Elektra (2023)

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THE PICCADILLY THEATRE, BEIRUT

DAYS BEFORE THE 17 OCTOBER
REVOLUTION 2019

CHAPTER ONE
WHEN WE DEAD AWAKEN

Give me your hand.

"Then I will speak."

"Thou sayest that
thou hast slain my father."

"That is something you confess to."

"What word could bring thee
deeper shame than that,

whether the deed was just or not?"

"But I must tell thee
that thy deed was not just."

"No, thou wert drawn on
to it by the wooing

of the base man who is now

thy spouse."

CHAPTER TWO
THE REHEARSAL

Elektra!

The story takes place
before the king's palace in Mycenae.

It begins with the dawn
that gradually erases the dark night.

Agamemnon had come back
from the Trojan w*r victorious.

His wife Clytemnestra
conspired against him

with her lover Aegisthus.

They k*lled him during
the celebration of his return

in his own house,
in front of the sacred fire.

Wait in silence.

How is it?

What do they now?

She is decking the urn for burial,

and those two stand close to her.

And why hast thou sped forth?

To guard against Aegisthus entering
before we are aware.

Alas!

Woe for the house forsaken
of friends and filled with murderers!

A cry goes up within.

Hear ye not, friends?

I heard…

ah me, sounds dire to hear, and shuddered!

O hapless that I am!

Aegisthus!

Aegisthus, where, where art thou?

My son,

my son, have pity on thy mother!

Oh, I am smitten!

Ah, woe is me again!

How far ahead are you with the writing?

Do you find inspiration in this place?

Yes.

But I don't know if…

if what's happening should happen.

Did you find a name?

Yes.

I found a name.

What is it?

"The Maker of Joys."

How lovely!

Would you like to watch a scene?

I'd love to.

Scene One.

"The square of the city of Amanous."

"That has been overtaken by sorrow."

"Like an incurable disease."

"A wide square
filled with adjoining shops,

and closed ones."

"It is daytime."

"Voices from afar approach."

"Voices from a funeral procession."

"We hear repetitive sounds,

rhythmical,

forming a funeral march."

"Sounds of chants."

Can I get you anything?
Are you feeling cold?

A bit.

The heat is very annoying.

If I finish what I came here for,
we can all leave.

We'd be home by Monday.

Here's hoping…

I know you like it here.

Isn't this place claustrophobic?

It is.

Claustrophobic!

It is claustrophobic here.

Open the doors slightly.

CHAPTER THREE
THE MAKER OF DREAMS

"Ye who behold…"

"Ye who behold

when a life is reft by violence."

"When a bed is dishonored by stealth."

"Come,

help me avenge the m*rder of my sire,

and send to me my brother,

for I have no more
the strength to bear up alone

against the load of grief
that weighs me down."

So?

When she writes…

she wants everything to go her way.

As for me, her sister,

the lead actress in her plays,

she makes me seem stupid.

"You've gotten fat."

"You've put on weight."

She says that to me.

I like eating.

I know she does too.

If only she didn't drink as much.

Where were you?

I went for a walk downstairs.

Where did you go?

Not too far.

It was a long walk.

Honestly, I didn't want to come back.

Why not?

I didn't feel like it.

You're lying.

Want me to give you all the details?

Answer my questions.

Remember the winter
that we spent in Saida, with Dad?

I was dating Omar at the time.

You interrogated me as well.

You said…

that if I don't tell you
everything, you'd tell him.

I was just downstairs in the theater.

The theater manager came over
and sat down next to me.

She started to come closer to me

and caressed my thighs.

We had sex on the floor.

That's how my dress got dirty.

Is this the truth or are you lying?

Why would I lie?

Right!

Why would you lie?

Even if I were lying,

it doesn't matter.

I had sex with her
in the room under the stage.

It was dark.

It was colder.

The next time…

I will remember
to take off my dress first.

Shouldn't you go to bed?

"But sometimes justice itself
is fraught with harm."

"I care not to live by such a law."

"Well, if thou must do this,
thou wilt praise me yet."

"And do it I will,
no whit dismayed by thee."

"Is this so indeed?
Wilt thou not change thy counsels?"

"No, for nothing
is more hateful than bad counsel."

"Thou seemest to agree
with nothing that I urge."

"My resolve is not new,
but long since fixed."

"Then I will go,

thou canst not be brought to approve
my words, nor to commend thy conduct."

"Nay, go within, never will I follow thee,

however much thou mayst desire it,

it were great folly
even to attempt an idle quest."

"Nay, if thou art wise in thine own eyes,
be such wisdom thine,

by and by,
when thou standest in evil plight,

thou wilt praise my words."

CHAPTER FOUR
THEN COME MY SISTER!

My son…

My son, have pity on thy mother!

I feel like my skin is dried out.

Water… I want water.

Would you like me to read to you?

Yes.

What are you doing?

Working, as you can see.

Oya?

Am I bothering you?

What do you want to tell me?

Do you need something?

Why are you so distant?

Can't we forget the past?

No!

Come with me,
I want to show you something.

Look!

Look at your face.

Beautiful!

But you've changed.

There used to be light in your eyes.

Now, your eyes are cautious.

Your mouth was beautiful

and soft.

Now it looks like
the mouth of a gluttonous person.

Your skin…

is pale.

Your face is covered with wrinkles.

You try to cover it up.

Maybe…

it does not show now, in this lighting.

But I can see it outside,

under the sunlight.

Look at your eye contour…

covered with wrinkles.

It is because of your laziness…

and excessive rest.

Do you know
what brought about these wrinkles?

No.

Nonchalance!

And this line,

from your jaw

to your ear…

is caused by your boredom.

Why this smile?

