The Park

               Cast for "The Park"


JOSH           An Australian boy of about eleven

ZARIF          An Iranian man of about twenty, an asylum seeker who was studying astronomy in Iran

MRS. MIDGLEY   A self-righteous suburban matron and self-               appointed neighbourhood watchdog               
               
JOSH"S MOTHER  A suburban housewife who fills her empty life with shopping

JOSH"S FATHER (LESTER)                An office manager, an overbearing, bureaucratic type
               
A POLICEWOMAN     Played by the same actor as JOSH"S MOTHER

A POLICEMAN       Played by the same actor as JOSH"S FATHER








Act 1, Scene 1

A suburban park at dusk. A streetlamp comes on, illuminating a park bench. ZARIF sits on the bench. He opens an illustrated book on astronomy and begins perusing it. MRS. MIDGLEY enters and crosses the stage, calling her dog, while eyeing ZARIF, who keeps on reading, with obvious suspicion.

MRS. MIDGLEY: Homer! Homer! Here boy!

A couple of answering barks are heard as MRS. MIDGLEY exits.

Enter JOSH.  He moves into the circle of light cast by the streetlamp, pauses about two metres in front of ZARIF, and bounces his magic ball, a small translucent blue object that flashes internally with pink neon and emits a noise like a siren with each bounce. As he bounces the ball on the spot, he watches ZARIF intently for a reaction, then, when there is none, moves a little closer, still bouncing the ball. ZARIF gives him a warning look, and continues reading. JOSH continues bouncing the ball. ZARIF suddenly leans forward, reaches out a hand and snatches the ball in mid-air, pockets it, and keeps reading.

JOSH:                Gimme my ball!

ZARIF:                If you will go away.

JOSH:                This is my place.

ZARIF:                I don"t understand.

JOSH:                It"s my seat. I was here first. You go away.

ZARIF:                Your seat? What you mean? This is public park, I think so.

JOSH:                Who are you anyway?

ZARIF:                I am Zarif.

JOSH:                Za-reef! I never heard that name before. Where ya from?

ZARIF:                Iran.

JOSH:                Where"s that?

ZARIF:                Long way from here. Near Afghanistan.

JOSH:                Oh yeah! Now I know! Osama bin Laden! My hero!

ZARIF:                You don"t mean this.

JOSH:                Whatcha reading? "As-tro-nomy". What"s that about?

ZARIF:                Stars. Planets. Universe.

JOSH:                Cool.

ZARIF:                You don"t tell me why is this your seat.

JOSH:                Gimme the ball and I will.

ZARIF hands back the ball.

JOSH:                I come here to get away from them. I come here all the time,
                when they"re fighting.
 
ZARIF:                Who is fighting?

JOSH:                Me Mum and Dad. It"s their hobby. They"re really into it,
                but I think it sucks. I come here to chill out.

JOSH starts bouncing his ball again, suddenly self-conscious. ZARIF makes a grab for it, playful this time. JOSH dodges and runs off into the shadows. ZARIF resumes his reading, but JOSH returns almost immediately. He sits on the opposite end of the bench from ZARIF, who ignores him and continues reading. JOSH clears his throat noisily.

ZARIF:              Well?

JOSH:                Why d"ya wanna read here?

ZARIF:               Why not?

JOSH:                Nobody reads books in parks at night. That"s weird.

ZARIF:               No other place I can do this. Go to library all day.
                When it close,  I come here.

JOSH:                Yeah but what about y" home?

ZARIF:               Home?

JOSH:                Y"mean, y"live on the street or something? Cool.

ZARIF:                First live in detention centre, now empty house, no electricity.

JOSH:                Y" having me on, aren"t ya?

The Park: Act 1, Scene 1

ZARIF:                I don"t understand… You learn about stars at school? You know               
                about Neptune? Jupiter? Mars? Look. Pictures from Hubble
                Space Telescope.

ZARIF offers the book to JOSH, who glances at the pictures but is more
interested in ZARIF.

