breakinglight11 | 31 Plays in 31 Days 2025, #12

Bleh, I don’t like this. It’s the scene immediately following yesterday’s #11 - Too Much in Dead Tongues. I know what it’s supposed to accomplish, but the details are sloppy and the execution feels contrived. I prefer a more naturalistic unfolding, but when you have a character alone in an audio drama, it’s tough not to have the character talk to themselves in an unrealistic way. There’s also a lot of cliche imagery, most of which I don’t even know what is supposed to mean. Lame. I can always clean it up later, but still, bleh.

Day #12 - "Rosamunde"
From Dead Tongues
By Phoebe Roberts
~~~

HELEN DARE, the new Baroness Strathmore, mid twenties
The WHISPER, just beyond hearing
~~~

SOUND: Footsteps distantly running up stairs
SOUND: Door thrown open

HELEN: (Gasping) Oh, God. Oh, God…

(Pause.)

HELEN: Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee… blessed art thou… blessed art thou… oh, heavens!

SOUND: Jostling of furniture
SOUND: Ceramic clattering

HELEN: Oh, I shall never manage this! Whatever am I doing here?

SOUND: Replacing of ceramic

HELEN: (Deep, steadying breath)

WHISPER: Flevit lepus parvulus, clamans altis vocibus…

HELEN: (Singing quietly) “The little hare wept, crying aloud…’

WHISPER: Quid feci hominibus, quod me sequuntur canibus?  HELEN: “What have I done, that men chase me with hounds?” (Small gasp)

(Pause)

HELEN: What is this room? I don’t think I’ve seen it before…

SOUND: Pulling off of sheet

HELEN: Oh! A rocking chair. Look at that fine carving…

SOUND: Another sheet pulling off

HELEN: And… a cradle? Good heavens, a nursery?

SOUND: More sheets

HELEN: (Coughing) When was there a child here? Not for decades, certainly. Has it been shut up all this time?

(Pause.)

HELEN: So many fragile things for a nursery. The vase, the mirror… (Gasp) But what a lovely doll. The lace on her dress… just like on Mother’s wedding gown. And the embroidery— is there something sewn inside the collar? (Reading) “Rosamunde.” What a pretty name…

SOUND: Rippling of wind
SOUND: Rustling of silk
SOUND: Mysterious trill

WHISPER: I was not in the garden…

HELEN: (Singing quietly) “…I was nowhere around.”

(Pause.)

HELEN: (Deep breath) Well. I have work to do.

SOUND: Door opening
SOUND: Footsteps walking away