Stefan Golaszewski - Sex with a Stranger

Sex with a Stranger was first performed at Trafalgar Studios, London, on 1 February 2012, with the following cast:

ADAM – Russell Tovey

GRACE – Jaime Winstone

RUTH – Naomi Sheldon

Director – Phillip Breen

Designer – Holly Pigott

Lighting Designer – Emma Chapman

Sound Designer – Andrea J Cox

Producer – The Invisible Dot Ltd

ADAM

GRACE

RUTH

The characters are all in their twenties.

The text incorporates revisions made to the play by the author since its original production, and should be considered the definitive version.

ADAM wears trendy blue jeans, a ‘going-out’ shirt and gel in his hair. GRACE is dressed scantily for clubbing. Whenever she’s outdoors she has a man’s (ADAM’s) jumper draped over her shoulders. She has a bag.

ADAM and GRACE stand at a bus stop. ADAM’s drinking a bottle of Lucozade. GRACE is on the phone. She looks at ADAM, awaiting an answer.

ADAM. Adam.

GRACE (into the phone). Adam.

She bursts out laughing, eyeing him.

ADAM (pretending to be interested and amused, laughing). What? What?!

GRACE (to ADAM, cheekily). Never you mind. (Into the phone.) What’s that?

She gives a big laugh. ADAM laughs too.

No, he’s all right. He’s nice. I got a bit upset in the club and – (Bursts out laughing.) Abi!

Blackout.

Both sit. She’s on her phone. ADAM laughs when she does.

GRACE (into the phone, shocked, laughing). No… (Listens, shocked, laughing.) No…!

She listens, shocked. He offers her the Lucozade. She waves it away.

(Into the phone.) And why was that? (Listens, then shocked, laughing.) No…! (Bursts out laughing, then listens for a longer time.) Yeah and you were right because – (Listens.) Oh. Right. Yeah. Definitely.

Blackout.

She’s stood on the phone.

GRACE (into the phone). No. You go. I’d better go too if I’m honest. He’ll probably run away if I carry on like this any longer!

ADAM (falsely jovial, more to ‘Abi’). No I won’t!

GRACE (into the phone). Did you hear that?

GRACE bursts out laughing. ADAM laughs.

(Into the phone.) You’re so funny. God. (Listens.) Okay. Let me know you got home okay, yeah? Sorry you – Sorry. All right. Bye. Bye, babe. Bye.

(She hangs up, laughing demonstrably.) She’s so funny!

ADAM laughs too.

My sister. Abi. There’s three of us. Me, Kate and Abi. I’m the middle one. They’re so funny.

He laughs.

She’s such a character. She’s the youngest.

ADAM. They do say that about the youngest.

GRACE. Yeah. They do don’t they. Tut. Funny isn’t it?

ADAM (laughs). Really funny.

GRACE (putting her phone away). Mad.

Blackout.

GRACE inspects the bus timetable.

ADAM. How long?

GRACE. Twelve minutes.

ADAM. Cool.

GRACE. It’s every twelve minutes, so it’s not gonna be longer than that.

ADAM. Cool. And how long is it on the bus?

GRACE. Half an hour.

ADAM. Wicked.

She sits. A beat.

GRACE. Someone’s tried to smash the glass on that.

ADAM. On what sorry?

GRACE. The timetable.

ADAM. Have they?

GRACE. Yeah.

ADAM. God… Why would you do that?

GRACE. I know…

A beat.

Are you cold?

ADAM. I’m good.

GRACE. Good. (Yawns.) Excuse me!

ADAM. Ha!

She laughs. He laughs.

GRACE. Mad isn’t it? Such a great night.

ADAM. Yeah. Really cool. Great club.

GRACE. Great club. I’ve never been there before.

ADAM. Me neither. It’s good though isn’t it.

GRACE. Really good. Yeah. Great DJs.

ADAM. Awesome DJs.

A beat.

So where exactly is it you live?

GRACE. D’you know Homebase?

ADAM. I don’t know the area.

GRACE. I’m about five minutes from Homebase.

ADAM. Oh. Brilliant. Wow.

GRACE. Yeah. Just a five-, ten-minute walk from there.

ADAM. Amazing.

GRACE. Yeah.

A beat.

ADAM. That must be handy. When you need stuff from Homebase.

GRACE. Yeah. It is actually.

A beat.

Blackout.

They stand looking into the distance.

ADAM. Such an amazing club.

GRACE. God yeah. Rob is so funny. Was it Rob? The black man?

ADAM. Robert. Yes. It’s his birthday. It was Wednesday but he’s celebrating it tonight.

GRACE. Yeah. I’ve done that. Was that his girlfriend?

ADAM. Katie. Yeah.

GRACE. Oh. Same as my sister. Except she’s a Kate. (Chuckling to herself.) She’s such a Kate…!

ADAM (chuckles). Yeah! I don’t think it’ll last though.

GRACE. What?

ADAM. Robert and Katie.

GRACE. Oh. Right. I thought you were talking about Kate!

ADAM. Who’s that?

GRACE. My sister Kate and her boyfriend Jake.

ADAM. No!

GRACE. God!

ADAM. Right. No. I mean I don’t think Robert and Katie will last.

GRACE. He’s taking her to Rome! He’s so gonna ask her to marry him and you’re sitting there saying it won’t last and I was like—

ADAM. No! Robert and Katie won’t last.

GRACE. – I was like, Jesus! Adam!

ADAM (laughs). No no no no no. I was saying I don’t think Robert and Katie will last. Sorry. I don’t think Robert and Katie are that good for each other, actually.