JOSH:                Why"d y"come here, to Australia? I mean, if y"haven"t got
                a home or job or anything…

ZARIF:               It"s like you come to park. Trouble at home. Trouble with politics.

JOSH:                I don"t get it.

ZARIF:               Forget it. You don"t understand.

JOSH:                Aw c"mon. Is it a secret?

ZARIF takes the book back, gives a sigh of resignation and closes the book.

ZARIF:               You don"t let me read, do you? OK, I tell you,
                and then you will go. I am at university, in Iran. I study
                astronomy. But some students have new ideas, want to
                change government. I too. In my country, this - dangerous.

JOSH:                How d"y"mean, dangerous?

ZARIF:               Why you want to know? You work for government?

JOSH:                "Cause you"re different. I never met anyone like you before.               

ZARIF:               Politics - dangerous. Not like game. You can go
                to prison for this. You can die. I don"t want to die. I want
                to go to moon one day. To Mars. See other planets.

JOSH:                Freaky!

ZARIF:               Don"t you want to go to moon? Travel in galaxy?

JOSH:                Dunno. Never thought about it. Why?

ZARIF:               Earth is small, universe is big. We know little about
                universe, but we can learn very much. Things you do not
                imagine. Like another world, but earth is part of this.   

JOSH:                You mean like Star Trek and Aliens?

ZARIF:                Like what?

JOSH:                Like in the movies.

ZARIF:               I don"t see those movies, in Iran. They are interesting?
                About astronomy?

JOSH:                Yeah, cool. Not exactly astronomy.

ZARIF:               What you want to do with your life? You have plans?

JOSH:                I"m no good at school. I wanna work in the movies.

ZARIF:               You want to be actor?

JOSH:                No, I wanna make movies. Maybe just helping, or something.

JOSH jumps up nervously.

JOSH:                Look, I gotta go. They get mad if I"m not in my room.

ZARIF(ironic):  Thank you for letting me sit on your seat.

JOSH:                It"s OK. I didn"t mean it. It"s not mine really. 

ZARIF:                You will tell me your name?

JOSH:                I"m Josh.

ZARIF:                Josh.
               
JOSH:                So… see ya, Za-reef.

JOSH gives ZARIF a high five.

ZARIF:               See ya Josh.

ZARIF watches JOSH leave, then rises and exits. A few chords of classical Persian santour music are heard.

Act 2, Scene 1

Josh"s room. JOSH sits at a desk, trying to do his homework. The sounds of two people quarrelling violently in an adjacent room can be heard. JOSH puts his hands
over his ears. The sounds of conflict get louder. Something smashes. JOSH grabs the magic ball from his desk and slips out of the room.

The Park: Act 2, Scene 2

The park. JOSH sits alone on the park bench, bouncing his magic ball. The street lamp comes on as ZARIF enters, carrying his book on astronomy.
   
ZARIF: (teasing): I may sit on your seat?

JOSH:                Course.

Enter MRS. MIDGLEY. She takes in the scene at a glance, but doesn"t greet JOSH.

MRS MIDGLEY:   Homer! Homer! Here boy!

An answering bark is heard offstage.

JOSH:                Ya are a real person, aren"t ya?

ZARIF:                As you see. Why?

JOSH:                Y"r not an alien or something, come to take me away.

ZARIF:                You think this? Not alien. To your government,
                I am alien. They lock me up for this.

JOSH:                What"d ya do?

ZARIF:                I try to save my life.

JOSH:                Did ya kill someone?

ZARIF:                No.

JOSH:                So?
 
ZARIF:                I come to Australia without invitation. As refugee.

JOSH:                I don"t get it.

ZARIF:                You watch news on TV?

JOSH:                Nope. Too boring.

ZARIF:                When people come here without invitation,
                government lock up these people. If real refugees, they
                go free. After very long time.

JOSH:                They did that to you?

ZARIF:                They did.

