original screenplay by Jenifer Toksvig
with incidental music by Dominic Haslam
with incidental music by Dominic Haslam
Peter, Ruben and Gerald are standing on the roof of an office block, looking at the fire door Peter allowed to slam shut as he arrived. None of them is wearing a coat or hat. Gerald has a long scarf on. Ruben and Gerald have lit cigarettes in their hand. Ruben addresses Gerald.
RUBEN
I cannot believe you just did that. No wait.
I might just believe it. If I have this straight...
we're having a fag and we're up on the roof,
it's cold enough here to freeze 200 proof
and we're joined by a bloke who is obviously new.
I'm looking away, so it's all up to you
to let the man know that the door he came through
only opens from inside the building. True?
Are you with me so far? 'Cause there's more where that came from and this little story gets better and better the colder it gets, it gets colder and colder up here, did you notice? Where was I? Oh yeah.
We're up on the roof, had you noticed before?
It's cold, and the man who just walked through the door
lets go of the handle. You're watching it shut.
You're trying to shout out a warning... BUT
because of your fucking impediment, see,
the important word "Don't" only gets to the 'D'.
You splutter and stammer until it's too late
and the door is now shut, sort of sealing our fate.
Did I leave something out? If you'd written a note to the man, he'd have known not to close the damn door a lot sooner than having to wait to be told it by you but don't worry, at least there's a view.
Tall Storey is a 10 minute short written in modern verse for the RSC's Short Film Project.
