Here is my 10-minute play, In The Shadow of a War. If you are interested in producing this piece, please
contact me for the performance rights. All producers are required to include the author's name on any
programs or advertising in which the title of the play appears. Thanks, and I hope you enjoy the show!! :O)    
-Daniel Guyton

In the Shadow of a War
A 10-Minute Play by Daniel Guyton ©2002

Author holds all copyrights. For performance or production information, please contact author at: click here
to email

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In the Shadow of a War

    (A and B are seated, each reading a novella by Samuel Beckett. Silence. A yawns)

A: Whatever.
    (B looks at A)
B: What?
    (A looks at B)
A: Whatever.
    (Long pause)
B: Ok.
    (B resumes his reading)
A: Just ignore it.
    (B looks at A)
B: Just…?
A: Ignore it.
    (Long pause)
B: Ok.
    (B resumes his reading)
A: It isn’t hard.
B: I know.
A: It isn’t.
B: I know.
A: Ok.
    (A resumes his reading. B looks at A)
B: Are you sure?
    (A looks at B)
A: Am I…?
B: Sure.
A: Of what?
B: It isn’t hard?
A: Oh.
    (Pause)
A: That. No, it isn’t hard.
    (A resumes his reading)
B: Ok.
    (Long pause)
B: What isn’t hard?
    (A looks at B)
A: What isn’t…?
B: Hard.
A: Oh. Um… Ignoring it.
    (A resumes his reading)
B: Oh.
    (Pause)
B: Ignoring what?
    (A looks at B)
A: The silence.
    (Silence)
A: The silence.
    (Lights out. Pause)

    (Lights up. Both are reading. B yawns)
B: Whatever.
A: What?
B: Whatever.
    (A looks at B)
A: Oh.
(Long pause)
A: Listen.
B: What?
A: Listen.
    (B looks at A)
B: Ok?
A: The silence.
    (They listen. Long pause)
A: I hear it. Clamoring. Like violent armies into darkness!
    (A stands)
A: Stammering like missile silos bursting into flames! I hear it. Whistling like Dixie in the face
of Glory days!
    (Pause)
B: You told me to ignore it.
A: What?
B: You told me to ignore it.
A: What?
B: The silence. You told me to ignore it.
A: Oh.
    (A sits)
A: Well, yes. Yes I did. Ignore it.
    (A resumes his reading. B stares at him.)
B: Well, I can’t ignore it now! You’ve brought it to my attention. It’s there in my attention. I
can't ignore it now.
    (A looks at B)
A: Ignore it. It’s only silence, dude. Relax. It’s… only silence, dude. Relax.
    (A resumes his reading)
B: I hear it.
    (B stands)
B: I hear it. Whistling like Dixie. Clamoring like stammering, like bursting into flames! I hear
the armies marching forward, marching forward, marching forward into darkness like
the shadow of a war. Like the shadow of a…
    (Pause. B sits. He calms himself)
B: It’s only silence, dude. Relax. It’s only silence, dude, relax.
    (A looks at B)
A: Are you ok?
    (Long pause)
A: Are you afraid?
B: Yes.
    (Lights out. Silence)

    (Lights up. A is reading. B is lying on the floor. B sighs)
B: Whatever.
    (A looks at B)
A: What?
B: Whatever.
A: Oh.
    (A resumes his reading. Pause. A looks up)
A: Are you ok?
B: Ok?
A: Are you ok?
B: Ok?
A: Are you afraid?
B: Afraid?
A: Of war.
    (Long pause. B rolls over.)
B: Of war. I’m terrified.
    (Lights out. Silence)

