the jasmine in my mind - Act 1, Scene 1
ACT 1
Scene 1
[A young man sits on a milk crate. He has longish hair and is of dishevelled appearance. He holds a guitar and starts to play a few lines. A girl walks upto him from the distance. She wears black jeans, a black t-shirt and a black apron. She comes closer to him and smiles before giving him a small hug. She is Yesmina. He is Husein.]
YESMINA: How are you? How's my big brother?
HUSEIN: Hey, I ain't no cheap TV program. Don't call be big brother.
[A young man sits on a milk crate. He has longish hair and is of dishevelled appearance. He holds a guitar and starts to play a few lines. A girl walks upto him from the distance. She wears black jeans, a black t-shirt and a black apron. She comes closer to him and smiles before giving him a small hug. She is Yesmina. He is Husein.]
YESMINA: How are you? How's my big brother?
HUSEIN: Hey, I ain't no cheap TV program. Don't call be big brother.
YESMINA: [giggles] You haven't lost your sense of humour, Husein.
HUSEIN: Did you just finish your shift?
YESMINA: Yeah. And I came to see you. I wanted to hear you sing.
HUSEIN: I'll keep singing. But when are you gonna stop working in that bar with all those sleazy guys starin' at you?
YESMINA: One day. Not sure when.
HUSEIN: Hurry up! I worry about you. Just 'cause I am a loser, doesn't mean you have to be.
YESMINA: [clearly upset] You are not a loser. Stop saying that. You know how upset I get when you put yourself down.
HUSEIN: Yeah, I am. Look at me. No life. My wife and kids have left me. My publishers don't wanna know me.
YESMINA: One day you will go back to writing. Serious. You will. Remember when you used to give me tickets to see all those bands? Remember how we'd write those band reviews together?
HUSEIN: Yeah. You wrote most of it. But you never wanted your name on any of them. That's my kid sister. Humble as ever.
YESMINA: Well I don't have much to be proud about.
HUSEIN: Bullshit. You have everything to be proud about. You're smart. You're beautiful. You were lecturing at uni? Why did you leave all that behind? And to work in a bar?
YESMINA: One day you'll understand.
HUSEIN: Just like one day you'll understand me. Anyway, I wrote a song for you.
YESMINA: [suprised and enthusiatically] Really?
HUSEIN: Yeah. I reckon you're gonna find a man one day who will sing it to you better than me.
YESMINA: Yeah, right! As if someone would marry me.
HUSEIN: Yaz, I am sick of hearing you put yourself down. And I wrote it just for you. You wanna hear it or what?
YESMINA: Sorry, brother. I'm listening.
[The music to an old Seals & Crofts song, “Summer Breeze”, plays in the background, sung (or rather, mimed) Husein. The lyrics of the song play on a big screen at the back of the stage, interspersed with images of the Jasmine flower, the Bander Aceh beach, the whirling dervishes and the two lovers Yunus and Yesmina ...]
See the curtains hangin' in the window,
in the evenin' on a Friday night.
A little light a-shinin' through the window,
lets me know everything is alright.
Summer breeze, makes me feel fine,
blowing through the jasmine in my mind.
Summer breeze, makes me feel fine,
blowing through the jasmine in my mind.
See the paper layin' in the sidewalk,
a little music from the house next door.
So I walked on up to the doorstep,
through the screen and across the floor.
Summer breeze, makes me feel fine,
blowing through the jasmine in my mind.
Summer breeze, makes me feel fine,
blowing through the jasmine in my mind.
Sweet days of summer, the jasmine's in bloom.
July is dressed up and playing her tune.
And I come home from a hard day's work,
and you're waiting there, not a care in the world.
See the smile a-waitin' in the kitchen,
food cookin' and the plates for two.
See the arms that reach out to hold me,
in the evening when the day is through.
Summer breeze, makes me feel fine,
blowing through the jasmine in my mind.
Summer breeze, makes me feel fine,
blowing through the jasmine in my mind.
© Irfan Yusuf 2005
posted by Irf at
8/05/2005 02:43:00 AM
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