Black is the New White
Page 9
SONNY If this changes anything /
RAY / Sonny. It’s right. You’re still part of the family. You’re still Sonny. Just give the Jesus stuff a break.
SONNY Ray, I had an Aboriginal scholarship through school and uni. I was Aboriginal captain of the Wallabies.
I was the Aboriginal sportsman of the year. I’m the ambassador for the Aboriginal kids sports fund.
My idea of who I am was based on this one thing.
And it was never true.
I’m a fraud.
RAY You didn’t know.
SONNY I made money off being Aboriginal, Ray.
RAY Do you want to know why Charlotte is so mad at me?
Back when I was in politics, I helped get through laws that would allow Aboriginal people to negotiate land leases with corporations who wanted to use their land. I wanted to win so badly that I agreed to what has turned out to be a very awful clause. Just to get the laws through. Just to win.
That clause has been very disadvantageous to many Aboriginal people.
All because of my ambition.
I fought other battles. Thought I could make up for it. I never had to face the community. Was never confronted with the reality of what I’d done. Until Charlotte found out.
Something happened to me as I got older. I stopped questioning the ground I stood on. You start to think it’s all about you. You start to think hope isn’t a real thing.
You need to be there for your community, Sonny.
That’s what Rose cares about.
SONNY Thanks, Ray.
SONNY exits.
RAY That was very decent of you, Francis. What you said to Sonny.
FRANCIS You said a Tongan son and a White son.
RAY … Well, I thought, shit, if you can love my daughter and make her happy, I have to love you too.
FRANCIS I love you too, Dad.
RAY Too soon, Francis. You’re on probation. Six months probation for nudity. And six months for not asking me first for permission to marry my daughter.
FRANCIS I didn’t ask your permission because as a feminist / I believe a woman has a right—
RAY / Okay, okay. As a fellow feminist, good answer. Six months only then, Francis. If Charlotte loves you, she’ll do anything for you. Just like her mother.
Don’t make the same mistake I did. Don’t make everything about you. Don’t make her sacrifice her dreams.
FRANCIS I want to fight for her. New York, Alicia Keys, / Brownstones—
RAY / Alicia Keys? Do you love my daughter, Francis?
FRANCIS Of course, I do!
RAY Then let’s go and get her back! Ready?!
FRANCIS Ready!
RAY I can’t hear you! READY?!
FRANCIS READY!
RAY and FRANCIS leave. CHARLOTTE and ROSE enter. They start tidying up.
NARRATOR
Each of these people has a secret: about who they are or what they’ve done or who they want to be. Joan is very lonely sometimes.
Ray went to a consultation for hair plugs, but he is worried he left it too late.
Rose is scared she will be a terrible mother.
Charlotte once had a crush on Fatty Vautin.
Francis once applied for business school but was rejected.
Sonny cheated on an online test to become a marriage celebrant.
Dennison has been learning to play the banjo and Marie wonders if something is wrong with her because she has never had a hobby.
At the end of the day, they are all people and they are all scared and they are all trying to get by and love.
CHARLOTTE Do you really think all those things? About races sticking together to survive?
ROSE I don’t know. I’ve had these views my entire life, Charlotte.
CHARLOTTE But what about Sonny?
ROSE I didn’t mean what I said, Char. I’m not going to love you or your children any less. Although I could do without Dennison Smith in my life.
CHARLOTTE It’s not just my kids, but their kids and their kids. Would you call them Black? Would you call them family?
JOAN appears. She squeezes down in the middle of them with champagne and glasses.
JOAN I’m glad to see you both talking. I feel like I should flog you both over the food fight.
JOAN starts pouring the champagne and handing out glasses.
CHARLOTTE Mum, what if your grandchildren are White? How would you feel?
JOAN They’ll be Aboriginal. Because you are.
NARRATOR “Mmhmm …”
CHARLOTTE That’s not what Rose said before.
ROSE I don’t know, Charlotte. It’s confusing.
JOAN Both of you, stop getting so caught up on Black and White. Race is values, the same as any other construct in life. But values aren’t people. If you forget about people, your victories can turn into your vices in a heartbeat. If this isn’t the life you want, give it up. You can blame your father for what he has done in the past, but don’t blame him for your future. We didn’t raise you like that.
Live what you believe in. Keep questioning your privilege and those who have power. Both of you have self-determination. I’ve made sure of that. So use it.
JOAN pulls a joint out of her bra. She lights it and takes a toke and offers it to the girls. She falls into the couch.
JOAN Now, after this one, no more. I want grandkids.
MARIE enters.
MARIE Do I smell marijuana?
JOAN passes MARIE the joint.
JOAN Here.
MARIE Goodie. This is good shit.
JOAN It’s from David Joneses.
ROSE Sonny’s Tongan. Sonny is Tongan. Sonny is Tongan. I’ve never said that out loud before.
MARIE You better get used to it.
FRANCIS starts playing “Mysterious Girl” as SONNY, RAY and DENNISON carry him in.
CHARLOTTE Don’t say anything.
FRANCIS stops and gets down on one knee. CHARLOTTE steps forward to FRANCIS and pulls him up.
