rage; Paula S. Fass, Kidnapped – Child Abduction in America; and Mike Echols, I know my first name is Steven.

  I would also like to thank the following for their help along the journey: Giles Smart, Paul Robinson, Will Smitheson, Joy Wilkinson, Lizzy Abusch, Jenny Worton, Dominic Cooke, Ruth Little, Paul Copley, Elliott Cowan, Linda Bassett, Graham Whybrow, Hanne Steen, Sarah Shavel, Janette Smith, The National Theatre Studio, The Lord Clyde Writers, Joyce Branagh, Alexis Peterman, Steph Farrell, Matthew Lloyd, Annelie Powell all at Theatre 503 and the Actors Centre and Raj and Blaise for all their love and support.

  They Have Oak Trees in North Carolina was written in the Winter of 2005 and Spring of 2006, before the reappearance of Natascha Kampusch in Austria and Shawn Hornbeck in Missouri, USA and prior to the disappearance of Madeleine McCann in Portugal.

  Characters

  RAY

  60s

  EILEEN

  Ray’s wife, 60s

  CLAY

  an American, late 20s

  A note on punctuation

  The presence of a slash / indicates an interruption

  by the next speaker, so that speech overlaps.

  They Have Oak Trees in North Carolina was first performed at the Tristan Bates Theatre in a co-production with Theatre503 on 13 November 2007, by the following cast:

  RAY Hilton McRae

  EILEEN Janet Amsden

  CLAY Simon Harrison

  Director Paul Robinson

  Designer Libby Watson

  Lighting Designer Chris Davey

  SCENE ONE

  October. A room in a house. This is RAY and EILEEN’s home. A large door on one side / back of the stage leading to outside.

  RAY I

  CLAY Yes?

  RAY I

  What I

  CLAY Yes

  RAY Want to know is…how?

  How did you

  It’s been twenty-two years

  CLAY I know

  RAY Twenty-two years

  CLAY Yes

  RAY So how did you find us?

  CLAY The newspaper

  RAY They gave you our address?

  CLAY No.

  Yes.

  They told me you hadn’t moved

  RAY So you you remembered?

  Is that what you’re saying?

  You remembered where you used to live?

  CLAY Yes.

  Pause.

  Sort of

  RAY Sort of?

  CLAY I couldn’t remember the name of the village

  They told me.

  I came here.

  I walked around a bit, followed my nose.

  It hasn’t changed

  RAY You’re American

  CLAY Yes.

  RAY I wasn’t expecting an American

  CLAY Weren’t you?

  RAY No

  CLAY But

  RAY Of course you should be I suppose if

  Where do you live?

  CLAY You mean now or

  RAY In America?

  CLAY Well I’ve lived all over

  It’s hard to say

  RAY You can’t pick one bit

  One bit you’d call your own or?

  Where did you live the longest?

  CLAY Place called Burningtown

  RAY Where’s that?

  CLAY North Carolina

  Pause.

  RAY This is this is a shock a

  People don’t just

  Do you understand it’s

  CLAY Yes

  RAY And my wife

  It’s been years

  CLAY I know, I know

  RAY We haven’t heard from anyone in a long time.

  Of course we used to have a lot of people bothering us

  Psychics, letter writers

  CLAY Letter writers?

  RAY Yes

  People pretending they knew something

  My brother’s uncle’s been to Florida

  You know the thing

  CLAY They were lying?

  RAY Yes

  Maybe

  I don’t know.

  One man came here, ten years ago

  Said he knew something

  Said he could help.

  My wife let him visit

  Only he didn’t know anything

  Just wanted to listen to her talking, going over

  We found out later he used to go home and

  Well…

  You know

  CLAY That’s that’s…sick

  RAY Yes.

  I thought so

  We stopped seeing people after that.

  Pause.

  So you found this place by yourself?

  CLAY Yes

  RAY That’s what you said

  You came alone?

  CLAY Yes

  Although the reporter

  RAY He wanted to come with you?

  CLAY Yes

  I told him not to

  I wanted to speak to you first

  RAY You want to sell your story

  Is that it?

