Muriel Spark
DOCTORS OF PHILOSOPHY
ACT ONE
SCENE
I
CHARACTERS IN ORDER OF THEIR APPEARANCE:
CHARLIE DELFONT
CATHERINE,
his wife
LEONORA,
Catherine's cousin
It is a summer night.
MRS.
S.,
the daily help
DAPHNE,
the Delfont's daughter
CHARLIE BROWN,
a lorry driver
The
DELFONTS
live in a house overlooking the Regent's Canal,
and the whole play takes place in the living-room and on the
adjoining terrace.
CHARLIE
is writing at a desk.
CATHERINE
enters from t.he terrace, through the French windows.
CATHERINE: Where's Leonora? ...
CHARLIE: She's gone to bed.
CATHERINE:
I
wanted her to come and look at the canal.
CHARLIE: Well, she's gone to bed.
CATHERINE:
I
thought she might like to look at the water as
it
isn't
term-time.
I
quite see that during term a thing like the Regent's
Canal would
be
an idea to Leonora,
it
would be a geographical
and historical and sociological idea, but during vacation
I
do think
Leonora ought to take a look at reality. Are you listening, Charlie?
CHARLIE :
Yes,
Catherine.
CATHERINE: What was
I
saying?
CHARLIE: Leonora ought to take a look at reality.
Copyright
©
1963
by
Muriel Spark.
