To those who know the classic tale of Oedipus, you know that it is very VERY long... and old.. but the themes are still super relevant. We modernized the story and decided to explore the implications of mental health on relationships. These three scenes are the last of the play and truly capture the essence of what we want to get across.
Oedipus is a returned veteran from the Iraq war who sufferes from PTSD. His wife, Jocasta struggles with how to handle this new diagnosis.
Scene 4
(split scene: Jocasta stage right sitting in a chair on the phone, Oedipus and counselor stage left in same “counselor” arrangement. The dialogue should be fluid and the characters unaware that two conversations are occurring. If one character ends on the same word or phrase that the next character has, they should be recited together, creating a seamless flow between the conversations- almost interrupting each other at times.)
COUNSELOR: So, how was your week?
OEDIPUS: Eh, it was fine. Nothing new really...
JOCASTA: ...it just seems worse this time... I mean, we’ve dealt with shit before... but not like this, ya know. I, I guess I just don’t know how to deal with the hallucinations...
COUNSELOR: And, the hallucinations... have you had any more since we’ve last spoken?
OEDIPUS: (hesitantly) Uh, no... nope. Things have been really good actually. I think things are getting better with Jocasta too... she seems to really understand...
JOCASTA: ... understand him. Like, one minute everything is normal, right, and the next he’s just gone... it’s almost like he’s in another world and he can’t see me or hear me... Gosh, I’m sure it sucks for him. (thinking) I know that... but he never seems to ask me how i’m doing with it all.
(pause)
JOCASTA: yeah, I know... but sometimes I just want to forget...
OEDIPUS: I just want to forget everything, ya know. Being recruited, I was so happy! We were so happy. We didn’t have any kids, so this was the perfect time, and I had always wanted to serve my country ever since I was a boy... but... it wasn’t as nice as it seemed in my head. At first it was so exciting! The sounds, the smells, the people... everything was different. Not necessarily in a good or bad way... it was just different. I can still smell the Qabeli Palau, and the deep fried Boloni. Oh man, the first time you eat that street food... ha ha, That’s always a fun night. (shift to more serious) But after a few weeks, the glamor wears off and it gets hard. The waking in the middle of the night, the surprise attacks... losing people. Ya know, I still remember the sound of his voice when...
JOCASTA: I still remember the sound of his voice when he asked me to marry him. You could tell he was so nervous. I think he was worried that I was gonna say no. I never made it easy for him, but, I think he liked that. (pause) Gosh, listen to me... I'm not the same woman he proposed to nine years ago. And he certainly isn’t the same man.
OEDIPUS: the same man that I used to be. The war changed me. Damn it... why! Why me? Why was I the one chosen that day? If it had been someone else he mighta had a better chance, ya know. I just wonder...
JOCASTA: I just wonder if he cares. Like, does he realize how this affects me? He’s not the only one who has to deal with it! It isn’t easy...
OEDIPUS: It isn’t easy seeing that in my head over and over. It never goes away. I see him in everything I look at. His eyes never leave. I just want to be able to
JOCASTA: I just want to be able to help him. I want to fix him. Damn it, I want him to fix me. I want things to be back to how they were before. I want to be happy again.
OEDIPUS: ...happy again but I don’t think that’s possible... at least not in the same way. Things are different because I am different. That’s just how it is. I want...
JOCASTA: I want to do the right thing, I really do, but I have no clue what that is. Everyone else seems to “know,” but do they really? Do they have any idea what it’s like to wake up next to the man you used to know, used to love, and wonder what you did to deserve this? What did I do to deserve this?
OEDIPUS: What did I do to deserve this? I’m trying to get better. I’m doing what I’m supposed to do. So why? Why is it not working?
JOCASTA: ...not working? Nothing we do is working. I’m giving it...
OEDIPUS: ...giving it all I’ve got but it’s not enough. Nothing is enough.
JOCASTA: ...is enough. Why?
OEDIPUS/JOCASTA: I just want to do what’s best.
SCENE 5
(Both move to the center of the stage from the split scene and start arguing, like the argument is mid-force)
JOCASTA: I just wanted you to know how I felt. So I can’t even say my opinion anymore? I try to listen to you-
OEDIPUS: Oh! “Try” to listen to me! I know it’s so hard to do, because I’m incapable of human emotions. Well maybe you would listen better if you cared about anyone else’s opinions except your own-
JOCASTA- I cared about you and your “opinions” for 9 years! I’m done. You aren’t listening to me. You aren’t communicating with me. How are we going to solve anything if we don’t communicate?
OEDIPUS: (sarcastically) Wow, thanks . If we just talked about our problems they’d go away. This isn’t a movie. This isn’t a fairy tale.
JOCASTA: …Patty and the rest of the girls yelled at me on Wednesday.
OEDIPUS: Different from yelling at you during any other Bible study?
JOCASTA: (ignoring him) They told me the vows I took, we took, mean I can never leave you. That seems like pretty rotten fate, don’t you think? To be stuck in life? No escape? What if things change, Oedipus? Things have changed. You have to be able to see that. Can you at least accept that?
OEDIPUS: You want to leave me.
JOCASTA: Can you at least accept that?