  CLAY No

  RAY Well there’s no story to sell

  Unless you are.

  Beat.

  And you’re not.

  Beat.

  I’m certain you’re not.

  Pause.

  This…newspaper

  Is it a tabloid?

  CLAY A what?

  RAY A tabloid

  A red top?

  CLAY ?

 
; RAY Was there a scandal about some model or

  An actor caught with his trousers down?

  Was that the sort of newspaper you went to?

  CLAY I don’t know

  RAY You don’t know?

  CLAY No.

  But they were interested

  Very interested

  In me

  In you

  RAY Were they?

  CLAY Yes

  You’ve talked to them before that’s what they said

  RAY Years ago

  CLAY When it happened?

  RAY After we came home

  We thought it might help

  It didn’t

  Just encouraged the crack pots.

  Short pause.

  How old are you?

  CLAY Twenty-seven

  RAY You’re the right age then

  Problem is you look older

  CLAY I do?

  RAY Yes

  I’d put you more…mid-thirties.

  Have you been on the internet?

  CLAY The internet?

  RAY Websites?

  Is that how you found about

  CLAY No

  RAY There must be stuff.

  If you look

  We had a photograph

  They will have posted that somewhere on the world wide web

  I’m sure if you put the name into some chatroom or search engine

  CLAY Do you think your wife will recognise me?

  RAY I didn’t

  CLAY Yes but women are more

  RAY What?

  Beat.

  Gullible?

  CLAY No, sensitive.

  Their memories are more

  RAY Selective

  CLAY Sensual.

  RAY Sensual?

  CLAY Yes

  RAY What does that mean?

  CLAY Well, perhaps there was something about me

  My smell

  RAY Your what?

  CLAY The tone of my voice

  The shape of my ear

  RAY Your ear looks like any other ear

  CLAY To you

  RAY Yes

  CLAY But not to her.

  She will have held me many times

  She knows every part of me

  Beat.

  Where is she?

  RAY My wife?

  CLAY Yes

  RAY She’s at the cottage

  We have another house we

  CLAY Here?

  RAY Yes.

  We rent it out

  We have guests coming this afternoon

  CLAY That’s nice

  RAY It’s not.

  It’s a lot of work

  She has to clean

  Does it all herself

  We don’t have a housekeeper

  And the people they

  CLAY What?

  RAY Well, depending on

  Sometimes they leave a mess they

  CLAY Trash the joint?

  RAY No

  Never that

  But if it’s a group

  Women

  A hen party

  CLAY So it’s big?

  This house?

  RAY No

  I wouldn’t say big no

  CLAY But you said parties

  Sounds like

  Sounds like this place is impressive

  RAY Impressive?

  No

  I told you it’s a cottage it’s not big it’s not

  CLAY How many rooms?

  RAY Not many

  CLAY But you have groups stay

  RAY Yes / but

  CLAY So there must be plenty of bedrooms to accommodate

  RAY No.

  There are three

  That’s all and we have sofas sofas that pull out that

  CLAY Become beds

  RAY Yes

  So it’s not big

  Not impressive not

  CLAY When did you buy it?

  RAY Years ago

  CLAY You didn’t own this cottage when I lived here did you?

  RAY No

  Because you never lived here.

  I’ve never seen you before in my life!

  Pause.

  CLAY You’re certain of that?

  RAY Yes

  Things like this they don’t just

  Well, it’s not very likely is it?

  On a scale of one to ten the probability of it’s low very low

  There are very few examples of

  CLAY You thought I was dead

  RAY Yes

  No

  Our son not you

  CLAY So you’d given up

  RAY No no

  Not given up no never

  CLAY But the chances of this happening a reunion of this sort you think it’s impossible

  RAY No not impossible not

  I never said impossible

  CLAY I’m putting words in your mouth

  RAY Yes.

  CLAY And you don’t like it

  RAY No.

  Look, what do you want?

  CLAY I want to meet my mother

  RAY I think you should go.

  CLAY But I want

  I want your wife to see me, she’ll recognise she’ll

  RAY Please.

