Monologue: From Parent to Parent (Good Friday)

Scene: Home living room, 1 comfi chair facing “audience” with small table with a picture frame on it.

-Mother enters from side door, cleaning house (maybe dusting or sweeping, humming along) moving towards chair. Dusting coffee table, starts dusting picture, stops, looks at picture, sits down.

“Hm (smiles). I really should have put this in the attic years ago…it’s only gathering dust now. (sits, smiling at picture some more, then puts it back). Who am I kidding – I’ll never put it away. It’s the last picture I’ve got from you…the last memory of you looking happy.

I wonder what happened… you were such a happy boy. Do you remember how you used to laugh when we used to sing along to the Radio in the car with the Windows down… and then suddenly you changed… I know if you could hear me now you’d tell me not to tell you that I told you so…but I DID! I told you that those boys would be trouble… but you wouldn’t listen.

(moves forward to step, as if looking out of window) All the neighbours were talking, about how Mary’s Son was trouble, how he couldn’t be trusted. I’d hear about you in the shops, how the teachers didn’t want you around them anymore, how you’d been caught stealing, how you’d been on wine… and only yesterday Rachel from across the road said she heard you’d been arrested? She didn’t know any details but then she’s and old gossip and it’s probably not true…

(Silence…back to chair, picking up picture again, looks at it)

I wonder what made you change… did something happened that you didn’t tell me? Did I do something wrong? Have I not been a good mother? I hope that whatever it is, you know that I miss you. I’m just waiting for you to come back… where are you?

(Puts picture back on table)

Oh my God…where is my son? Please, wherever he is, please, bring him back to me, please keep him safe… If you had a son, you would want to know that he was safe…Oh God,if you had a son, just like my Barabus, you’d want to be sure that he is allright…, oh God, if you had a son just like I do, you wouldn’t let anybody hurt him. Oh my God…if you had a son, just like my Barabus, you would – if you could – take any suffering in his place….