2013: HULL ANNOUNCED AS CITY OF CULTURE
By Lydia Marchant This play was commissioned as part of TEN and first performed in March 2019 by 55 members of Hull Truck Theatre’s Young Company. TEN featured 10 ten-minute plays, each based on a year in the decade since Hull Truck Theatre moved in to its Ferensway home. This play is inspired by 2013’s announcement that Hull would be 2017 City of Culture and set at Welly, a nightclub and music venue in Hull. Plot This play follows friends Emma and Scott attending a gig by The Pigeon Detectives. Emma is drawn to the girl in crowd and is intrigued by her. As the play unfolds, Emma determines whether she has the confidence to go and say hello. Notes: Recommended for 12+. This play contains references to underaged drinking. This play was written for a group of young people to perform as an ensemble which means that they take a shared responsibility for telling story rather than playing individual characters. However, if there is a character name in bold on the left then the dialogue on the right should be spoken by that character. A straight black horizontal line may represent a change in topic, location or lapse in time. About the playwright: Lydia Marchant wrote her first play for Hull Truck Theatre’s Young Writers Festival when she was 13. She was Young Writer in Residence between 2012 and 2015 and is now an Affiliate Artist. Her work for Hull Truck Theatre includes THE EXPENDABLES (2012), SPLIT (2015), DEFIANCE (2017), LEFTOVERS (2018), TEN PLAYS (2019) and MUMSY (2019). Lydia is part of the BBC’s Writers Academy, led by John Yorke, for which she is writing episodes of EASTENDERS, CASUALTY and HOLBY CITY. She also has work in development with Cuba Pictures and BBC Factual. She is Associate Writer of The Roaring Girls, with whom she developed BEACH BODY READY, and has also worked with companies including Middle Child, Silent Uproar, York Theatre Royal, Derby Theatre and Paines Plough. She has a Distinction in MA Writing for Stage and Broadcast Media from the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama, and trained on writers programmes including Writing Squad, Leeds Playhouse, National Theatre, Soho Theatre, Royal Court and BFI.
2013: HULL ANNOUNCED AS CITY OF CULTURE Cast Emma Scott Edgy Girl 1. - Ensemble 1. The Welly Nightclub. 2. It’s just Welly, actually. 3. Emma gingerly steps out her mum’s Micra. 4. Faces the mouth of the dingy labyrinth. 5. Freezing her bum off in a mud-coloured shirt she fished out a bin in Chinese Laundry. 6. Gross or great? She still int 100% sure. Emma No one’s even here yet. 7. Emma’s best mate Scott’s trying out eye liner. Scott Come on! Doors opened at 7.15 and it’s already 7.23! 8. Rubs his eye. Black smears across one cheek. 9. She dunt tell him. Scott Your mum definitely printed the tickets, yeah? 10. Breath it in. 11. Look like you’ve been to gigs before. 12. Like you’re always at gigs. 13. Emma’s Converse’re sticking to the floor. 14. Her hands’re feeling their way along hot red walls. 15. Breathing it all in. The beautiful seediness. 16. Till there’s a hand on her chest. And a stamp on her hand.
17. And an ‘Under 18’ band round her wrist. 18. Bright florescent yellow. Ugh. ————————— 19. Lights cut black. Crowd hold their breath. Stillness. Emma Scott. Scott! Scott What? Emma Think Hull’ll get Big Weekend in 2017? Like Derry have? Scott Ugh, Emma we aren’t about Rita Ora / Calvin Harris anymore. THIS is proper music. 20. The Pigeon Detectives walk onstage. 21. White light. A hundred bodies surge together. 22. There’s summat about Here. 23. Because Emma’s a Photographer 24. Well, she does Level 3 Photography. 25. And there’s summat about being Here 26. The sweat. The bass beating her body. 27. The 3 glasses of Tesco Value Gin at pre’s. 28. She starts seeing this world like she int part of it no more. On the outside, looking in. 29. Her head starts taking pictures. 30. Image 1: bloke-with-Liam-Gallagher-hair sprays freshly-pulled pint all down his Fred Perry. 31. Image 2: underage girl sways with awkward shoulders. 32. Image 3: group of mates scream wrong words from the back o’ their throats.
