Wolfram & Kyot
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Wolfram + Kyot Part II: The Night Journey a play by Chas LiBretto Draft date: 10/5/20 Agent contact: Katie Gamelli [email protected] A3 Artists Agency Literary Division The Empire State Building Fifth Ave. 38th Floor New York, NY 10118 ii CHARACTER NAME BRIEF DESCRIPTION AGE GENDER Frederick VI Duke of Swabia 23 M Advisor Attendant to Duke of Swabia 60s M Wolfram von Eschenbach young knight early 20s F Fatima of Toledo Muslim astronomer early 20s F Esclarmonde de Foix Cathar priestess early 40s F Berengaria Princess of Navarre early 20s F Highwayman 1 German criminal 20s M Highwayman 2 German criminal 20s M Priest English priest 40s M Richard I King of England 33 M John Prince 24 M Eleanor Duchess of Aquitaine 68 F Robert de Boron Poet late 20s M Sir Hagan Knight Templar 40s M Gerald of Wales Welsh archdeacon mid 40s M Peredur Welsh knight 30s M Fulk FitzWarin Young Noble late 20s 20s M Soldier 1/Roger French soldier 20s M Soldier 2 French soldier 20s M Soldier 3 French soldier 20s M Ibn Rushd Muslim Astronomer 50s M "Frederick" Ghost M "Christina" Ghost M Actor 1: Frederick VI, Highwayman 1, Fulk Fitz Warin, Roger Actor 2: Wolfram Actor 3: Advisor, Highwayman 2, John, Soldier 2 Actor 4: Fatima Actor 5: Esclarmonde, Eleanor, Christina Actor 6: Berengaria Actor 7: Richard Actor 8: Sir Hagan, Gerald, Peredur Actor 9: Robert, Soldier 3 Actor 10: Ibn Rushd, Frederick Time: 1190 AD Setting: Europe and the Near East iii "Here time becomes space." - Wagner, "Parsifal" “Come, let me know whether thou art a creature of good or not.' And he replied: `I am a man.’” - Chretien de Troyes, "Yvain" “Shall I then bring the crown That was made by 60,000 angels? Who wished to force GOD out of the Kingdom of Heaven. See! Lucifer, there he is! If there are master-priests, Then you know well that I am singing the truth. Saint Michael saw GOD’s anger, plagued by His insolence. He took (Lucifer’s) crown from his head, In such a way that a stone jumped out of it. Which on Earth became Parsifal’s stone. The stone which sprang out of it, He found it, he who struggled for honor at such a high cost.” - Wartburgkrieg “When he shall die, Take him and cut him out in little stars, And he will make the face of heaven so fine That all the world will be in love with night And pay no worship to the garish sun." - William Shakespeare, Romeo and Juliet ACT ONE Projection: “1190 AD. One year after embarking on a Crusade to retake Jerusalem, the Holy Roman Emperor Frederick Barbarossa has drowned crossing a river in Anatolia. His army has now limped to Antioch, with little hope of success. And in England, a new King named Richard prepares to launch his own attempt on the Holy City....” SCENE 1: PRINCIPALITY OF ANTIOCH - JUNE, 1190 A young man, FREDERICK VI, looks out a window. FREDERICK VI “...And the stone that struck the image became a great mountain and filled the whole earth.” FREDERICK VI shakes his head. An ADVISOR approaches. ADVISOR My lord? FREDERICK VI I’m sorry. My mind must have nodded off there for a moment. ADVISOR Are you feeling well, my lord? You should let a physician have a look at you. There have been reports of a sickness in the barracks ever since we arrived in Antioch. It’s the swamps we marched through, I fear. Marsh fever. FREDERICK VI No, I’m all right. Just a good deal on my mind. That’s all. ADVISOR Quite understandable. It has been an enormously taxing time for you. Consoling your army, prostrated as we all are by grief. And so soon after your own injury. And, of course - FREDERICK VI With my father gone, the future of this endeavor is on my shoulders. It is a wonder I have slept at all. 2. ADVISOR Have faith, my lord. You’ve led us unscathed to Antioch, you’ll lead us yet to Jerusalem. You are the glory of the Christian army. And its only hope. FREDERICK VI smiles, pained. He grips the ADVISOR by his shoulder. FREDERICK VI Well. You do know how to relieve a man of his worries, my friend. ADVISOR I certainly endeavor to try, my prince. Bells are heard. But come. We don’t want to be late for the ceremony. You will feel peace once we have interred your father. The ADVISOR begins to go, and stops when he sees that FREDERICK VI has not left. My Lord? FREDERICK VI I was dreaming...of a stone. ADVISOR A stone, sire? FREDERICK