(pause)
JOCASTA: Do you remember what I told you when you proposed to me?
OEDIPUS: I’m assuming you said yes. We wouldn’t be here if you didn’t.
JOCASTA: Before I said yes. I asked you what happens if this marriage isn’t perfect. If we turn into different people. That’s happened. You’re a different man than the Oedipus I married.
(pause)
OEDIPUS: Do you remember what I said? After you told me that, when I proposed?
JOCASTA: (softly) You said we would work through any problems we have. Which is why I’m saying we need to communicate.
OEDIPUS: We haven’t gotten anywhere. We’re going in circles.
JOCASTA: In this fight or in our marriage?
OEDIPUS: You know what I mean.
JOCASTA: Yeah. Yeah, I know what you mean.
OEDIPUS: Where do we go from here?
JOCASTA: I don’t know if can worry about a “we” right now.
OEDIPUS: What does that mean?
JOCASTA: Just what I said. I only have enough energy to worry about myself right now.
OEDIPUS: Okay.
JOCASTA: Do you want me to stay here?
OEDIPUS: Do what you want.
JOCASTA: I’m not talking about that. Do you want me here? Tonight?
OEDIPUS: I know what you said. Stay or leave. I can only worry about myself right now.
JOCASTA: Why do you say things like that? We were calming down then you say that and now we’re fighting again.
OEDIPUS: We’re not fighting right now.
JOCASTA: Maybe you’re not fighting, but I’m fighting. Why do you say things like that?
OEDIPUS: Because you say things like that! You are so cold and you only care about yourself. I have PTSD and it’s hard as hell. You don’t know what that’s like and you never will. It’s not my fault I have to deal with this!
JOCASTA: I’m not saying it’s your fault, of course I’m not saying that. I try to understand what it’s like. I have tried and tried and I think, thought, I understood, at least a part. I ask you to talk to me, and I know you don’t want to talk about it, but how else am I supposed to know what you’re thinking! I can’t read your mind.
OEDIPUS: Yeah, you harp with the questions. You never stop with the damn questions.
JOCASTA: (that hit a nerve. More to herself than to him) …Why am I even bothering.
OEDIPUS: What?
JOCASTA: I can’t take this anymore. I won’t be called names. I’m sorry I tried to understood you (voice breaks). What do those vows mean to you?
(Jocasta leaves the house, but stays onstage so she can see Oedipus and what happens next)
SCENE 6
OEDIPUS: (pacing the stage, irritated) “I can’t read your mind?” “I can only worry about myself?” What the hell does that even mean? We took vows. We got married 9 years ago and we told that priest that we promised to stay married. No matter what! All that poor and sickness. For worse. (voice has dropped lower now) Well, it is the worst, Jocasta. I am sick, I wish you understood that.
(The hallucination Jocasta appears from the other side of the stage; Oedipus reacts with relief but the real Jocasta does not react because she doesn’t see anyone)
OEDIPUS: Jocasta, there’s something I want to ask you.
JOCASTA: What? Isn’t the lake beautiful right here? I want to live here. Can we live here? (laughs)
OEDIPUS: (laughs with her) That’s kind of what I want to ask you about.
JOCASTA: What, you want to stay here longer? I could try to call off at work but I don’t think I really can, there’s a big project we’re-
OEDIPUS: Jocasta. (gets down on one knee) Will you marry me?
JOCASTA: I, um, well this is a little unexpected. It’s complicated, Oedipus.
OEDIPUS: (still kneeling) That is the opposite response a guy wants to hear when he proposes.
JOCASTA: Of course I love you, Oedipus! But you can’t blame me for being nervous. This is one of the biggest decisions I’ll make in my…entire life.
OEDIPUS: We’ve thought this through. We’ve talked about getting married, starting planning, looking at apartments. (gently) What are you scared of?
JOCASTA: Change? Comfort? The daunting possibility of forever?
OEDIPUS: Okay, those are all understandable, but aren’t those fears worth spending the rest of your life with me?
JOCASTA: Yes, but-
OEDIPUS: But, what?
JOCASTA: We can’t guarantee everything will always be perfect. We can’t guarantee that we will always be the same people we are right now. How can we look into the future and see how our fate will end up?
OEDIPUS: We can’t
JOCASTA: Then what hope do we have? Why should I say yes! (actually searching for an answer. She wants to say yes)
OEDIPUS: …Because you love me? Because I love you. Because right here, right now, we love each other and want to spend the rest of our lives together. I trust you and I know you trust me, so nothing can happen in our lives that can tear us apart. We’re more mature than that. That’s what marriage is, working through our problems. What’s the saying? “For richer, for poorer. Through sickness and through health?” It’s cheesy, and I know you hate cheesiness-
JOCASTA: (rolls her eyes) I hate cheesiness
OEDIPUS: (laughs) But this is still true: I want us to do life together. So. Will you spend the rest of my life with me?
(the hallucination Jocasta exits the stage, leaving the real Jocasta watching Oedipus, as if she is the one Oedipus posed the question to)
OEDIPUS: Jocasta? Jocasta? Jocasta!
(Jocasta turns and walks off the stage as the lights fade. Oedipus is still repeating Jocasta’s name until the lights are dark)