    (Lights up. B is pacing back and forth. A is on the floor.)
A: Whatever.
B: What?
A: Whatever.
    (B stops pacing)
B: Oh.
A: There’s nothing we can do.
    (B looks at A)
B: I agree.
    (A looks at B)
A: There’s nothing we can do but wait.
    (Pause. B resumes his pacing)
A: There’s nothing we can do but wait.
    (A resumes his reading. Silence)
B: And read.
    (A looks at B)
A: What?
    (B stops pacing)
B: There’s nothing we can do but wait. And read.
A: And read?
B: And read.
A: And read?
B: And read.
    (A looks at his book)
A: And read!
B: And read.
A: There’s nothing we can do but wait and read.
    (Pause)
B: I agree.
    (B resumes his pacing. A resumes his reading. Lights out. B stops pacing.)
A: Who turned out the lights!
    (Silence. Lights up. Hundreds of pages are scattered all across the floor. A is lying on
    the floor. B is sitting in A’s chair. B is staring at A. A sighs)
A: Whatever.
B: What?
A: Whatever.
B: Oh.
A: I can’t even do my reading anymore…
    (Long pause)
B: Did you have to rip up mine too?
A: You weren’t reading it!
    (Long pause)
B: I would have, if…
A: You couldn’t!
B: If…
A: You couldn’t!
B: Oh.
    (Pause)
B: Well, maybe…
A: No!
B: Ok.
    (Pause)
B: I really liked that book.
A: It’s a relic from a by-gone era.
B: It’s my favor –
A: It’s a relic!
    (Pause)
B: It was a collector’s item.
A: Well, that may be. But, it’s still a relic.
B: It was an heirloom. From my father.
A: Your father’s dead.
    (Long pause)
B: So’s your father, too, you know.
A: Yes. Both our fathers are dead.
    (Pause)
B: I know.
A: They were relics from a by-gone era.
    (Pause)
B: I agree.
A: Relics from a Christian Age. An Age of Reason! An age of massacre and Inquisitions. An
age of war and shattering of dreams. Our fathers are the Fathers of the Revolution!
Bastards of the Seven Seas.
    (Pause)
B: My father never liked the sea.
A: He didn’t?
B: No.
A: He didn’t. Hmm. Then, who am I thinking of then?
B: Who knows?
A: That’s funny. I thought he was a captain.
    (Lights out)

    (Lights up. B sits on the floor, sorting through the pages. A paces back and forth)
A: Whatever.
B: What?
A: Whatever! Nothing ever happens! We sit and wait. And wait, and wait, and wait. And
nothing ever happens.
    (A stops pacing)
A: All we wait for is destruction. All we wait for is disease.
B: We could be reading while we wait.
A: The lights keep going out!
    (A resumes his pacing)
A: The lights keep going out, and we can’t read without the light. There’s no more reading
anymore.
    (B looks at A)
B: There’s no more…?
A: Reading anymore. We can’t read without the light.
B: Without the…?
A: Light. We can’t read without the light.
    (B looks up)
B: Look up.
    (A stops pacing)
A: What?
B: Look up. The lights are on right now. Look up. We can read right now.
    (A looks up. Pause)
A: The pages are destroyed.
B: What?
    (A resumes pacing)
A: The pages are destroyed. We can’t read when the pages are destroyed.
    (Pause. B looks at the stack of pages in his hand)
B: This is true.
    (B scrambles to organize the pages, more determined now.)
A: It won’t last us very long.
B: It…?
A: Won’t last us very long. The light. It disappears every couple minutes. It disappears
without a warning.
    (B looks at A)
B: It…?
A: Disappears without a warning. Every couple minutes. It disappears without a warning,
AND the pages are destroyed.
    (A stops pacing)
A: There’s no more reading anymore.
    (B stops sorting pages)
B: There’s no more.
A: Reading anymore.
    (B looks at the pages in his hand)
B: I agree.
    (Lights out)

    (Lights up. B is curled up on the floor. The pages cover him like a blanket. A is pacing
    rapidly.)
A: Whatever.
B: What?
A: Ever. Political. Missiles blowing up. Silos marching forward. Pages scattered all about.
B: History.
A: What?
B: History.
A: Pages of history scattered all about.
B: Pages of an heirloom.
A: Pages of a…
    (A stops pacing. He looks at B. A resumes pacing)
A: Pages of history, scattered all about. Shadows of a war.
B: Darkness.
A: Waiting. Waiting for the bomb to drop. Waiting for disease.
B: Waiting for Godot.
A: What?
B: Waiting for Godot.
    (Long pause)
A: I never liked that play.
    (Lights out. Silence. An air raid siren blares. The whistle of a falling bomb is heard.)

    (Lights up. A and B are standing in a terrified embrace)
B: Whatever.
A: What?
B: Whatever.
A: Oh.
    (Pause)
A: I’m terrified. Are you?
B: Am I…?
A: Terrified.
B: Oh.
    (Pause)
B: Oh yes, I’m terrified.
A: That’s understandable.
B: Indeed.
    (B looks at A. Lights out. Bomb explodes)

    (Lights up. Only scattered pages decorate the stage, a few still floating from above.)

    (Lights out. End of play)
In The Shadow Of A War