Doggart, Sebastian. 1996. Latin American Plays: New Drama from Argentina, Cuba, Mexico and Peru, London, Nick Herne Books
pp. 29-84.Shut the door. (Beats his chest. Exalted, wide-eyed.) An assassin. An assassin. (Falls to his knees.)
What’s all this?
The performance has begun.
Again?
Of course! It’s not the first time.
Please don’t get upset.
Grow up.
Mum and Dad haven’t gone out yet.
So?
I killed them. (Laughs. Stretches his arms solemnly out to the audience.) Can’t you see the two coffins? Look: candles, flowers ... We’ve filled the room with gladioli. Mum’s favourite. (Pause.) They can’t complain. Now they’re dead we’ve made them happy. I myself dressed their stiff sticky bodies ... And with these hands I dug a deep, deep hole. Earth, more earth. (Gets up quickly.) They still haven’t discovered the crime. (Smiles. To CUCA) What are you thinking about? (Caressing her chin as if she were a child.) I understand: you’re scared. (She moves away.) Oh, you’re impossible.
I can’t stand all this nonsense.
Nonsense? You think a crime is nonsense? How cold you are little sister! Nonsense? Do you really think that?
Yes.
Then what is important to you?
I want you to help me. We have to tidy up this house. This room is a pit. Cockroaches, rats, moths, caterpillars ... the whole bloody lot. (Takes an ashtray from the chair and puts it on the table.)
How far do you think you’re going to get with that duster?
It’s a start.
Put the ashtray back in its place.
The ashtray belongs on the table, not on the chair.
Do what I tell you.
Don’t start Lalo.
I know what I’m doing. (Picks up the vase and puts it on the floor.) In this house the ashtray belongs on the chair and the vase on the floor.
And the chairs?
On the table.
And what about us?
We float with our feet in the air and our heads hanging down.
The above sample taken from the translation Night of the Assassins (1996) by Sebastian Doggart is licensed under a Creative Commons License.
Entry written by Gwendolen Mackeith. Last updated on 5 October 2010.