JAMAICA
Part of The Glasgow Masters Series 2013
Simon Buckley, Jennifer Campbell, Patrick Cole, Hardeep Pandhal
The play is set in an expensive hotel room in Leeds. Ian, a
foul-mouthed middle-aged tabloid journalist has brought a young woman,
Cate, to the room for the night. Cate is much younger than Ian,
emotionally fragile, and seemingly intellectually simple. Throughout
Scene 1, Ian tries to seduce Cate, but she resists. All the while, Ian
proudly parades his misogyny, racism and homophobia. The scene ends with
the sound of spring rain.
Scene 2 begins the next morning. Ian rapes Cate during one of her
fits. She attacks him and then escapes through the bathroom window.
Then, unexpectedly, a soldier enters the room brandishing a gun. The
hotel room is then struck by a mortar bomb, and the scene ends with the
sound of summer rain.
In Scene 3, the hotel room is in ruins; the bomb has blasted a hole
in the wall. The soldier and Ian begin to talk, and it is gradually
revealed that the hotel is located in the midst of a brutal war. The
soldier tells Ian about appalling atrocities that he has witnessed and
taken part in, involving rape, torture and genocide, and says he has
done everything as an act of revenge for the murder of his girlfriend.
He then rapes Ian, and sucks out his eyes. The scene ends with the sound
of autumn rain.
In Scene 4, Ian lies blinded next to the soldier, who has committed
suicide. Cate returns, describing the city being overrun by soldiers,
and bringing with her a baby that she has rescued. The baby dies, and
she buries it in a hole in the floorboards and leaves, but not before
arguing with Ian about the utility or futility of praying during a
burial. The scene ends with the sound of heavy winter rain.
Scene 5 consists of a series of brief images, showing Ian crying,
masturbating and even hugging the dead soldier for comfort as he starves
in the ruined room. Eventually, he crawls into the hole with the dead
baby and eats it. The stage direction then reads that Ian dies. It
starts raining, and Ian says “Shit”. Cate returns, bringing a sausage
that she has paid for by having sex with the soldiers outside. She eats
and hand-feeds the rest of her meal to Ian, who says: ‘Thank you’.
Text Simon Buckley and Sarah Kane.
Simon Buckley (b. 1984, UK)
Simon gained his MFA from The Glasgow School of Art in 2013. Prior to
this he was awarded an MA in Metaethics from Bristol University. In 2014
he will undertake one year as a guest student at Stadelschule,
Frankfurt am Main. Recent shows include ‘Radio Arthur’, Kunsthalle
Baselland (Basel), ‘Ps & Qs’ Joshua Baskin Gallery (Glasgow) and
‘Sessions Polivalents #2′. Hangor (Barcelona).
Jennifer Campbell (b.1985, UK)
Jennifer is currently studying for her MFA in painting at The Slade
School of Fine Art, University College London (UCL). Recent shows
include ‘Premonitions’, TAP Gallery, (Southend-on-Sea), ‘Habits,
Cleavages and Fractures,’ The Rock Room, UCL (London), ‘Ininland’,
Inland studios, Camberwell (London) and ‘Eastern Pavilions’, Bethnal
Green Library (London).
Patrick Cole (b. 1985, UK)
Patrick is currently studying for his MFA at The Glasgow School of Art.
From October he will undertake a three-month exchange at The
Stadelschule, Frankfurt am Main. Recent shows include ‘New
Contemporaries 2013’, Spike Island (Bristol) and ‘The Response’, Sunday
Painters (London).
Hardeep Pandhal (b. 1985, UK)
Hardeep gained his MFA from The Glasgow School of Art in 2013. Recent
shows include ‘New Contemporaries 2013’, Spike Island Gallery (Bristol),
‘Colme Cille Spiral: A Convocation’, The Mackintosh Museum (Glasgow),
‘Tattoo City: The First Three Chapters’, Castlefield Gallery
(Manchester) and ‘Contemporary Figuration’, Exhibition Space Cube
(Copenhagen).
