Tick Tock

Playwright’s notes: This is a surrealist play; time is suspended in a dreamscape, only until the end of the play when there is a snap back to reality. There are 6 peer adults in their early 20s, tied to a chair with rope. Tied behind each rope is a time-bomb. To have the 6 actors onstage being tied to the chair, crew members are required

Summary: 6 people are held hostage. Just 12 seconds before the time-bomb explodes, there is a suspension of time.

6 characters:

Two

Four

Six

Eight

Ten

Twelve

(A suspension of time. The 6 chairs are in a staggered semicircle formation onstage, the centre 2 chairs being most forward, the 2 chairs at the ends being most backward. As there are spots on the characters that are speaking)

TWO:

It is an object that tells the time. It has three hands. An hour hand. A minute hand.

ALL:

A second hand. Tick. Tock. Tick. Tock.

TWELVE:

It has twelve numbers.

TWO:

One. Two.

FOUR:

Three. Four.

SIX:

Five. Six.

EIGHT:

Seven. Eight.

TEN:

Nine. Ten.

TWELVE:

Eleven. Twelve.

FOUR:

It works on battery. It can stop working when the battery runs out.

SIX:

It has an alarm function. Preset, it can ring and wake you up.

EIGHT:

It can be mobile. Or it can be grounded in a place, never to be moved or provoked.

ALL:

Or never wanted to be moved or provoked. Because one might lose a life.

TEN:

Even so, it is merely a bystander of life. The mad rush, or the relaxing passing of time may seem to speed time up, or slow time down, or suspend time.

TWELVE:

But it always runs at its own stable pace.

TWO:

It is the very constant of passing time. It is an everyday necessity. Or is it a control for the events that come and go? Is it a measurement of age?

ALL:

It is a measurement of age. It gives a limit to a life.

SIX:

If the earth stopped moving, time still moves on. It still ticks on. But if it stopped ticking, will the earth keep moving?

TEN:

When a battery runs out, we can calculate its lifespan. Just like life, isn’t it? When we finally leave, everyone else knows how long we’ve lived, except us.

FOUR:

It can betray time. It can malfunction but time always goes on. It can speed up, slow down, or stop at its own accord. It can betray

ALL:

Us.

EIGHT:

We invented it. We invented something that will destroy us. Yet we have to depend on it. We have to depend on our enemy.

TWELVE:

We are being controlled by our enemy. It decides our coming and our going. We can’t go against it, we can’t turn it around.

ALL:

We cannot go back to the past or to the future. But if we didn’t invent it, we wouldn’t have lived without it.

(Simultaneously turning their backs to face the audience to see the time-bombs)

Yet, by inventing it, we don’t have much time to live on.

(A beat.)

(Now no longer directing at the audience, but at each other)

TWO: (addressing Four)

How did we get here?

FOUR: (addressing Six)

We were exploring the woods.

SIX: (addressing Eight)

At dead of night.

Eight: (addressing Ten)

Someone came and knocked us out.

Ten: (addressing Twelve)

And here we are, tied to these.

Twelve: (addressing Ten)

Why the hell did we do such a thing?

Ten: (addressing Eight)

We wouldn’t have to end up in such a state!

Eight: (addressing Six)

How do we get out of here?

Six: (addressing Four)

I still have so much to do…

Four: (addressing Two)

So much, so much I want to do.

Two:

But can’t.

(The 6 characters remove the rope. This forms an illusion that it is the 6 characters themselves that got them into this mess. A possible interpretive dance sequence about delusion and loss)

(They are flat on the ground)

Two:

We were in search of the Orb.

Four:

The Orb that suspends time as we wish.

Six:

Because time is never enough for us.

Eight:

Time passes too fast, yet too slowly.

Ten:

We wanted time to stop.

Twelve:

But now we know, time can never stop. It will always keep ticking on. The clock-

ALL:

Don’t say it-

(A moment of confusion. They run around stage, looking for salvation, but after this miming and movement sequence, they are subjected to reality, and return to tie themselves to the chairs)

(A snap back to reality)

ALL:

Too late.

ALL:

We were searching for a way to speed time up, to slow time down, to suspend time, but we realized time cannot be sped up, slowed down, or suspended. (This line is repeated again and again while there is layering from speaking characters)

(At the same time there is a synchronized tapping of feet)

TWELVE:

Twelve, eleven.

TEN:

Ten, nine.

EIGHT:

Eight, seven.

SIX:

Six, five.

FOUR:

Four, three.

TWO:

Two.

ALL:

One.

(The sound of an explosion with a blackout)

Labels: tick tock

3:33 PM ·