Photo by Ivan Babydov from Pexels
Rumble thy bellyful! Spit, fire! spout rain! …
I tax not you, you elements, with unkindness …
You owe me no subscription: then let fall
Your horrible pleasure; here I stand, your slave.
－King Lear
Summer in the 2020’s. In a yard some distance outside a convent three homeless men and one homeless woman:
JAKE (wearing a straw hat),
JOE YA-KNOW (with a singer’s deep voice),
RATTLER (with a limp), and
MOLLY DEE (wearing a fancy pair of mid-calf boots, not tightly laced) are being instructed by SISTER ANGEL (in her 20’s, a secret smoker) as to the repair of a damaged rock wall on convent land.
SISTER ANGEL
See?… She wants it a couple of feet higher than before.
And … well, you know, patched up. Tidied up a bit. You know what to do.
She said you would.
JOE
Who? Your mother?
SISTER ANGEL
Yes. Mother Superior.
JAKE
Which rocks?
SISTER ANGEL
The rocks lying around. There are plenty. We trust you.
RATTLER
[in a questioning manner] The rocks … lying around ….
SISTER ANGEL
[indicating] You know. What you see … around here. And in the woods.
MOLLY DEE
Are there enough?
For what your Mother Superior wants us to do?
SISTER ANGEL
Jesus provides what we need.
MOLLY DEE
Beg pardon?
SISTER ANGEL
Jesus. Do you know Jesus?
MOLLY DEE
I walk with him every day.
He was me only friend once, before me friends here, after me Mum died….
Except for one.
JOE
Yeah. We all know Jesus.
JAKE
Poor and homeless, like us.
RATTLER
With not a coin to his name….
Life’s a circle, you know. It’s a struggle. Like traffic.
Life’s like that. If you want to find Jesus come again, look amid the homeless.
SISTER ANGEL
Call me, if you have any trouble. Or need any more water than what’s here.
I am Sister Angel.
But call me Sister Ann. Everybody does.
JOE
Glad to meet ya, Sister Ann.
Joe Ya-Know.
JAKE
Jake.
Touches the brim of his hat.
RATTLER
Rattler’s the name.
But I’m no rat; and I’m no snake.
I’m a freight train. On my way.
JOE
He’s been sayin’ that a year or two.
MOLLY DEE
Molly Dee.
Daughter of a plumber.
And daughter of a proud Welsh woman.
An orphan.
Except for me friends here.
SISTER ANGEL
Well, we’re glad you all know your Savior.
JAKE
How did you find us?
SISTER ANGEL
Mother Superior saw you building a shed.
Under an overpass.
Riding in a car.
Click here for complete script.