glasshero

“I do not believe that we are divinely destined to be drudges. We must break the rules of the rich and take our destinies into our own hands.”

So said Glass Hero, Victor Grayson, an inebriate socialist icon, who disappeared in 1920 after threatening to expose the cash for honours scandal. Is this the reason for his disappearance or a coincidence? It is an unsolved mystery. Let's get this clear; I'm a playwright, not a detective. Without wishing to sound dramatic I am happy to pose questions, but don't expect answers from me. And there is little point in expecting them from Victor.

Contact IMPULSE PLAYWRIGHTS AGENCY, representative for performances in North America.
presents:	GLASS HERO	First full staging: Edinburgh, at the kind invitation of EIIF, 2002 Last performed: THE WHITE BEAR, London, Jan - Feb 2003.	Recent performances prompted Danielle Carpanen of LWT's London's Scariest Mysteries to include a substantial interview with the playwright in the *Maundy Gregory* episode, The Monocled Dandy (ITV1, May 2003) See also FLEMWELL - featured artist and THE LOOK OF 1920
		Ed Udovick at IMPULSE PLAYWRIGHTS AGENCY for North America performances

The script you see here is the original ACT 1, as shown online in the first Edinburgh International Internet Festival and given its first public reading in 1999. It doesn't look quite the same now, but you can get the idea.

Characters:
Victor Grayson. Man looks about 40. Evening suit, butterfly collar, etc.
Lucy. Barmaid, (also 'Bellboy')
Ernest Donovan, 30ish. Smart working clothes, Lenin hat.
Walter Adams, Aged mid-20s. New Zealand accent.
Mrs Elizabeth Grayson, Victor's mother.
Maundy Gregory. A 1920's A 1920's dandy. Monocle on ribbon,etc..
There may be some doubling up of actors or even change of actors for Act 2.

Stage right set and ambience to suggest a bar/ restaurant in The Strand, London, Autumn, 1920. Bar, stools, table chairs, telephone by large mirror (possibly Art Deco). Remainder of set is 'neutral'. Preset Victor, Ernest and Walter, drinking at bar. Lucy behind bar.

Victor:
(To Lucy) Another three scotch and sodas please.
Picks up drink
(To his companions) I'll be back presently.
Walks to door.
And don't let anyone drink my whisky.

Victor:
(Out) That was it. I disappeared. Nobody is certain where I went. Now of course, you might not think this matters very much. All of it happened a long time ago. Many years have passed ...and the one incontrovertible fact is that, by now, I am dead. I will, later on, be asking you to reflect on what you have seen. When you leave here this evening you may have more questions than answers. Would history have been all that different had I not walked out of this bar on the Strand

Victor:
Would history have been all that different had I not walked out of this bar in September 1920? It is impossible to tell. Now, we need to clarify a few points before we go on. First of all, this is a theatrical reconstruction. I am being played by an actor, as are my two good friends here.

Ernest:
Yes, well…no, not exactly. We lost track of each other for about six years and then of course, you were about to walk out of this bar……..

Walter:
I haven't known him for very long but, well, we just hit it off straight away. I really look up to him. Forget anything this man
points to Victor
may tell you. He is a genuine hero.

Victor:
Oh, it will seem realistic enough at times and you may, after a while, take an interest in what may have become of me. But this is, of course, quite intentional. Look, I will begin by giving a brief account of my early life, tell you something about how I became the person you see now. That should help you get more involved in my character, see things from my point of view. I am aware, and I think it only fair to warn you, that there may be some inconsistencies in the accounts from other people.

Walter:
I didn't know London at all. I was a rough, unsophisticated foreigner in a strange land. He made me feel at home, introduced me to this place.

Ernest:
It is somewhat crucial to the story, I know……but I really don't understand why he chose to come to this bar so often.

Victor:
By first intimating to you my own version of my origins, my early influences, my passions, I hope to guide you between the facts and the fiction. It is frightfully important that my life becomes clear to you by the end of the performance. How else will I ever possibly find myself if it not through your eyes? Let me start with my childhood.

Ernest:
I suppose it is the kind of bar where you can meet with friends for a quiet drink without fear of being interrupted.

Victor:
You may find this hard to reconcile with your image of Victor Grayson, one of the great orators of the 20^th Century,…….

Ernest:
Not that anyone could interrupt our Victor. Not when he was in full flight.

Victor:
….as someone who is now recognised as one of the great orators of the 20^th Century but I was born with a severe speech impediment. Let me tell you about my childhood. I can clearly remember……