Invisible Friends
Two-hander · Tragicomedy
Invisible Friends
Invisible Friends · Alan Ayckbourn
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Invisible Friends
Published by scriptsandsketches.com
In a world where loneliness reigns, Lucy revives her childhood friend Zara, who materializes to help her navigate her struggles. As they reconnect, secrets unfold and the bond of friendship is reignited.
Duologue
Characters: LUCY, ZARA
LUCY is a lonely teenager, with her father glued to the television, her mother preoccupied with gossip and her brother enclosed in his ear-phones. So LUCY revives her childhood fantasy friend, ZARA. However, ZARA materialises for real.
ZARA:
(Concerned, her voice coming at first from a distance) Lucy ... Lucy ...
LUCY:
(Groggily) Wha-wha—wha...?
ZARA:
(Gently) Lucy...
LUCY:
Who're you...? Who're you...?
ZARA:
Are you alright?
LUCY:
Yes, I ... Who are you...? What are you...?
ZARA:
(Helping her up) Here. Come and sit down for a second. (She guides LUCY to the armchair) You'll be all right. You just knocked your head when you fell.
LUCY:
(As she sits) Who are you? What are you doing in our house?
ZARA:
Don't you know?
LUCY:
I've never seen you before in my life.
ZARA:
Oh yes, you have, you know ...
LUCY:
You'd better tell me who you are at once or I'll call my parents ...
ZARA:
Can't you guess who I am, Lucy?
LUCY:
I’ll call my brother. Gary's very strong ...
ZARA:
No, he's not. Gary's a weed, Lucy.
LUCY:
Don't say that ...
ZARA:
You said it yourself. You said it to me. Gary's a weed, you said once ...
LUCY:
I've never spoken to you.
ZARA:
Lucy, you talk to me all the time. You tell me everything. Your deepest secrets. I know everything there is to know about you, Lucy.
LUCY:
You can’t. Nobody does.
ZARA:
I know how you cried when Tracy Taylor said she wasn't going to be your friend any more because she said you’d cheated in French. Which you did. And you pretended you didn't care but afterwards you went and hid in the changing rooms on your own and you cried.
LUCY:
I did not. That's a lie ...
ZARA:
You did, I saw you ... and the next day you brought some scissors to school that you took from the bathroom cabinet because you were going to cut up her French exercise book just to teach her ...
LUCY:
I did not. I never did that.
ZARA:
No, not in the end, you didn't. But that was only because you got too scared to go through with it.
LUCY:
How do you know all this? Nobody knows this.
ZARA:
I do. Do you want me to tell you what happened at Peter Garforth’s parents’ house when you went to his birthday party?
LUCY:
No.
ZARA:
You wanted to use the toilet only it was busy so you went in his bath instead ...
LUCY:
(With a wail) I did not.
ZARA:
I saw you, Lucy. I was there.
LUCY:
You couldn't have been. Who are you? The only person who could possibly know that is ...is ...
ZARA:
Yes.
LUCY:
Zara. (Incredulously) Zara?
ZARA:
Hallo, Lucy.
LUCY:
Zara. You can't be Zara. She's invisible. You're invisible.
ZARA:
I still am.
LUCY:
But I can see you.
ZARA:
Only you. Nobody else can. I’m still invisible to everyone else.
LUCY:
Then how can I see you? What's happening?
ZARA:
If you believe anything strongly enough, it can happen. You believed in me, Lucy. You believed in me so much that I'm here. I've come to stay with you.
LUCY:
For ever?
ZARA:
If that's what you'd like.
LUCY:
Oh, yes. Oh, yes, yes, yes! Please.
ZARA:
Then I'll stay.
LUCY:
Oh, Zara ... (She hugs her) I've been so unhappy, you see. So lonely.
ZARA:
I know.
LUCY:
No one's interested in me - No one listens to me...
ZARA:
I know. I know. It's all right. I'm here now. I'm with you, now. You must get some sleep. We'll talk again in the morning.
