Questions : A short dramatic scene made entirely of questions

Scene: Kitchen - Day

Mother is washing dishes listening to radio.

Radio: What are the big questions that we are all asking? Why are we here? Where are we going to? How do we live together?

Enter Father. Mother switches off radio.

Mother: Did you have a good day at work?

Father: Why? What do you care? Don’t I bring the money in? Isn't that enough?

Mother: Whats wrong? Why are you always like this? Why are you always like a bear with a sore head? What's happened?

Father: Why are you always so damned cheerful? Can’t you see the situation we’re in, with the debts and everything?

Mother: Do we have to be miserable just because of a few little money problems? Won't they sort themselves out?

Father: Why not be miserable? Which is better? Genuine misery or false cheeriness?

Mother: What makes you think my cheeriness is false? Couldn't it be that I am happy just to see your smiling face?

Father: When are you going to grow up and realize that things don't always work out?

Enter Daughter:

Daughter: Oh! (Yawn) Isn’t it a beautiful morning?

Mother: Don’t you mean beautiful afternoon? D’you know what time it is?

Daughter: What does it matter? What’s for breakfast..err.. dinner?

Mother: Where were you all last night, anyway? Do you know how long I waited up for you to come home?

Daughter: What business is it of yours? Aren’t I an adult?

Father: Why do you talk to us like that?

Daughter: Like what?

Father: Why do you treat us with so little respect?

Daughter: Why do you think you have an automatic entitlement to my respect?

Father: Haven’t we done so much for you? Haven’t we given you all that we could?

Daughter: Do you really want me to answer that?

(Daughter turns to leave)

Father: Where are you going now?

Daughter: Why do you want to know?

Father: Well, can’t I even ask? (to Mother) Will you ask her where she’s going?

Mother: What makes you think she’ll tell me? Do you think she respects me anymore than she respects you?

Daughter: Will you two just get off my case? Why won’t you leave me alone?

(Daughter exits and, from off stage, we hear a door slam)

Father: (Sighs and shakes his head) Why do we even bother?

Mother: Aren’t you glad we’re alone now, though? Isn’t it nice to be together, just the two of us?

Father: D’you remember when it was just me and you? Weren’t those happy days?

Mother: Why don’t you put your feet up? D’you want me to get you anything? How about a nice cup of tea? Is there anything nicer than a nice cup of tea made with love?

Father: Will you put a little kiss in it, like you used to? Remember how you used to put a little kiss inside the cup to make it sweeter?

Mother: Would you like us to skip the tea and just get straight to the sugar?

Father: Could we?

Mother: D’you think we’ve got time? D’you think we’ve got time to do you know what before you know who comes back?

Father: Why don’t we just take a chance anyway? D’you know how beautiful you look right now?

Mother: Do I? Do I still look beautiful to you? Do you still feel the same way when you look at me as you used to?

Father: Can’t you tell I do? Can’t you see it in my eyes when I look at you?

Mother: Don’t you think I’m less attractive now than I was, with all these wrinkles on my face and my hair going grey?

Father: How can you say that? Don’t you know that, however old you get, you’ll always be beautiful to me?

Mother: Really?

Father: You know who you look like? You know that painting of Venus when she comes out of the water?

Mother: You’re not just saying that so that you can have your wicked way with me are you?

Father: Would it matter if I was?

Mother: Why don’t I go upstairs and slip into something more comfortable and then you can join me in the bed hmm?

Daughter re-enters

Daughter: You do know that I’m still here don’t you? Don’t you think I can hear what you’re up to? Do you know how disgusting you both sound? Aren’t you both a bit too old to be doing that sort of thing?

Mother: (Sigh) Didn’t you have somewhere you wanted to go? Why don’t you go there now?

Daughter: Is that what you get up to when I’m not here?

Father: Are you still making that cup of tea? Could I have two sugars please?

Daughter: Is it any wonder that I’m so unhappy?

Mother: Why are you so unhappy?

Daughter: Do you really care? Do either of you really care about me at all?

Daughter exits.

Father: What is up with her? What is wrong with kids these days?

Mother: Do you think I should go and talk to her?

Father: Why is it always me, me, me with her? What about us? What kind of problems can she really have anyway? Does she know the kind of problems I have? And don’t you think I’d like to get hysterical sometimes and start shouting at people? But do I?

Mother: How about we all have a nice cup of tea and then we can all sit down and talk things out together? Hmm?

Father: (Sigh) What’s it all about? Eh? What’s this whole life thing about? What is it all for and where does it all lead to and why does it go by at such a dizzying speed?

Mother: You know we’ll all manage somehow, won’t we?