33. Image 4: 7/10 girl pulls 4/10 boy. Still eyes-fixed on the 8/10 boy she arrived with. Scott Em! Here 34. Scott cuts into her thoughts. Holds out 2 cups o’ summat-and-coke. Emma Oh my God, did you get served? Dint they see the wristband? Oh my God Scott that’s Scott Yeah, not quite. Emma Oh, well How? Scott Um So you see the couple sucking-face over there? Well I just kinda Emma You dint! Scott, you can’t just 35. Scott sniffs his drink and sips. Scott I mean, it doesn’t smell of Rohypnol. 36. The dance-floor’s looking like one of them old toys. Spin it and the picture moves. 37. Image 5 - 4 perfectly-synchronised ‘smoking area?’ gestures. 38. Image 6. Image 6. Image 39. God. God 40. Image 6. 41. Oh my
42. Image 6. 43. Stood out to one side. 44. This girl. Woman. Lady. 45. This lady. Like nowt Emma’s ever seen before. Wide blue trousers / wide blue top 46. Like she’s been dressed by the past. Or the future. Or summat. 47. Floor thick with beer / sick / sweat. 48. But her trainers. 49. Daz-white. 50. How are her trainers that clean? 51. Emma can’t see no more images but Hers 52. Plaid shirts / denim shorts / bottles o’ Hooch fade out black 53. What’s she doing here? 54. Not from here. No way. 55. London? Manchester? Maybe Leeds at a push? 56. Must of come with the band. 57. Yeah, defo with the band. 58. Emma dunt know. In that moment she dunt know. Can’t work out. 59. Does she want her? 60. Or does she wanna be her? Scott Em! Em! 61. Ugh, Scott. Scott Em! You seen that girl! Hell’s she wearing? Seen her?
It’s like she’s wearing a duvet. Here, Em. Should I go over there, ask her if she’s off to a sleepover? Emma What? Ugh Scott mate. Where’re those jeans from? Scott Um, I don’t Emma And why don’t you know? Why? Hm? Why? Because your mam bought them. That’s why. So I don’t think you can go round talking bout fashion. Scott Oh my God. Emma What? Scott Oh my God. Emma Scott, what? Scott You, you know Emma Scott are you having some kinda stroke? Scott You like her. Emma No! Scott Go on then! Go speak to her! Go… I dunno, ask her out!
62. Emma can’t ‘ask her out.' 63. No way! 64. This int the kinda girl what goes out with, well… 65. People like Emma. Scott Go over. Emma Nah, I don’t wanna. Scott Go on! Emma Leave me alone. Scott Em, you can’t take your eyes off her. Emma I can’t ok? Just leave me alone. Scott Alright. Fine. Oh my God! They’re finally playing it! Emma, it’s the one from Angus, Thongs and Perfect Snogging! Emma, we actually know this one! ‘I found out you’re going out with HER. Going out with, da da da da, out with…’ Emma? Emma! 66. But Emma’s head’s all like 67. Her. Holding to her arm. At an exhibition. Maybe Emma’s exhibition. Maybe in London. Free wine. Tiny food. Kisses on both cheeks. Emma’s looking at the side of Her face. Line of Her jaw. This completely perfect line. But She’s just looking at the pictures. Maybe Emma’s pictures. Can’t take her eyes off the pictures
68. Just, you know, stupid stuff. 69. What was in that drink? Scott Aww, come on. I didn’t pay £15 entry for you to go in a mood. You wanna talk to her, talk to her. Em, seriously She’s obviously not from round here. I mean, look at that hair. Has she not heard of GHDs? And you wouldn’t get away with dressing in soft furnishings if she was from round here. You’re probs never gonna see her again. What’ve you got to lose? 70. He’s probably right 71. For once. 72. He’s probably, actually right. Scott It’ll be fine. I mean, she’ll love ya. You’re a right laugh. And, you know, a solid 6. Actually it’s quite dark in here so maybe you could push a 6.5. 73. Cheers. 74. Like it’s stupid 75. Obviously it’s stupid 76. I mean She’ll pie her off 77. Definitely gonna pie her 78. Maybe laugh in her face 79. Stupid 80. Emma’s mud-coloured shirt’s feeling frayed n frumpy. 81. Yeah, definitely gross.
82. The Under 18 wristband’s so bright. Why’d they have to make them so bright? 83. But could be Emma’s only chance, couldn’t it? To do the stupid thing. 84. Int like people like Her 85. Come to places like this all the time. 86. One chance 87. Ugh, the wristband’s cutting into her skin. Scott Just go already. Emma Scott, oh my God, stop pushing! ————————— 88. Red face. Clammy hands. 89. Sticky shoes. So sticky. 90. Bloody hell she’s going 91. Mud coloured shirt soaking. Beer? Sweat? 92. Pushing through elbows and armpits 93. She’s doing this! 94. You go girl! 95. She’s actually doing this! 96. She’s nearly there 97. Can see the perfect line of Her jaw 98. She’s 99. Oh my God she’s literally Emma Hi Um Hey
I wanted to just say This is probably stupid But I was wondering um Can I take your picture sometime? Because I’m a photographer. So I was wondering Sorry I know it’s stupid Can’t actually happen Cause you’re clearly not from round here But Edgy girl Oh yeah. No, I’m not. Emma Yeah. See. Knew it. Sorry, I’m probably wasting your Emma notices Edge girl’s yellow wristband. Edgy girl I’m actually from Hessle. That shirt’s great by the way.