Little Brother, Little Sister
In the deep shelter where
they escaped from the last spasm of global destruction, Sir and
Madam (a teenage brother and sister) experiment with the first
gropings of love, while Cook, their aged family servant and
symbol of timeless authority, snores in her chair
Awakening suddenly she orders them apart, threatening to grind them up for “rissoles” if they don’t behave. But the feelings stirring within them cannot be imprisoned indefinitely
When Cook falls asleep again Sir and Madam resolve to find the door leading outside, away from the restrictions of a life imposed by others and shaped by their failures
As they search for the handle Cook mumbles in her sleep of the old days and of forgotten loves, and when she rouses she speaks to the young people of how it used to be—and can never be again
Then she chastises them for trying to leave and resolves that one of them must be sacrificed if security is to be maintained. But then Sir, acting as though he were Cook’s long-lost lover, pleads his affection —a nd suddenly he is (to her) what he pretends to be
Cook falls eagerly into his arms and, just as abruptly, to her death. She has gone “outside.” Sir and Madam then turn at last towards the door, with only a vague feeling of hopefulness to guide their steps into the unknown which lies before them
- Observations (2)
- Added by Michael Hope, last modified by Jared William.
Photographs
If you have a photograph or picture that illustrates this production, please sign in to upload it, or add it to Flickr and tag it with .
Observations
-
The 1981 production at the Phoenix Theatre, Leicester cast members:
Cook – Victoria Hardcastle
Madam – Jill Ferguson
Sir – Perry CreeDirected by Chris Martin
-
Interesting to see that Cook was played by a woman in Leicester.
If you have an interesting observation or anecdote about this production that you think others may be interested in, please sign in in order to record it here.