JOSH:                What if ya go to the moon without an invitation?
                Will they lock ya up on the moon?

ZARIF:                I don"t think so.

JOSH:                When"ll ya go back where ya came from? What"s the name of
                that place?

ZARIF:                Iran. Maybe never. Maybe when government change.

JOSH:                Y"could come and stay with us, if me mum and dad didn"t fight
                so much. But y"wouldn"t like it at our house. Anyway, they
                don"t understand things much.

ZARIF:                Why they fight?
 
JOSH:                Dunno. It"s like… they"re addicts. Like they miss it
                if it isn"t there… Did your mum and dad fight a lot?

ZARIF:                I don"t remember fights in my home. My father die in war. War
                with Iraq. Different kind of fight. Also bad.

JOSH:                Yeah? Well I reckon it"s war at our house. They just haven"t killed 
                each other yet, but I"m always scared they will.

ZARIF:                You love your parents?

JOSH:                Dunno. Probly I used to. Sometimes I wish they would kill each 
                other so"s they can"t fight anymore. Or leave each other. Get
                a divorce. Mostly I just hate them.

ZARIF:                Let me tell you about some planets up there in sky. First,
                my favourite: Saturn and Jupiter, called Gas Giants.

JOSH:                Why"re they ya favourites?

ZARIF:                Well, Saturn is mystery. Very beautiful, very far away. We               
                don"t know much about Saturn. Rings around Saturn have
                colours like peacock. This planet have many moons.               
                Do you know this planet can float on water, because is very
                light, density is less than water. It can float like boat.

JOSH:                Y"mean, on the sea?

ZARIF:                No, Saturn is too big. Bigger than earth. Is only
                theory, about water. Look at pictures.               
               
ZARIF passes the open book to JOSH, who shows interest in the pictures.
MRS. MIDGLEY passes by at a distance, silently this time.

JOSH:                Yeah, I see what ya mean. Unreal.

ZARIF:                No, is real. I see this planet through telescope, in Iran.

JOSH:                What"s it like in Iran? Is it like Australia?

ZARIF:                No, not like Australia.

Pause. A few chords played on a traditional Persian santour are heard as ZARIF reflects and searches for words.               
               
ZARIF:                You see, Josh, I grow up in village, near desert.
                We have gardens with grapes and many fruits. We have
                sweet wells. Traditional village, very peaceful. Earthquake
                come to my village, kill many people. Now, you want to see
                pictures from Jupiter and Neptune?

JOSH:                I gotta go. They"ll hassle me if I don"t. Y" coming here tomorrow?

ZARIF:                Yes, why not?

JOSH:                Can y" see those planets if y"look at the sky?

ZARIF:                Not all. But you come early, I show you Venus and
                Mercury. You can see these when sun goes down.

JOSH:                Yeah, I"d like that.
 
JOSH gives ZARIF a high five.

JOSH:                See ya tomorrow, Za-reef.

ZARIF:                See you Josh.

Act 2, Scene 3

As JOSH enters the back door, he finds his parents waiting to confront him.

JOSH"S FATHER:   Where"ve you been, boy? Your mother and I were
                worried about you.

Instead of replying, JOSH starts bouncing his magic ball.
 
JOSH"S MOTHER:  Answer your father, Josh. Where"ve you been?

JOSH looks her in the eye, but does not reply.
               
JOSH"S FATHER:   I"m warning you, son, you"re trying my patience.

JOSH"S MOTHER:  Here we go again! You never give him a chance, do you?

JOSH"S FATHER:    It"s for his own good! The place is crawling with
                perverts these days! Just read the paper! 

JOSH"S MOTHER:  Your father"s right for once. There"s perverts everywhere,
                and you know the rules: home before dark, or you go without
                supper. Now go to your room and stay there, and let this be a
                lesson.
 
JOSH"S FATHER:   That kid"s got an attitude problem.

JOSH"S MOTHER:   He wouldn"t be the only one around this place.

