• Overview
• Staging information
• Translations
• Sample translations
• Production history

Scene

The play is divided into 40 scenes. These take place in thick undergrowth, in jungle clearings, on a beach and at a river.

There are three final scenes numbered 38a, 38b and 38c. The playwright specifies that these are not meant to be alternative endings. Instead, each one emerges out of the traces of the former, all magically taking place at the same time.

Staging

• The play is set on a remote island, far away from civilisation. A lot of the action takes place within the island’s dense forest. The surroundings are oppressive, and the playwright notes that this forest setting should permeate the play’s atmosphere in its entirety.
• The island is tropical, with palm and coconut trees. Throughout the play the sounds of animals and birds can be heard. The forest is being cleared by the Commandant’s men.
• The Commandant’s men operate a large transistor radio using a generator powered by a rusty bicycle.
• The characters attack each other with guns and knives. Several characters at different points find themselves caught in a net and suspended from a tree.
• In scene 35 the Boy carries a bloodied severed head.
• As the play reaches its conclusion the island comes under attack by planes flying overhead that shoot at the Commandant. At the end of scenes 38b and 38c the entire forest erupts in flames.

Characters

The characters are bedraggled, dressed in rags or old dishevelled military uniforms. The Boy is about 12 years old. The Sergeant is about 50 years old. The natives, Tanit and Denit, are short and stocky, with dark skin.

In scene 35 Denit blinds the Sergeant. He subsequently appears with empty eye sockets.

Cast number

Minimum	Maximum
7 males	9 males
0 females	1 female
7 (total)	10 (total)

Cast information

In the version of the play published in 1994, scene 26 features a native woman walking in the forest carrying a dead child. In later versions, this incident does not feature, although Carnit digs a grave for an unknown woman. In the 1999 production directed by Guillermo Heras, the character of the Boy is revealed to be a girl in disguise.

Characters

• COMMANDANT
• SERGEANT
• BOY
• TANIT
• DENIT
• CARNIT
• OLD SOLDIER
• NATIVE
• MAN

Entry written by Gwynneth Dowling. Last updated on 4 January 2011.

Post a comment

You must be logged in to post a comment. Please log in or sign up for a free account.