A one scene preview of The Jewel Thief
by Rosette Pavkov and Levi Pruitt
Setting: Nightfall in a sandy city in the archaic middle east named Shalana. Most buildings stand no taller than an average house, but the magnificent castle watches over the city. Kingdom is in turmoil over the leadership of the king, desperate for someone to save them, but at what cost?
Cast of Characters:
SARAN AGEN - The exiled prince of Shalana, under banishment until his father’s death. With little to no money the Prince is cast out of his home and into the streets.
BATHAN AGEN - The king of Shalana
MELINA AGEN - The late mother of Saran and the wife of Bathan. Murdered by her own husband to only be replaced by his mistress. She now serves as her son’s conscience.
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SCENE 1
[A light beige backdrop hangs in the back as a king, BATHAN- of deep brown skin and little to no hair. He is in his mid 50s and sleeping in a wood frame bed. SARAN, his son of a similar complexion, pulls jewels out of a box. He smiles softly looking them over. The King turns in the bed and the boy freezes.]
SARAN: (relieved) I didn’t think it would be this easy.
(Saran tells the audience, biting his upper lip. He glances back at the darkness. He lifts the crown jewels to the audience as a soft hum fills the room. The lights around him dim and he is left alone in a spotlight. Saran has a small rim of water around his eyes as he feels the hilt of his knife.)
SARAN: I expected a fight, but the guards let me in as if they’d been waiting. (The lights go up, and he approaches his father, the king’s bed.) WHY DID YOU DO IT?! (Saran yells, but the king does not flinch. The humming gets louder in the background as he breathes heavily. The world around him is frozen as he thinks about his next move. The blade on his hip suddenly feels more attractive.) She trusted you, and you killed her. (He runs his hand through his thick dark hair, before screaming towards the audience.) Does he not deserve death? (The Prince asks the audience, then waits a moment for a reply.) Would you not avenge the ones you love?
(A voice echoes from offstage, the voice of MELINA, his late mother. Her voice is very calming, and all of her words are stretched out. Her soft hum fills the room over the others.)
MELINA: Do not be like him. (She warns dramatically) He is a fool.
(Saran’s neck snaps to the left, searching for his mother.)
MELINA: You can be a wise King. You need only wait.
SARAN: (growl) I have waited! I have watched him have his way. He has made me a thief in my own home. I am a good man, a great man.
MELINA: And now you will be a monster? All for what?
(Saran glances down at the jewels in his hand, then the knife. The hums around the room get louder as he visibly fights to choose.)
SARAN: I’d be the hero.
MELINA: But you’d be my villain.
SARAN: It’s a good thing you’re gone.
(Saran circles the downstage area until he’s simply too angry to hold on. He drops the jewels and a white light flashes on stage.)
(Bathan jolts awake looking out at the audience as his son, Saran grows closer to the bed.)
BATHAN: (Wearily) What is going on here?
(Saran grips his father’s shirt, bringing the blade to the old man’s throat.)
SARAN: I’ve come to avenge my mother.
(Bathan notices the dagger in Saran’s right hand)
BATHON: Guards!
SARAN: The guards won’t be of any help to you, father. You’re a monster, and everyone else knows it too.
(Spotlight flashes onto Melina in the corner of the bedroom)
MELINA: You think it’s that easy to get rid of me? You will do nothing by killing him.
SARAN: Get out of my head.
(Bathan places his hands on his son’s chest, before trying to plead.)
BATHAN: Son? Oh, you’ve come home, and look how handsome you are.
SARAN: Flattery will not win you your life. Do you take me for a fool?
BATHAN: (smiling) I thought you were a stranger, but now I see my boy has returned.
SARAN: YOU sent me away!
BATHAN: I was in grief, and you reminded me too much of your mother.
SARAN: You killed her.
BATHAN: I made a mistake. I know that now.
SARAN: Do you?
BATHAN: I do. I really do. Did I never teach you forgiveness?
SARAN: You never taught me anything!
BATHAN: (His smile loses its luster as the king reaches for the knife) You don’t want to do this, boy. You need me.
(Bathan manages to lower the blade slowly.)
SARAN: I loved you, but I will not mourn you.
(Saran draws the blade from deep with his coat and stabs the old man’s heart.)
SARAN: I learned that from you.
(Lights fade out.)