GRACE. Really?

ADAM. Yeah.

GRACE. I don’t know. They seemed good together.

ADAM. Yeah?

GRACE. Well I don’t know but to an outsider they seemed good together.

He scratches his hand.

ADAM. Yeah. I don’t know either. But I think Robert’s feeling a bit tied down if I’m honest.

GRACE. No…

ADAM. Yeah.

GRACE. No… I don’t think so.

ADAM. But life’s like that sometimes isn’t it.

GRACE. They seem like such great people.

ADAM. No they are. They are.

Silence. He offers her some Lucozade.

GRACE. No. Thanks.

Silence. She starts laughing.

Oh my God you were such an amazing dancer!

ADAM. Was I?

GRACE. Oh my God!

ADAM. In a good way I hope!

GRACE. Yeah as if! (Laughs.) You wish! You wish it was in a good way!

They laugh.

ADAM. That is so offensive…

GRACE. No it’s not!

ADAM. Amazing! So funny!

They laugh. He drinks and finishes the Lucozade. He scratches his hand.

I must’ve been bitten.

She feels her pockets.

GRACE (worried). My Oyster.

Blackout.

She searches in her bag. She’s wild with worry. He’s scratching his hand.

ADAM. It’ll turn up.

GRACE. I just put a fucking tenner on it.

ADAM. Shall I have a look?

She searches. Silence.

Could you maybe have left it somewhere?

GRACE. For fuck’s sakes!

She searches. Silence.

ADAM. I can pay.

She searches. Silence.

I really don’t mind paying.

She finds it in her pocket.

GRACE. There it is.

ADAM. Oh good. Thank God for that.

GRACE (genuinely exasperated). It’s always in the last place you look.

ADAM. So annoying…

GRACE. I’m glad I found that.

It’s awkward. She looks into the distance.

(Ratty.) Is that ours? I haven’t got my glasses.

He looks with her.

ADAM. Yeah. Maybe. What one do we want?

GRACE. N73.

ADAM. No.

GRACE. Okay.

Silence.

(Back to normal.) Really glad I found my Oyster card. I put ten pounds on it this evening.

ADAM. Did you?

Blackout.

Really loud, cold, inhuman dance music. They’re in a club. They’re stood apart from each other, not dancing, stood alone watching other people dancing, unaware of each other.

Blackout.

They’re sat on a bus.

ADAM. That’s better.

GRACE. Yeah. I don’t like standing up.

ADAM. Yeah. I’m like that.

Silence. Hold on this.

I think I’ve been on this bus before.

GRACE. Have you?

ADAM. Yeah.

GRACE. Cool.

ADAM. Yeah I’m sure I have.

GRACE. I’ve been on it loads.

Silence. They just sit there, pretending it’s not awkward.

ADAM. I do like buses actually.

A beat.

So you’re in recruitment, is that right?

GRACE. Yes.

ADAM. God.

GRACE. I’m cool with it.

ADAM. That’s good.

GRACE. It can be difficult I guess. But that’s kind of a good thing in a way.

ADAM. Meeting lots of new people.

GRACE. Well not that but yeah.

A beat.

What do you do again?

ADAM. I’m in sales.

GRACE. Oh yeah.

ADAM. But I’m gonna move into social media.

GRACE. Yeah. I remember now.

ADAM. I’ve got this idea for a website—

GRACE. Yes I remember you saying.

Hold on them just sat there on the bus, looking separately.

ADAM. Busy tonight…

GRACE. Yeah.

Silence. He looks at her.

ADAM. I like your hair.

GRACE. Do you?

ADAM. Yeah.

GRACE. It’s my GHDs.

ADAM. Cool.

A beat.

And d’you get it cut like that? Or do you do it all with the GHDs?

GRACE. Erm. Bit of both really. I get it cut. But I get it for half price because my sister used to work there. Abi. She used to be an assistant. And I sort of saw the owner for a bit.

ADAM. Cool.

Silence. Hold on them just sat there on the bus, looking separately.

It was a good club actually wasn’t it?

GRACE. It was a good club, yes.

Blackout.

The street. She’s bent over, fiddling with her foot. He’s just stood there, watching her. Hold on this for a beat, then—

ADAM. You could take them off.

GRACE. I’m fine.

ADAM. The stuff you women have to go through. It’s madness.

No response. He watches her fiddling, not knowing what to do. Eventually she straightens up. She’s now fiddling with her top, covering herself up, wrapping the jumper round her more. As she does so—

Where’s your place?

GRACE. It’s about a twenty-minute walk that way.

ADAM. Oh. Cool.

A beat.

I really need a wee.

GRACE. There’s a park you can do it in.

ADAM. Oh good.

GRACE. It’s nice actually. It’s got a pond.

ADAM. Oh cool.

She finishes fidgeting.

Come here…

GRACE. One second.

A second of fidgeting. Then she does. They hold each other.

ADAM. What a night!

GRACE. Yes! What a night…!

They laugh.

ADAM. And this seems like a cool area.

GRACE. Yeah. It is nice actually.

ADAM. Very nice.

GRACE. Yeah. There’s lots of amenities. Lots to do. Quite a young crowd but there’s also your oldies as well.

ADAM. You cold?

GRACE. No.

ADAM. Good.

He starts touching her face.

GRACE. Yeah. It’s not bad actually. You’ve got your supermarkets, your local shops, there’s a Homebase, there’s a club, the park. There’s a Kebabish down the road. Are you hungry?