Line Changes for Boiling Frogs 29.10.09

Note these are script changes from the copy dated 26.7.09.

I’d prefer it for now if you would all copy these onto your scripts as I don’t want to make you print yet another version out and I will continue to make changes as we get to run longer sections so there’s no point in printing a new version yet anyway. After the showings, before the intensives, it may be worth-while.

Can I also take this chance to reiterate my thanks for your patience and understanding in making these changes - this is a growing piece of work. I've been writing this play for three years now and so many times I thought it was 'done'; your generosity in helping me push it further is humbling.

PG 5 Change the Policeman's line four from the top that starts 'Look in that mirror' entirely to this:

Mark: Whatever you say officer.
Policeman: Look in those mirrors. You know what's behind that glass? That's your audience. Oh yes. There's people back there who can see and hear everything that's going on. Judge you. Form opinions. Get you down on tape. Little eyes and little lenses, little cameras, and everything you do in here, every thing, is evidence. You think about that. I'll be back in a minute.

PG 6 replace the stage direction "The policeman gets the desk and starts to fold out the legs and put it in place" with "The policeman sets up the interview room." So the following section is the opportunity for the Policeman to set the room up however they want.

pg 8 Cut the Policeman's "Here. This ought to do it" at the top of the page.

PG 11 POLICEMAN Near the top of the page. Cut the bit in bold
Policeman: Mark Stone...It says here it's your birthday. Congratulations. How old are you? Nevermind What else does it say? Ah yes... (rest of the speech continues as is)

PG 12 Mark's line We all need arrests, officer.' Cut 'officer' So it is just 'We all need arrests.'

PG 17 Just under half way down, change Mark's 'You haven't got a charge' to 'You haven't got a charge, Serg.'

PG 18 Half way down, change Mark's "Why would they?" to "Why would they want to watch this?"


PG 19 About five lines from the bottom change Mark's "Listen, I'm sorry. I've said I'm sorry." to "I'm sorry. Ok? I'm sorry."

PG 27 Half way down change the sergeant's line "It just happens to be enhanced with a pneumatic drill." To "It just happens to be enhanced with a big f*****g drill."

PG 34 Tom Half way down. Cut entirely the line that starts 'Benjamin Franklin wasn't fighting Al Qaida...' and replace with 'But we need laws.'

PG 36 Cut the bits in bold!
Gandhi: That's ok. This must have been what it was like for Nelson Mandela.
So the line is now: ‘Gandhi: This must be what it was like for Nelson Mandela.’

PG 38 Gandhi In the line 'What about when they told you you were going to be tortured?' Change 'told you' to 'said' So the line now reads 'What about when they said you were going to be tortured?'

PG 39
Sergeant’s speech at the bottom of the page change to "For a number of years we have removed (cut ‘been removing’) trial by jury in cases deemed (cut ‘either’) too serious or too trivial to be judged by the general public. We prefer to get judges... (cut ‘When possible.’)

Last line Tom change to "We really don't care about justice."

pg 40 Five lines up add in to Tom's line "They're not. You're fu*ked mate."

pg 41 Change the Policeman's 'Obviously' in his speech about the different ways of executing someone to 'as you well know.' So it reads "Well, Jesus, there's a number of ways. Crucifixion, as you well know, hanging..."

PG 42
Half way down. Swap the order of Mark and Gandhi's lines 'Give it here if you can't see it.' and 'Let me get my glasses.' So Gandhi's line comes before Mark's, directly after Mark says 'What does it say on the paper - does it say anything on the piece of paper?'

PG 43
CUT THESE TWO LINES

GANDHI: There's nothing else, just formalities.
Mark: The formalities are the most serious thing. That one of us is going to be executed is a formality. That one of us is going to spend the rest of our lives behind bars is a formality. Read the ******* formalities.

So it goes from 'Mark: What do you mean pretty much?' to 'Gandhi: 'This is a classified...'

PG 44
Cut 5 lines from Mark 'I don't understand how this has happened' (nr top of the page) to Gandhi 'You don't know that.' After that there are so many changes I am just going to write it out. So it now runs:

Gandhi: It's not going to change, is it?
Mark: This is ridiculous, they've got to let us know.
(To the mirror) Hello? We need to talk to you. Hello?
Gandhi: You said no one was watching.
Mark: What else can we do?
Tom: Oy! Is there anybody out there?
Mark: Will somebody f*****g listen?
Tom: Hey! You. What are you playing at?
Mark: Who gets what?
Tom: Are you just going to sit there?
Mark: Do something.
Tom: Listen to us you bastards!
Mark: Don't you care?
Tom: Hello?
Mark: Hello?
Tom: Can somebody come in here?
Gandhi lets out a long, long scream at the mirror

PG 45
Change Tom's line 'It's one of you. I hate to say it but I think it's definitely one of you.' to TOM: Let's think about this logically. The way I see it it's got to be one of you. One of you's getting executed. One of you's getting sent down.’

