Lost In Desperation - The Play

Last term (term three), everybody in my class created their own original play. Mine is about a family of two - mother and daughter. The daughter goes through the pain of being abducted, and the mother feels emotional grief and depression. I hope you enjoy, it took me a while to make, but I'm proud of it and I hope it's not too sad.

Lost In Desperation - An Original Play

Characters:            

Narrator

Police(man/woman)     

Mother

Harper (Daughter)

    

Opening Scene: (Audience can see a wall, the inside of the house on one side and on the other the outside. A telephone is on a small table and waiting to be used.) Mother is inside and the daughter is about to leave. The narrator is in a hiding spot where no one can see them. (But still able to be heard loudly).

Mother (Looks worried.): Take care, Harper. Be back by dusk.

Harper: Will do. Bye, mother. (Waves hand excitedly)

Scene: Harper leaves, (Skipping gleefully).

Narrator: Little Harper left and time passed slowly. But she never came home.

Scene: Mother leaves scene then goes back after five seconds +. Goes to telephone then dials 111. As doing so Narrator speaks.

Narrator: It was well past dusk, and Harper’s mother needed the police’s help.

Mother (Shaky voice): Can I please have the police?

Police (Not on the scene) (Distant): Yes, what’s wrong?

Mother: M- My daughter is missing.

Police (Not on the scene) (Distant): For how long has she been missing?

Mother: She was supposed to come home at dusk.

Police (Not on the scene) (Distant): You have to wait 24 hours before you call the police.

Mother: What do you mean I have to wait 24 hours?  

Police (Not on the scene) (Distant): I mean, you have to wait 24 hours before you tell us.

Mother: Hmph. Fine. I’ll call back in 24 hours.

Scene: Mother hangs up, puts the telephone back, then leaves the room. No one goes onto the scene.

Narrator:  24 hours pass and Harper still hasn’t come home. Her mother feels horrible after letting her only daughter go out by herself. She has already called the police and they are meeting to talk.

Scene: Mother and policeman/woman stand outside the house.

Mother (Shaky):  Come in. Please.

PoliceMan\Woman (Dips head): Thank you.

Scene: Police walk in first then the mother walks in. They stand in the middle of the “room”.

PoliceMan/Woman: I’ll try my best to find her…

Mother: You have to, I don’t know what I could do without Harper.

Scene: Mother’s phone beeps as the text comes in. She looks at it then gasps. She looks at Police nervously then reads it out.

Mother:  Listen: “I’m not giving your daughter back until I’m found.”  (wipes eye)

Policeman/woman: Oh dear. (Sarcastic) Fantastic.

Mother: Yup. This means you have to work extra hard.

Policeman/woman: I will. Thank you, but I must start searching.

Mother: Okay...

Scene: Police leaves from the side with the fake wall. Mother leaves scene from the other way.

Narrator: Weeks had passed but finally little Harper was found. The police (man/woman) meet with the two at their home. But Harper was unusually quiet and showed various signs of injuries.

Scene: Mother walks in from one side of the scene. Police and daughter walk in from the other side. The daughter is quiet and stares blankly at something near. She also has visible injuries (Arm in cast etc.) Police has papers with him/her.

Policeman/woman: Here’s your daughter, miss. She’s umm… She needs to - I’ll tell you after.

Mother (Hugging daughter enthusiastically): I’m so happy you’re back Harper. I was worried sick. Where were you taken? Who took you? What have they done to you!?

Daughter/Harper (Stares blankly at mother’s body, still in hugging pose): Things. (Quiet)

Policeman/woman (Interruptive): As I was saying before, your daughter needs to be taken into intensive care. She has developed serious injuries from her captor. I’m sorry.

Scene: Harper nods slightly, mother hugs Harper tight again then releases.

Mother: Okay. I’ll have that sorted as soon as possible.

Policeman/woman (Handing papers to mother): Here’s some information about her injuries and other important info.

Mother (Takes papers and scans them): Thank you. You can go now.

Policeman/woman: Right.

Scene: Police leaves. Mother looks at daughter worried.

Mother (Taking Harper’s hand): We are going to the hospital now. Are you okay?

Harper (Quiet): For now, mum.

Scene: Mother and daughter leave scene. Narrator speaks.

Narrator: Harper was extremely ill from her injuries. Her mother was also ill with depression and anxiety. Days after Harper was submitted to the hospital she died in her sleep from reasons still unknown. Hearing the news, her mother fell into a deeper illness. Not even therapy could help her. She died too, all by herself… And that is the end of their story.      

(THE END. ALL CAST GO ON SCENE AND BOW.)