My section of the script

1. |-
24110120t8
BERT: Do as your mum says, Jack.
Jack goes to his bench
The postman returns holding another telegram. Sal stares in shock. Bert takes the telegram,
but can't bring himself to open it. He struggles with indecisionfor a moment while they stand
in silence.
POSTMAN: I'm sorry Bert.....
JACK: It might be summat else.
Finally, Jack takes the telegram and opens it himself,
SAL: No...
Bert loses the strength he managed to gather after hearing of Arthur's death.
BERT: I can't believe it.
SAL: I don't believe it.
BERT: They can't both be gone, right at the very end of it all. It's too bloody cruel
SAL: It's not true, there's been a mistake. (She grabs it and rips it up) Arthur- I
know he's gone, I can feel it, but not Eddie, he's still out there. I'm telling you, he's still with
us.
BERT: Oh Sal.
(helplessly): Mum, it says here, he's dead.
A mother knows, and I'm telling you our son's alive, Bert.
Come on, let's not do this. What's the point in denial, we may as well just face
JACK
BERT:
it, they're
Bert's voice catches
JACK: This isn't fair! Two telegrams in one go, it just isn't fair. If they were going to
die why couldn't it happen sooner, why now when we think they're coming home? Why
weren't Arthur and Eddie more careful?
Neither parent reacts to Jack's outburst; they are too busy with their own thoughts.
JACK (feeling lost): What do we do now?
SAL: We remember Arthur and we wait for news of what's really happened to
Eddie, we wait for him to come home.
SAL:
5

2. 2411012018
Bert shakes his head.
BERT (stiffly): I don't want to be a part of this.
Sal sees she's not going to get any supportfrom Bert and exits.
Bert puts his arms around Jack...
BERT: She'll come round, son. We'll get through this.
JACK But we won't forget them will we Dad?
BERT No son we'll never forget Arthur and Eddie. Just like the song
CHOIR - SOLO SINGER resumes song
.. Eh?
We two have run about the slopes,
and picked the daisies fine;
But we've wandered many aweary foot,
srnce auld lang syne.
CHORUS
For auld lang syne, my dear,
for auld lang syne,
we'll take a cup of kindness yet,
for auld lang syne
The action shifts to the balcony.
Soldiers are gathered on board a ship, sailingfrom the Middle East to Europe. They are
members of the cavalry, who have had to give up their horses to help with the final push on
the Western Front.
Albert is a strong and steady soldier, pushing down his nerves to face the final hurdle of the
war. He tries to calm Oliver, q young Welsh teenoger, who has served the majority of the
war and now only wants to go home.
A third soldier sits nearby, seemingly agitated by Oliver.
OLIVER: It doesn't seem right, we've done our bit, and it feels like it should be over
now. We should be sailing back home . . . ..not heading off towards more danger. We've
made it through everything, Gallipoli, the lot and it's a miracle we did, but I feel like we're on
borrowed time. The luck's got to run out at some point, we can't possibly survive the Westem
Front too. We've all heard what it's like over there. It was at Paeschendaele that my cousin
went missing. He got buried under all the mud, they reckon. I worry about my mum, how
would she feel if that happened to me?
SID: You should have thought of that before enlisting. Look, why don't you just
keep it to yourself, eh? The rest of us don't need to hear you jabbering on.
6

3. 24110t20t8
Albert tuts at Sid, but wants to try and stop Oliver from becoming hysterical.
ALBERT: There really is no point keep going over it, you can't change anl.thing.
OLIVER: I know I know, it just seems to calm my nerves- talking. Another thing is I'm
not used to being a soldier without a horse. Ivor and me were going to get through the war
together. I think I'm going to feel lost without him. Do you feel like that about Monty?
ALBERT: Yes, I do, but then maybe we should be glad it's all over for them.
OLIVER: I suppose.
ALBERT: And it is nearly over for us. Like you say, we,ve survived this long, so I don't
see why we can't make it through the last bit.
Oliver paces around restlessly.
OLIVER: Before the war, I never imagined I'd travel so far and see things like deserts
and pyramids. Who in my family would ever have thought it possible? But I've got to say I
really miss the Welsh Mountains. All that barren landscapes...I even miss the feel of the
Welsh rain against my face.
SID: Fancy yourself a bit of a war poet, eh? That lad's going soft, all this talk of
being scared and mountains. You'd have thought this war would have made a man of him.
ALBERT: All right, just leave it Sid, will you?
OLIVER: What's up with him?
ALBERT: Truthfully, he's probably just as nervous as you. Look, just keep your chin up;
see this as a little stop off on the way home. I have to get back, I'm planning on getting
married, you see. I haven't asked her yet, but judging by her last letter, I'm sure she's
expecting it. And besides that Jack, my dog, he'll be there waiting for me - he,ll come
running as soon as he sees me.
Oliver nods and starts to sound more confident.
OLIVER: That's great, good luck to you! There's no girl waiting for me, but I can almost
see myself walking up the little lane to my mum's cottage. I can see it; I can feel it, if only
we can survive France-
An explosion rips through the ship.
SOLOIST MYFANWY (In Wetsh)
CHOIR MYFANWY in Engtish
7