JOSH gives his ball one last defiant bounce as he exits.

JOSH"S FATHER:   Haven"t I told you to keep an eye on him? You"ve
                got little enough to do all day! All you seem to do is
                trawl the shops, and get us further into debt! Why can"t you keep
                better track of your own son?

JOSH"S MOTHER: I"ve asked you not to speak to me in that tone of voice, Lester.
                I"m not one of your office girls, so I"ll do as
                I like. And as for Josh, if you spent more time with him,
                he wouldn"t wander away. But you never seem to have
                time for either of us, these days…

JOSH"S FATHER:  Is that so? Is that so? Who are you to criticise me anyway?
               
JOSH"S MOTHER: Give me a break, Lester, I know what I"m talking about.

JOSH"S FATHER:  I"ve had a gutful of your nagging! Surely a man"s entitled to some peace and
                quiet in his own home. Is that too much to ask?

Lights fade to sound of raised voices, then a door slamming. Silence.

Act 3, Scene 1

The park bench at sunset. ZARIF and JOSH are poring over an illustrated book on astronomy.

JOSH:                Neptune"s cool. Great colours! Yeah, it"s magic!

ZARIF:                I knew you will like it. Neptune is Ice Giant.

JOSH:                And Jupiter. Gas Giant. That"s a cool name.               
               
ZARIF:                Cool name, hot planet.

JOSH:                Why does it need so many moons?

ZARIF:                Maybe the moons need Jupiter. They cannot escape now.
                They must keep orbiting Jupiter forever.

JOSH:                Yeah, it"s pretty interesting. But what could y" do in those places?
                Why would ya go there anyway?

ZARIF:                Just to be there. Have experience different from earth. Collect
                information to understand about Earth, to know where earth
                come from. But no-one can go to Saturn and Jupiter and Neptune.

JOSH:                Why not?

ZARIF:                Because they are made of gas.

JOSH:                What"s the point then?

ZARIF:                Only can go to Moon and Mars.
          
JOSH:                I still don"t get it.

ZARIF:                This is why we look at other planets this way.
                With desire. They are things we cannot have,
                cannot reach.

JOSH:                You reckon? But who cares anyway?

ZARIF:                You will understand one day, when you want
                something very much: to know, to understand, to be free.
The Park: Act 3, Scene 1

ZARIF:                Solar system is alive. Has geological activity. This is living
                world, always changing. So much energy! You don"t imagine!

JOSH:                Now y"re starting t"sound like school.               

ZARIF:                This is how I think about Australia, in Iran. Fantastic
                place, far away, like Saturn. People in my village
                always look at stars, tell stories about other world
                in sky. My people came from desert, and
                sky is like sea for desert people.

JOSH:                I never thought of it like that.

ZARIF:                Stars - like islands. Places we don"t know - like 
                stars. I hope they will let me stay here, in Australia.

JOSH:                Yeah, I hope so too.

ZARIF:                Now is dark enough to see Venus and Mercury. Come,
                I show you.

JOSH and ZARIF stand, but before they can move away from the bench, two POLICE OFFICERS burst onto the scene, a man and a woman, played by the actors who play JOSH"S parents. They seize ZARIF by the arms, twisting them behind his back.

POLICEMAN:        We"re taking you down to the station for questioning.

JOSH:                Stop! He"s my friend! He never did anything wrong!

POLICEWOMAN:  That"s for us to decide. You"d better go home, kid.
                Your parents"ll be worried about you.
 
JOSH:                Let him go! He"s not a crook!

ZARIF:                Why you do this to me?

POLICEMAN:         You just shut up till you"re asked to speak.
                We"ll ask the questions down at the station.
                You"ve been seen loitering, consorting with a minor.
                Showing him dirty pictures, we hear.You"d better
                have a good story. We don"t like perverts here.

They bundle ZARIF roughly offstage. JOSH sits on the bench, stunned, then stands
to shout after them.