CHARLOTTE You were wrong before. And being spoilt. And truth be told, sometimes you still smell slightly of vinegar but I love you, Francis Smith. And I was wrong too. Sometimes I say things like “artisanal bread shop” and maybe I do romanticise the working class. It scared me that you gave up on our dream so quickly, but I realise that what I wanted was for you to give up everything to follow my dream. That’s not fair.
FRANCIS I was scared. And I was wrong. I gave up quickly, but that’s not who I am, Charlotte. I fight for what I love and I promise to never give up on you or us again.
CHARLOTTE Let’s go to New York.
FRANCIS hands CHARLOTTE a piece of paper.
FRANCIS I already booked the tickets.
CHARLOTTE gets down on one knee.
CHARLOTTE Francis Smith … will you marry me?
FRANCIS Yes.
CHARLOTTE hands FRANCIS a ring box.
CHARLOTTE Don’t open it. It’s empty. I just thought it would add to the drama.
CHARLOTTE and FRANCIS kiss.
RAY Dennison and I have an agreement we have signed.
DENNISON About our behaviour and how to share time.
RAY It’s called the Ebony …
DENNISON … and Ivory Treaty of 2017.
CHARLOTTE Are you serious?
DENNISON We’ve both signed and stamped it.
FRANCIS reads it. He starts to laugh.
CHARLOTTE Let me see that.
CHARLOTTE starts to laugh as well.
RAY We’ve agreed to not be dickheads and to keep our opinions to ourselves.
DENNISON Except when asked. And even then, we’ll consult before sharing.
CHARLOTTE Dad.
FRANCIS Thank you, Dad.
DENNISON Francis, I love you.
FRANCIS I love you too, Dad.
CHARLOTTE hugs both RAY and DENNISON.
SONNY Rose, I’m sorry. I’m sorry I’m not Aboriginal or the man you fell in love with. Do you forgive me?
ROSE Of course I don’t forgive you. You have nothing to be sorry about. Sonny, you will always be the man I fell in love with.
SONNY Always … Unless a ghost or non-human entity took possession of me. Or I had a brain replacement and then I would be somebody else in my body.
ROSE Yep!
SONNY I don’t know if God has a plan. I just miss my dad, Rose.
ROSE I know.
DENNISON Marie, I have something to say to you.
MARIE Yes, Dennison?
DENNISON I accept you and your sexual identity and … your polyamory. I just hope that next time you are seeking sexual pleasure, you consider myself to join you before your other suitors … if that’s okay?
MARIE Dennison, it’s been twelve years since you last kissed me with tongue!
DENNISON I … Look, it’s been … after a certain age …
MARIE Fuck it. Kiss me, Dennison.
MARIE and DENNISON kiss with tongue.
RAY Joan, I’m thinking about quitting Twitter.
JOAN … That’s it?
RAY What?
JOAN All of this honesty and romance and you just tell me you’re quitting goddam Twitter?
RAY For you, Joan! For you! Because I love you, I’m quitting Twitter!
JOAN Come here, you big oaf.
FRANCIS We’re going to New York!
CHARLOTTE And getting married!
FRANCIS Just in case you’d forgotten.
SONNY Why wait? I would like to do one thing for you.
ROSE Sonny is a celebrant!
SONNY I got a certificate on the internet. Let me marry you.
CHARLOTTE Yes.
FRANCIS It’d be our honour.
FRANCIS and CHARLOTTE stand before SONNY.
SONNY Ready?
FRANCIS/CHARLOTTE Ready.
SONNY Look, I don’t really remember anything from the course. I skipped a lot. Anyways, I now pronounce you, husband and wife.
MYSTERIOUS GIRL starts to play. They dance. Everyone dances. It’s a happy ending.
NARRATOR
They were a tribe.
A lost tribe.
An old tribe.
A new tribe.
And no matter where they end up or who they become, they will all live happily ever after.
Because they are all very rich.
The end.
THE END.
ORIGINAL CAST AND CREW
Black is the New White was first produced by Sydney Theatre Company at Wharf 1 Theatre on 10 May 2017 with the following cast and creative team:
Francis Smith
James Bell
Rose Jones
Kylie Bracknell (Kaarljilba Kaardn)
Ray Gibson
Tony Briggs
Narrator
Luke Carroll
Marie Smith
Vanessa Downing
Dennison Smith
Geoff Morrell
Joan Gibson
Melodie Reynolds-Diarra
Charlotte Gibson
Shari Sebbens
Sonny Jones
Anthony Taufa
Director
Paige Rattray
Designer
Renée Mulder
Lighting Designer
Ben Hughes
Composer & Sound Designer
Steve Toulmin
Assistant Director
Julia Patey
Voice & Text Coach
Charmian Gradwell
Production Manager
Whitney Eglington
Stage Manager
Todd Eichorn
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Nakkiah Lui is a co-writer and star of Black Comedy and co-host of the Buzzfeed podcast Pretty for an Aboriginal. She has been a playwright-in-residence for Sydney’s Belvoir Theatre and artist-in-residence for the Griffin Theatre. Most recently Nakkiah has appeared as a regular guest on Screen Time on ABC and her new six-part comedy series, Kiki & Kitty, premiered on ABC in 2017. She is a Gamilaroi/Torres Strait Islander woman and a leader in the Australian Aboriginal community.