  I don’t know who you are or what you want but I won’t have my wife upset

  Do you understand?

  She was ill she

  took pills for years

  She used to cry every day

  I won’t go through that again.

  CLAY I’m not here to make trouble

  I honestly thought you’d be pleased to see me

  I just

  RAY What?

  What do you want?

  Who are you?

  CLAY I’m Patrick

  Your missing son

  I’ve come home.

  I knew you the moment I walked through the door

  RAY But there is nothing

  Do you understand?

  Nothing that would make me think

  The way you look or

  Patrick would never have turned out like you

  CLAY But for years I’ve tried to remember

  to figure out to

  I searched

  and I found you.

  I want a happy ending

  RAY We don’t have money

  If that’s what you want

  Is that what you want?

  CLAY No

  RAY I earn nothing

  I don’t work

  We never take holidays

  My clothes are ten years old.

  CLAY You don’t work?

  RAY No

  CLAY But you used to

  RAY Yes

  CLAY You used to work in the town.

  RAY Yes.

  Everyone did

  Everyone does

  There are no jobs here unless you’re a farmer or you work in the pub

  CLAY Your wife.

  She used to work in the pub

  The one in the next door village

  RAY She didn’t

  CLAY She did

  RAY No

  CLAY But I remember she went out she

  RAY You remember?

  CLAY Yes

  In the evenings

  She used to come home in the dark

  She used to bring home chips

  RAY Chips?

  CLAY Potato chips

  RAY You mean crisps

  CLAY They must have sold them behind the bar.

  The landlord

  He’d let her take the chips

  The crisps I mean

  They were meant for me, she let me eat them in bed

  I remember

  RAY You don’t.

  CLAY I do

  RAY You don’t

  She never did that

  CLAY She did

  RAY She didn’t

  If my wife had bought crisps I’d know about it

  CLAY Would you?

  RAY Yes

  Beat.
>
  CLAY Well maybe she didn’t tell you

  Maybe, it was a secret

  RAY My wife and I don’t have secrets.

  It’s just been us all these years we

  We are good people

  We give to charity

  We care about orphans and lost dogs and local schemes

  We don’t want trouble.

  Pause.

  CLAY This room

  It hasn’t changed

  RAY It has

  We decorated last year

  CLAY No

  It’s exactly as I remember it

  This is where

  On my birthday

  we had a party.

  Kids came and your friends

  RAY No

  CLAY You mean we never celebrated birthdays?

  RAY No

  CLAY But I remember

  I had a cake

  with blue icing.

  I remember because I liked the colour

  It was an odd colour not natural at all

  It didn’t make the cake look particularly appetising but I liked it because it was

  Unusual

  And as a kid I liked unusual things

  Didn’t I?

  RAY I don’t

  CLAY Didn’t I?

  Beat.

  And where are the pictures?

  RAY What pictures?

  CLAY They’re gone too

  You used to have photographs

  Over the fire

  Me in a christening gown me at the birthday

  The cake with the blue icing

  RAY Why would I have pictures of a child I don’t know?

  I’ve never met you before

  Until today

  Until you rudely turned up in my garden / uninvited

  CLAY Did you take them down?

  RAY Have you been watching me?

  Have you?

  Have you been waiting?

  Waiting to pounce while I cut the roses

  Or put the bin out or stopped to post a letter or

  Beat.

  Do you want to hurt me?

  CLAY Where are your friends?

  RAY Friends?

  What friends?

  CLAY You used to have photographs

  Of friends

  Right here.

  They’re gone too

  Like the birthday snaps

  RAY No

  CLAY Yes

  You were laughing

  Drinking

  On holiday

  Somewhere in Europe?

  Spain perhaps

  You were happy

  I remember those people very clearly

  They were your guys

  Mates from the old days

  A man called Bill

  I used to call him Uncle Bill

  God I so remember / Bill

  RAY Look

  We don’t see anyone, alright

  Not anymore.

  No one comes here

  CLAY Why?

  RAY What?

  CLAY Why?

  Do you not like company?

  RAY No

  Yes

  But I’ve got my wife

  The two of us we