Who Am I If Nobody is Looking?
Entire monologue is delivered by an anonymous character wrapped in a doona, sitting in the middle of an empty stage. A follow spot illuminates them, the rest of the stage is dark.
The tone of voice is soothing, almost wistful
ANONYMOUS:
Isn’t it lovely, the quiet?
Not that I don’t like to listen, but there’s just something so calming about silence
Ordinarily, everything bustles and shuffles, moves and moans and groans in a constant deafening ruckus
Til’ everything stops.
The world appears suspended in a frozen bubble of time. We keep moving, but it’s slow
And the days roll into one and time ceases to hold monopoly over our minds.
These empty hours abound and cushion a tired soul,
Holding promises of so much more.
ANONYMOUS:
Isn’t it lovely, the stillness?
The way the silence wraps you in a tight embrace and quietly insists you stop.
It’s so simple to agree, conform and not question why?
To stop pretending, to stop acting, to finally allow the hidden things to run free.
Almost free. They’re not allowed to leave the frozen bubble of time.
And as the shutters disappear, my mind becomes so much more than my own.
It is a breeding ground for hundreds of people, thousands of worlds unencumbered by the problems that stifle our own, that stifle mine.
And in my mind they flourish, because when the body breaks, the mind is free to wander
Tone of voice becomes more fearful and scared as the final section goes on. Final line delivered almost in tears
ANONYMOUS:
Isn’t it lovely, the calm?
But as the timeless crashes to a halt and demands that the world begin again,
The bubble is shattered.
But the voices won’t go back, they want to stay in the frozen bubble of time.
The silence no longer comforts but constrains, demanding you stay still.
All the memories and thoughts that have numbed me into the quiet
Have become a straight jacket tethering me in place
Time is not frozen, I am.
Isn’t it lovely, the quiet?