JOSH:                No! He never did nothing wrong. No! I"ll get you
                back for this! It isn"t fair! It isn"t fair!

Enter MRS. MIDGLEY.

MRS. MIDGLEY    You"d better go home now, young man, and
                just be thankful they were in the right place at
                the right time. I don"t know what this place is coming to!
                Homer! Where are you boy?

MRS. MIDGLEY whistles her dog. An answering bark is heard offstage.

JOSH:                You old cow! Zarif was my friend! What"ve you done?
                You told those scumbags to come! Didn"t you?
                What"ll happen to him now?

MRS. MIDGLEY clicks her tongue and shakes her head disapprovingly.

                You just watch your tongue, young man!
                And as for him: with any luck they"ll deport him.
                We don"t want riffraff like that in this country.
                A few more like him, and there goes the neighbourhood!

(to the audience):  It wasn"t like this when my Bert was alive. I wonder
                what he"d make of this? I"m glad he"s not here to see
                the old place going to the dogs… He was a good man,
                my Bert. One of the old school…

MRS. MIDGLEY sniffs sanctimoniously and exits.
It is almost dark. The streetlamp comes on. JOSH continues to sit, staring in front of him. Enter JOSH"S PARENTS.
 
JOSH"S MOTHER:  Time to come home, son.

JOSH:                Leave me alone.

JOSH"S FATHER:    Now boy, I"m warning you! Don"t start anything with me!

JOSH:                Get stuffed!

JOSH"S FATHER raises his arm in a threatening gesture, but JOSH"S MOTHER steps between them.

JOSH:                I want to help Zarif!

JOSH"S MOTHER:   Help who?

JOSH:                Za-reef! Za-reef! Za-reef! My friend!

JOSH"S MOTHER:   There"s no such person, Josh, you must have made him up.

JOSH:                You don"t understand. You never understand. Zarif is real
                and he"s my friend. You"re all a bunch of wankers!

JOSH"S MOTHER:    Now Josh, don"t be like that. We know what"s
                best for you! You"ll soon forget about this…

JOSH"S FATHER:     Come on you two, cut the crap. If I see that pervert
                hanging round, you know what I"ll do to him.

JOSH"S FATHER seizes JOSH by the arm.

JOSH"S FATHER:  Well don"t just stand there! Give me a hand for Chrissakes
                and let"s get him home.

JOSH"S MOTHER: There"s no need to be so hard on him, Lester.

JOSH"S FATHER:   Lord preserve me from ditherers!

JOSH"S FATHER removes him by force, in the same way as ZARIF was removed. JOSH"S MOTHER follows, ineffectually. JOSH shouts defiantly as he is led away.

JOSH:                Home? You call that place a home!
                You can"t make me stay! I"ve had enough of all your
                bullshit! I hate you! I"ll run away!

Act 3, Scene 2

At the beginning of this scene, a dreamlike sequence, recorded on video, is projected onto the backdrop, showing the park. JOSH and ZARIF are seated on two children"s swings, strung side by side. The swings are in motion, but out of sync: when one is up in the air, the other is down. The swings come to rest. JOSH and ZARIF stand, turn to face each other, give each other a high five, look into each other"s eyes for a moment, then exit in opposite directions.

 
As the characters in the video exit, JOSH enters and sits on the park bench in semi-darkness, bouncing his ball.
The streetlamp comes on, revealing the book on astronomy, left behind in the scuffle the previous day. JOSH looks at the book, looks around, as if expecting to see ZARIF,
then realises what has happened. He picks up the book, opens it and starts to look at the pictures. Then he stands and steps to the edge of the circle of light. He looks up at the sky, into the darkness beyond the lamplight, and calls as if to someone there.

JOSH:                I"m still your friend, Zarif! Don"t forget me! I"m still your friend!
                I believe in you! D"ya hear me? I believe in you!

Pause, then a sequence of traditional Persian santour music is heard for a couple of minutes, before fading out.