Produced by Juliet Sutherland, Juliet Sutherland, Charles M. Bidwell

and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team.

RADA

A DRAMA OF WAR IN ONE ACT

BYALFRED NOYES

Author of "The Wine Press," "Tales of the Mermaid Tavern," Etc.

1913

PERSONS OF THE PLAY

RADA, wife of the village doctor.
SUBKA, her daughter, aged twelve.
ARRAM } two hostile soldiers quartered
MICHAEL } in her house, in time of war.
NANKO, a half-witted schoolmaster.

Several soldiers.

THE SCENE is in the Balkans, in a village which has just been taken by theenemy, on Christmas Eve.

RADA

SCENE—_A guest-chamber, the typical living-room of a prosperous villagedoctor in the Balkans. On the left, a small window and an entrance door.On the right, a door leading into a bedroom. At the back, an open fire oflogs is burning brightly. Over the fireplace is the eikonostasis, withthree richly coloured and gilded eikons, the central one of the Madonna.The light, which is never allowed to go out, is burning before it. Theroom is lit at present only by this, the fire-light, and two candles inbrass candlesticks on a black wooden table under the window. Rows ofporcelain plates round the walls gleam fitfully. On either side of theeikonostasis is a large chibouk, with inlaid bowl and amber mouth-piece.There is a divan with scarlet rugs flung across it to the right of thefire; and there are several skins and rugs on the floor.

Two Roumanian soldiers_, ARRAM_ and MICHAEL, are seated at the table,drinking.

RADA, a dark handsome woman, sits weeping with her head bowed in herhands, on the divan.

NANKO, the idiot, sits on the floor, rubbing his hands, snapping hisfingers, chuckling to himself, and staring into the fire.

ARRAMLook here, my girl, where's the use of snivelling? You ought to thinkyourself damned lucky to be alive.

RADA
O my God! My God!

MICHAEL
This is war, this is! And you can't expect war to be all cakes and cream.

[They laugh and drink.]

ARRAMYou ought to think yourself damned lucky to be alive, and have two menquartered on you instead of one. If your husband and the rest of thevillagers hadn't made such a disturbance, they might have been alive,too.

NANKOExactly! Exactly! I used to be a schoolmaster, you know, in the old days;and, if you knew what I know, you'd understand, my dear, it's entirely aquestion of the survival of the fittest! The survival of the fittest!That's what it is.

ARRAMWouldn't they have done the same to us, if they'd had the chance? We'vegot women and children at home snivelling and saying, "O my God, O myGod," just like you. Don't you trouble about God. What can He do whenboth sides go down on their marrow-bones? He can't make both sides win,can He?

RADA
O God! God! God!

MICHAEL[Getting up and standing in front of her.]Look here. We've had enough of this music. We've been cutting throats allday, and now we want to unbuckle a bit. There'll be hell to pay when theother boys come back. A pretty wild-goose chase you've sent them on, too,with your tale about the old J

BU KİTABI OKUMAK İÇİN ÜYE OLUN VEYA GİRİŞ YAPIN!

Sitemize Üyelik ÜCRETSİZDİR!