End of the Rainbow by Peter Quilter Peter Quilter’s play, which is part concert–part drama, tells of the final, sad decline of Judy Garland, following a lifetime of abuse, addictions, and attempted suicides. Supposedly, she’s on the way to a full recovery and has booked a six-week run at London’s Talk of the Town nightclub, encouraged by her fiancée and manager, Mickey Deans, and in cahoots with her gay pianist friend Anthony. Despite Judy’s best intentions, as the run gets underway, she cannot suppress her destructive streak that has characterised her life up until this point. Quilter’s play is a powerful, part fictionalised, exploration of the final days of this lonely and exploited star, whose only way of travelling over the rainbow is through drugs. End of the Rainbow premiered in August 2005 at the Sydney Opera House. ‘It's not so much the colours of the rainbow that light up Peter Quilter's moving yet often funny musical, as the deep, dark cracks between them.’ Independent Genre: play featuring songs of Judy Garland Fee: £75 plus VAT, per performance Cast: m2 f1 Scripts: ISBN 9780413775320, £8.99 Set: The Ritz/Talk of the Town nightclub, 1968 Length: 2 acts Contact: [email protected] Extract (p. 33) Anthony Oh my God, your head! What happened? Mickey Oh, shut up. Judy What are you asking me for? I don’t know! Judy Hey – I’m Judy Garland – you show me some Anthony I’ll get something. respect! He goes back into the bathroom. Mickey And I’m your fiancé. So why don’t you start Mickey Where the hell have you been? I’ve been to fucking earn it? waiting here for hours. She grabs an ashtray and hurls it across the room Judy Don’t you raise your voice to me! at Mickey. It misses him and smashes against the Mickey I wasn’t! wall. Judy I kno w, I’m just warning you! I’m entitled to go Anthony (re-entering) I found some antiseptic. out on my own sometimes, you know. I am a card- carrying adult – all right! Mickey When you’re done, hide it, or she’ll try and Mickey You’re drunk as hell. drink it. Judy That’s right. And I love it. You should try it too, Mickey. People might like you more. Judy Go screw yourself. If you enjoyed this, you might like: Natural Breaks and Rhythms by Julius Ayodeji (m4) Losing Louis by Simon Mendes da Costa (m3 f4) A History of Falling Things by James Graham (m5 f2) Please contact [email protected] for more details. Bloomsbury Publishing Plc, 50 Bedford Square, London, WC1B 3DP http://www.bloomsbury.com .