Emerald City by David Williamson Read Free Book Online Page B

good is money? What can you do with it? Buy a house with a better view? Go for another trip to Venice?
    HELEN : [ without malice ] I’d like to go on my first trip to Venice. I wouldn’t say ‘No’ to a house with a better view, either. All we see out of our bedroom window is a twenty-foot-high baby wearing Dri Tots.
    KATE : [ to the audience ] She was exactly what I expected. A carefully packaged and presented material girl of the eighties. A blow-waved, brittle dolly bird. Totally self-obsessed and convinced that the trinkets of affluence were the ultimate prizes of life.
    COLIN : [ to the audience ] My first reaction was that this couldn’t be right. This vision—this ravishing, mind-scrambling beauty can’t belong to Mike. The gods are unjust, but surely not that unjust. I flattered myself that I was a progressive male, totally opposed to reducing women to sex objects, but Helen was a walking male fantasy. I focussed all my powers of imagination on what she’d look like without clothes on, felt ashamed of myself, and by way of compensation, fell desperately in love.
    KATE : [ to COLIN ] Well, you’re going to have to decide.
    COLIN : [ snapping out of it ] Decide what?
    KATE : Between art and money.
    COLIN : Surely they’re not always mutually excited—sorry, mutually exclusive. Why did I say excited?
    HELEN : [ to the audience ] Because he was. By me. I liked that, and I liked the fact that he was subtle about it too. He didn’t stare at my tits as if they were choc chip ice-creams like most of them do. I found him very attractive and thought that if I could ever shake myself free of brainless for a weekend or two it could be exciting. I wouldn’t’ve felt the least bit guilty about his wife either. What a dragon. I thought that if that’s what Melbourne does to you, thank God I’ve never been there. [ To COLIN ] Shakespeare.
    KATE : Shakespeare what?
    HELEN : He was an artist who made money.
    KATE : Shakespeare made money? Surely not.
    HELEN : He owned five houses. He died a wealthy man.
    MIKE : [ to the audience ] The only trouble with that broad of mine is that she never knows when to shut up. That bloody wife of Colin’s was going to put the hard word on Colin to ditch me as soon as possible and Helen makes the situation worse by starting to pick a fight. After putting all that hard slog into the ‘Coastwatcher’ fiasco, there was no way I was going to let go until we got ourselves a smash hit. After that he could write art until his balls dropped off.
    KATE : If Shakespeare were alive today, I’m sure he wouldn’t be writing ‘Dallas ’ .
    MIKE goes into contortions and belches.
    Is something wrong?
    MIKE : Stomach’s playing up again.
    COLIN : We’d better go.
    MIKE : Sorry about this. Like a tame tiger snake. Never know when it’s going to strike.
    COLIN : Thanks for your hospitality.
    MIKE : Only wish the news had’ve been better.
    HELEN : Bye, Kate. Bye, Colin.
    COLIN : [ to the audience ] I felt the deft touch of her fingers and the breath of her voice in my ear. I felt chemistry between us that would make Sarah Miles and her stiff-legged lover look jaded.
    MIKE and HELEN exit. COLIN and KATE stand outside the house. COLIN tries to hail a cab.
    KATE : I hope I never have to meet those two socially again.
    COLIN : They’re not that bad.
    COLIN looks at KATE , grits his teeth, misses another taxi and stares straight ahead.
    KATE : Colin, I’m shocked. Really shocked.
    COLIN : [ truculently ] At what?
    KATE : I’m shocked that you’re going into a continuing relationship with that man and talking seriously about producing soap opera.
    COLIN : We’re not going to produce soap opera.
    KATE : Colin, what’s happening to you?
    COLIN : [ suddenly, passionately ] What’s happening is that I’m getting older and I’m starting to have the nightmare that every writer gets: ending my