Authors: Jon Fosse
quite short pause
and so far
it’s been a nice walk
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hasn’t it
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at least that’s what I think
and wasn’t it good that we both
finally found the time to do it
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perhaps we should walk a little further
yes before we have something to drink
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before we stop to eat
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yes we should probably do that
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but it was good to sit down for a bit too
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have a rest
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I can feel it in my legs
yes
that we’ve been walking for some time
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can’t you
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can you feel it too
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The Man walk forwards a little
So it was good to sit down for a bit
Rest for while
The Man continues to walk forwards
You don’t want to sit for a bit longer
rest a bit more
yes
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yes we still have quite a distance to cover
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it’s a long walk all the way
to the top of the mountain
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it looks pretty far
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but we’ve got the whole day
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that’s good isn’t it
The Woman stands up and looks at The Man
you don’t want to rest any longer
we can just keep walking
yes
yes of course
The Man continues to walk forwards
I’ll come
too
The Man stops and stands and looks
What are you looking at
What is it you see
THE MAN
But don’t you see
THE WOMAN
looks
No
THE MAN
Don’t you see that it shines
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yes over there
THE WOMAN
No
THE MAN
points
there from over the mountain
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and down the mountain
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and then here
THE WOMAN
No
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no I don’t see anything
THE MAN
That strong light
THE WOMAN
No
no nothing
I don’t see anything
THE MAN
You don’t see that awfully strong light
THE WOMAN
No
The light begins to fade
THE MAN
And you don’t see that it’s like
yes gleaming space
in the light
THE WOMAN
No
THE MAN
And that the light is like
breaks off. The Man walks unsteadily forwards and The Woman walks after him
.
THE WOMAN
I don’t see anything
Wait
wait for me
I’m coming
The Man walks out and you can hear that he collapses. The Woman hurries out after him. Lights down
.
THESE EYES
Characters
FIRST VOICE
SECOND VOICE
THE SHADOW
YOUNG WOMAN
OLD WOMAN
YOUNG MAN
OLD MAN
FIRST VOICE
I am here
I am here always
Quite short pause
And I have always
been here
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but yet
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I must have
come here once
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I came here
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and then I was here
And now I am here
SECOND VOICE
I am always here
FIRST VOICE
I have been here always
SECOND VOICE
I’m just here
FIRST VOICE
We are just here
quite short pause
and this land
where we are
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it is the land from our dream
SECOND VOICE
We came from the ocean
FIRST VOICE
Are we still the ocean
SECOND VOICE
We are the ocean
we too are the ocean
and we can never part
from the ocean
because we are the ocean
FIRST VOICE
And we are the sky
SECOND VOICE
We are the sky
FIRST VOICE
We are the ocean
SECOND VOICE
And even if we are not
quite short pause
where the ocean is
quite short pause
we are still the ocean
FIRST VOICE
And we are still the sky
SECOND VOICE
Yes
FIRST VOICE
Because the ocean is our dream
SECOND VOICE
And the sky is our dream
FIRST VOICE
And the ocean is in our eyes
SECOND VOICE
And the sky
is in our eyes
FIRST VOICE
And in our faces
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in everything which is us
there is the ocean
SECOND VOICE
continues
and there is the sky
Quite short pause
FIRST VOICE
And we shall always be here
Quite short pause
SECOND VOICE
Always shall we be here
FIRST VOICE
We are here
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but I don’t want to be here anymore
SECOND VOICE
We are here always
Pause
FIRST VOICE
And we have always
been here
SECOND VOICE
Yes
quite short pause
where it comes
goes away
Short pause
We are here
FIRST VOICE
But I don’t belong here
Pause
You can see that
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Don’t you understand that
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Don’t you see that
SECOND VOICE
We are the world
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where it comes
goes away
Short pause
FIRST VOICE
Yes
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yes I belong here
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with you
I belong here
SECOND VOICE
continues
where
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it comes
goes away
FIRST VOICE
Will you hold me please
SECOND VOICE
Yes I will
Pause. The Shadow enters
THE SHADOW
Here
This is where you will be
This is where you will always be
I am here
I am always here
Pause. The Young Woman enters and behind her The Old Woman enters
FIRST VOICE
Oh look
quite short pause
look there she comes
there she is
don’t you see her
SECOND VOICE
Yes
yes I see her
FIRST VOICE
And isn’t she beautiful
SECOND VOICE
Yes
FIRST VOICE
Very beautiful
THE SHADOW
This is where you’ll be
This is where you’ll always be
FIRST VOICE
She is beautiful
Pause
SECOND VOICE
wonderingly
This is the world
This is the land
from our dream
THE SHADOW
This is where you’ll be
I am always here
The Shadow looks at The Young Woman
YOUNG WOMAN
And now
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and now
now
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he’ll soon come now
I know that
that he’ll be here soon
THE SHADOW
I am here
SECOND VOICE
wondering
So this is the world
that we are
FIRST VOICE
This is the world
And this is where we’ll be
THE SHADOW
This is where you must always be
SECOND VOICE
This is the land from our dream
FIRST VOICE
We are the world
YOUNG WOMAN
I am here
and I am waiting
for him
THE SHADOW
I am here
Always am I here
YOUNG WOMAN
I am here now
And soon he’ll come
I know that
Short pause
Because I’m born
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and that’s no small thing
Laughs briefly
But why am I thinking that
I mustn’t think like that
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but it’s quite a big thing
in fact
to be born
I mean
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yes being born
and before that
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before I was born
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no
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no I don’t want to think about that
but then
yes
yes before I was born
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yes where was I then
Short pause
I was born
and then all the other things were gone
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I am just here
I am here
by the ocean
beneath the sky
SECOND VOICE
I am here
I am here always
I must always be here
FIRST VOICE
We shall never disappear
Questioningly
We must always be here
THE SHADOW
You must be here always
FIRST VOICE
I was just here
suddenly I was here
Pause
SECOND VOICE
continues
here
quite short pause
where it comes
goes away
FIRST VOICE
We are always here
YOUNG WOMAN
I am here
And soon he’ll be
breaks off
But I wasn’t anywhere was I
yes before I was born
of course
I mean
Short pause
And still
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yes that’s not possible
either
yes that I wasn’t anywhere
quite intensely
because I am here
breaks off
and I must have been somewhere before
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because from nothing
comes nothing
Because that’s also true
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But I don’t remember anything
yes from before I was born
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or
well
yes
yes
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well I can’t really say I remember anything
of course not
but that’s because the word remember
yes
yes it means something else
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but if I know something
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surely I can say that I know something
she walks around a little
yes
almost dancingly
yes in its own way
in one way
I suppose I know something
yes
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yes that which is me
that which thinks
which moves
around the place
which thinks itself around the place
yes that
yes that knows something
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yes that was there
yes before I was born
somehow
yes
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but no
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no listen to me
thinking
SECOND VOICE
We are here
And we must be here
THE SHADOW
You must always be here
FIRST VOICE
We are here
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and here we shall be
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but
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but must we be here
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why must we be here
SECOND VOICE
We just have to
be here
YOUNG WOMAN
continues
and I who
yes I who am not used to thinking
who am
yes just
breaks off, giggles
who yes just
breaks off, giggles
and why am I here
quite short pause