The Mousetrap

MRS. ROPER. ’Course you will, dearie, of course you will. Never say die. (She dusts the chair L of the table RC) My Joyce’s eldest he has fits something shocking. Doctor says he’ll grow out of it, but I don’t know myself. (She crosses above the table RC to the door down R, giving an odd flick with the duster here and there) I’ll do the bedroom now, shall I? So that it’ll be ready for you when the doctor comes.

LISA. If you please, Mrs. Roper.

MRS. ROPERexits downR, leaving the door open.

ANYA. You’d better go, Lisa, you’ll be late.

LISA. (hesitating) If you would like me to stay . . .

ANYA. No, of course I don’t want you to stay. Your friends are only here for one day. Of course you must see them. It’s bad enough to be a helpless invalid without feeling that you’re spoiling everybody else’s pleasure.

MRS. ROPER, off, interrupts the calm with the sound of the vacuum cleaner and by singing an old music hall song in a raucous voice.

KARL. Oh, please!

LISA. (crossing to the door downRand calling) Mrs. Roper. Mrs. Roper.

The vacuum and the singing stop.

Do you mind? The Professor is trying to work.

MRS. ROPER. (off) Sorry, miss.

LISAcrosses aboveANYAto the armchair and picks up her handbag. She is rather amused at the incident, andKARLandANYAjoin in.KARLfills his brief-case with papers and books.

ANYA. Do you remember our little Mitzi?

LISA. Ah, yes, Mitzi.

ANYA. Such a nice, willing little maid. Always laughing and such pretty manners. She made good pastry, too.

LISA. She did.

KARL. (rising and picking up his brief-case) There now, I am all ready for my lecture.

LISA. (moving to the doors upC) I’ll be back as soon as I can, Anya. Good-bye, Anya.

ANYA. Enjoy yourself.

LISA. Good-bye, Karl.

KARL. Good-bye, Lisa.

LISAexits upCtoR.

(He moves below the armchair) Someday, sweetheart, you will be well and strong. (He sits in the armchair and fastens his brief-case)

ANYA. No, I shan’t. You talk to me as though I were a child or an imbecile. I’m ill. I’m very ill and I get worse and worse. You all pretend to be so bright and cheerful about it. You don’t know how irritating it is.

KARL. (gently) I am sorry. Yes, I can see it must be very irritating sometimes.

ANYA. And I irritate and weary you.

KARL. Of course you don’t.

ANYA. Oh, yes, I do. You’re so patient and so good, but really you must long for me to die and set you free.

KARL. Anya, Anya, don’t say these things. You know they are not true.

ANYA. Nobody ever thinks of me. Nobody ever considers me. It was the same when you lost your Chair at the university. Why did you have to take the Schultzes in?

KARL. They were our friends, Anya.

ANYA. You never really liked Schultz or agreed with his views. When he got into trouble with the police we should have avoided them altogether. It was the only safe thing to do.

KARL. It was no fault of his wife and children, and they were left destitute. Somebody had to help them.

ANYA. It need not have been us.

KARL. But they were our friends, Anya. You can’t desert your friends when they are in trouble.

ANYA. You can’t, I know that. But you didn’t think of me. The result of it was you were told to resign and we had to leave our home and our friends and come away to this cold, grey, horrible country.

KARL. (rising, crossing and putting his brief-case on the left arm of the sofa) Come now, Anya, it’s not so bad.

ANYA. Not for you, I dare say. They’ve given you a post at the university in London and it’s all the same to you, as long as you have books and your studies. But I’m ill.

KARL. (crossing toRofANYA) I know, dearest.

ANYA. And I have no friends here. I lie alone day after day with no-one to speak to, nothing interesting to hear, no gossip. I knit and I drop the stitches.

KARL. There now . . .

ANYA. You don’t understand. You don’t understand anything. You can’t really care for me, or you would understand.

KARL. Anya, Anya. (He kneels beside her)

ANYA. You’re selfish, really, selfish and hard. You don’t care for anyone but yourself.

KARL. My poor Anya.