Cut Tom 'At the end of the day you two are protestors, I'm a policeman. It's got to be one of you. Replace with:

Mark: Look at me. I'm in Lycra for Christ's sake.
Tom: I'm getting released.
Mark: You don't know that.
Tom: They're not going to execute me.
Gandhi: I'm not getting executed.

Page 46
Mark's line at the top of the page, under the stage direction 'Back to the mirror'. Cut the bit in Bold:

Mark: (Hey! Hello?) Can somebody please do something? This is a disgrace.

Then, half way down, Gandhi's line 'You killed someone? (Cut ‘f*****g hell’.) This gets better and better.'

Then Cut the next two lines - "Tom: It was all blown out of proportion. / Mark: What happened?"

Then three lines later Tom's line: ‘Give me those. Cut 'I don't want to talk about it. They're sorting it out.'

Three lines later. Cut Tom "They're not going to do anything to me!" So the line starts with 'I'm a policeman...'




Page 47
Tom's line (7 lines from top) Change to 'I was on duty, (cut 'there was') a gang of lads (Cut 'that') surrounded me, they started causing some trouble (cut 'I asked them to stop, they didn't) and I over-reacted.'


Mark - About half way down cut 'You killed someone' and change 'that' to 'this' so the line reads 'What's this got to do with nobility.'

The first line of Tom's chunk change 'the rest of my group had gone into the shop' to 'the rest of my group had gone into the chicken shop.'

Page 48
Mark change 'Oh God' to 'Wait'
Four lines from the bottom. Mark’s line Cut the bit in bold:

Mark: They're not going to let you off. They started riots because of his death. I was there, I saw them.

Next line, Tom, cut the bit in bold

Tom: It doesn't make me a terrorist. I'm a policeman. I was a young policeman doing my job and he was a mouthy little ****.

PG 49
Give Gandhi's 'Well...' at the top of the page to Mark. So Mark's line at the top of the page reads 'Did they say it to you? Well? Did they?'

Gandhi's line four from the top. Add in the bit in bold:

Gandhi: They said it was a suspicion. In my interview they said it was a suspicion. They said they found things at your picnic. Suspicious things. They said they foudn suspicious materials.

A few lines down change the syntax in Gandhi's line about the bombs so now it reads.

Gandhi: Yes you did. You could've made a bomb from your picnic hamper if you wanted, it's easy.

At the end of the same line change 'I'm sure I saw apples.' to Did you have apples?

Change Mark's reply 'Yeah', to 'It was a picnic.'

Next line cut Gandhi's 'Perfect.' (So the line starts 'Get about twelve ounces of apple seeds...)

Gandhi - A few lines down cut the bits in bold.

Gandhi: I used to make them when I was a kid. Only Little ones. My Dad was a chemistry teacher. when he was younger. It's really easy. If they wanted to say you were going to make a bomb they could.

pg 51 Change TOM's 'Don't lie to me' which is about 9 lines up to 'You're lying.' (NB this is the second, 'Don't lie to me' not the one higher up)

pg 52 From Tom's line 'You weren't there for the protest' Cut the bits in bold, and add in the bit in italics.

Tom: You weren't there for the protest. You had a bomb didn't you? What was it? Homemade? Did you sit in your flat with your sick little Paki Dad coughing and wheezing next to you while you wired it up? 'It's alright Dad, I'll make them listen, I'll make them pay for this. Was that how it was? Homemade, stick a few nails in there just to be sure?
Mark: You're going to get me killed. They'll think I organised it. You know that, right?
Gandhi: F**k you.
Mark: Things like this; it This takes away everything I've worked for. Everything I've done.

PG 56 Tom's last line 'Right. Well. Sorry Mark. I don't really know what to say.' Cut 'Good luck.' and replace with 'Chin up.'

Pg 57 last line 'Fear and confusion at my place in this (not an) increasingly bizarre world.'

This may not be the clearest document in the world, my apologies. It’s quite hard to transcribe these cuts, and in doing the blogs I’ve tried a number of different ways so there’s a slight mish-mash here. Any questions e-mail me on stevenbloomer@hotmail.com and I’ll clarify.

Please get on top of lines as much as possible from now on. We would like them learnt for the December intensives. Alex mentioned that the plan for the remaining sessions (after next week’s fight call) will be to work back through the play in order over the three weeks, so attempting to be off book for those each week may help.

Steve x