Look at the wrinkles underneath your eyes.

Can you really see all of this?

No.

But I feel them when you kiss me.

I think you're joking.

I know why you are saying this.

Why?

Because you are looking at yourself.

We are the same, you and I.

How so?

We're both selfish.

Alas!

Woe for the house forsaken of friends

and filled with murderers!

I hear screams at the house,

don't you hear, friends?

O hapless that I am!

Aegisthus, where, where art thou?

My son,

my son, have pity on thy mother!

What are you doing?

Lamis!

I want us to be friends.

I want us to talk.

Don't forget that we are sisters.

We share many memories.

It's very strange!

It's very strange
that we are this distant.

We only discuss
superficial matters, like we're strangers.

We were both happy and unhappy.

We would laugh and cry together.

We would play,

and sing together.

We'd talk for days and nights.

We wouldn't stop talking.

We'd hug each other.

Sometimes I look through
our memories, our childhood…

Where everything
was strange and not strange.

I feel like it's a dream.

Like I'm having a dream.

I know…

I know that I am still young on the inside

and I haven't grown up yet.

I know that you read and reflect a lot,
that you have more experience than I do.

But…

Why don't we use this time
to get to know each other

and to understand each other better?

I can't take this distance
and this silence anymore.

I can't stand the noise.

I can't stand the noise.

Lamis, did I say something that hurt you?

I apologize.

I didn't mean to.

I know you get easily hurt,

but I swear I didn't mean it.

What are you reading?

The Memoirs of Pilar.

What did she write?

"Thursday 30 September."

"I received the best present ever
than one can imagine."

"This present had several meanings:"

"Love! Affection!"

"Tenderness!"

"I think
this is what people call a blessing."

Don't touch me.

I can't stand someone touching me.

I don't want you to do such a thing.

I don't want you to be nice to me.

No! I can't stand it!

I can't stand this t*rture!
It's never-ending.

I feel like I'm in hell.

Don't touch me!

Enough! Enough, enough, enough!

Leave me alone.

Enough! Don't touch me.

Don't touch me.

This is all because of you.

"At large once more,
it seems, thou rangest

for Aegisthus is not here,
who always kept thee

at least from passing the gates,
to shame thy friends."

"But now, since he is absent,
thou takest no heed of me,

though thou hast said of me oft-times,
and to many, that I am a bold

and lawless tyrant

who insults thee and thine."

"I am guilty of no insolence."

"I do but return the taunts

that I often hear from thee."

"Thy father…

this is thy constant pretext…
was slain by me."

"Yes, by me."

"I know it well, it admits of no denial

for justice slew him, and not I alone."

"Justice, whom it became thee to support,
hadst thou been right-minded

seeing that this father of thine,

whom thou art ever lamenting,
was the one man of the Greeks

who had the heart to sacrifice

thy sister to the gods."

CHAPTER FIVE
THE STORY OF LAMIS

My name is Lamis!

Before moving to Beirut,

I lived with my family by the sea.

Everyone recalls their childhood,

except for me.

I only remember one game.

It was a cold day, very cold.

The waves were high.

I was sitting in the living room,
all by myself,

watching television.

I was…

eight years old.

I felt…

I felt like there was
someone else in the room with me.

There was breathing,

Close to me.

Approaching.

I looked around.

I saw Moni!

He was the neighbor's son,
and my brother's friend.

His hair was black and fine,
his eyes were black,

he always smelled nice.

He used to tell me
that I was the most beautiful girl,

that my hair was golden.

I always felt shy around him,

but I never knew why.

I felt happy whenever he came over.
He knew I liked chocolate.

He would get me
a Tutti Frutti chocolate bar.

I was happy to see him.

He said…

"We're going to play a game,

but don't tell anyone."

He covered my face with his hands.

I couldn't see.

I was just feeling things.

As he approached me,
my skirt dropped lower.

He'd get closer,
my skirt would drop further,

until it was on the floor.

My skirt was in once place
and I was in another.

He pressed me tightly to his body.

I felt the heat of his body

burning my skin.

The game was repeated.

The waves kept drifting me away

and bringing me back until I drowned.

No one knew I had drowned.

O hapless that I am!

Aegisthus!

Aegisthus, where, where art thou?

My son,

my son, have pity on thy mother!

I was shot.

If you can, sh**t again.

Oh gods, another shot!

CHAPTER SIX
BUT LOVE

Are you hungry, Zeinab?

I miss my home.

We'll be home on Monday.

Can I visit you at your house
that is by the sea in Saida?

Of course!

We can also rehearse the play.

Can I invite Lamis to join us?

Of course!

What about Oya?

Oya!

She'll be there.

We have horses. Do you like horses?

I think I'd be scared.

Really?

Well, there are rabbits and chickens too.

You can set sail in Saida.

The sea is beautiful.

Sometimes it's blue.

Sometimes green.

The water is translucent.

You can see the bottom of the sea.

The waves ebb and flow.

We can go fishing there.

Are there many kinds of fish?

Yes, there's dusky grouper fish

and rock dusky grouper.

There's lizard-fish.

Father likes lizard-fish.

What was your father like?

Enough, stop talking. Stop talking.

Stop talking, I want to write.

Will you read for me?

You look strange!

How so?

I don't know…

Like you come from another world.

Another world?

Yes, like the plays you write.

You truly think my plays are strange
and come from another world?

Yes, but they're wonderful.

Will you continue reading Elektra for me?

I have a better idea.

A surprise!

What is it?

Do you remember the scene
that you let me read?

I rehearsed it with Zeinab.

Do you want to see it?

FINAL CHAPTER
TO BEIRUT

How beautiful…
Black suits you very well, Lamis!