VI There was statue of metal...or many metals, actually. And then a stone broke it apart, and then it grew to become a mountain, crushing everything in its wake. ADVISOR That’s the Book of Daniel. Nebuchadnezzar’s dream. The statue, the stone. The Destroyer of Nations. FREDERICK VI What does it mean? 3. ADVISOR That’s precisely what Nebuchadnezzar wanted to know. When he told the seer Daniel of his dream, Daniel told the king that the statue represented all the kingdoms upon the earth. Babylon, Egypt, the Medes. Its collapse means the end of all earthy rule. FREDERICK VI And the stone? ADVISOR It’s an apocalypse, sire. The Last Days, when the Kingdom of God arrives, falling like a stone and dispersing the wicked crowd through the might of God, scattering them like dust on the face of the earth. You really should consult your scripture more often, sire, given that you are - FREDERICK VI Yes, the last hope of Christendom and all that, indeed. I will. One more thing... ADVISOR Yes, my lord? FREDERICK VI Nebuchadnezzar. He is not generally a beloved figure in the Old Testament. Is he? ADVISOR No. He is not. Paue. FREDERICK VI Let them know I am on my way. ADVISOR leaves. FREDERICK VI watches him go. And then he reaches into his pocket, and pulls out a glowing STONE. LIGHTS SHIFT. SCENE 2: PRINCIPALITY OF ANTIOCH - JUNE, 1190 The funeral of the Emperor FREDERICK. It’s a humble affair, in a small church built by crusaders less than a hundred years earlier. Some bells are heard and some chanting. 4. FREDERICK VI and the ADVISOR walk outside the church, along with the other congregants, generals, and advisors. FREDERICK VI looks back toward the church. FREDERICK VI I hope you’ve found your peace at last, father. ADVISOR Burial in the Church of St. Peter has a certain...directness to it, I think. A straight path to the apostle, waiting at heaven’s gate. Yes, I think your father would like that. FREDERICK VI There’s talk of bringing his bones to Jerusalem, so that he may be laid to rest there too. Dead in Selucia, his flesh and intestines in Tarsus, his bones here in Antioch, his skull in Jerusalem...God. He was coming apart for so long...I didn’t...I... ADVISOR puts his hand on FREDERICK VI’s shoulder. ADVISOR My lord. Do not dwell on such things. He had his eye on Jerusalem. It would make him proud to see you bury him there. FREDERICK VI He needed me. FREDERICK VI looks up at the desolate landscape of Antioch. A crow is heard. Such a humble place. ADVISOR Indeed, sire. FREDERICK VI If he’d known the war would be ended for him here, would he still have gone? ADVISOR But it’s not ended. Not with you leading us forward. ADVISOR goes. FREDERICK VI looks at the sky. A hooded figure comes out of the church, hoping to avoid being seen. FREDERICK VI spots him. 5. FREDERICK VI You there! Stop! Who are you, skulking about this holy place? The figure stops, hesitates. Should he try to run for it? Finally, he removes his hood. It’s WOLFRAM, a young knight. You! I know you, don’t I? WOLFRAM Yes, m’lord. FREDERICK VI Last Christmas, wasn’t it? In Phillipopolis? Pause. ...Wolfram? WOLFRAM Wolfram von Eschenbach. Yes, sir. You have a very good memory. FREDERICK VI I remember you wanted to speak to my father about something. WOLFRAM I did. FREDERICK VI I’m afraid it might be a bit late for that conversation now. WOLFRAM I just wanted to see him again. FREDERICK VI Not much to see. Just his bones. His flesh is in Tarsus, or haven’t you heard? Rotting in bad vinegar under the Turkish sun. You said last Christmas that you believed the army was doomed if we kept marching to Jerusalem. WOLFRAM doesn’t say anything. It seems you were right. WOLFRAM I won’t trouble you, sir. I should be returning to the barracks anyway. There’s a fever going around, and I’ve been helping to treat - 6. FREDERICK VI Why did you wish to tell my father such a thing? Pause. WOLFRAM It was a feeling. FREDERICK VI It was more than that, Wolfram. You can tell me. I won’t be mad at a friend. WOLFRAM is startled by this. The son of the Emperor thinks of him as a friend? WOLFRAM It was last year. The night before we left Germany. In Ratisbon. I met someone...a girl. FREDERICK VI A girl? You don’t mean the spy who snuck into my father’s room? The one who tried to kill him? You saw her? Spoke to her? WOLFRAM She didn’t try to kill him.