An Incident at the Border

by Kieran Lynn

An Incident at the Border had 3 performances over 12 years ago (between the 9th of March 2012 and the 19th of May 2012) at The Leatherhead Theatre and Cecil Hepworth Playhouse

A new young Scottish writer Kieran Lynn offers us a vivid, unusual 35 minute play which is a fierce reminder that borders tend to create their own divisions and conflicts and often provide an excuse for some of mankind’s most brutal behaviour.

A couple (could be young or middle aged) Olivia and Arthur are sitting on a park bench enjoying a bit of Sunday morning sunshine, when a man in uniform appears with a roll of tape and places a border between them, right down the middle of the bench.

Olivia who tries to read the newspaper and keep up with events, has a suspicion that this might have something to do with a recently ‘ agreed deal.’ Arthur couldn’t care less about politics and wishes he was a duck on the nearby pond.

No names of countries are used, so we could be anywhere from Bosnia to the Baltic, although the voices are English. Maybe it’s the border with Scotland?

A peaceful day in the park gradually dwindles into a militarised nightmare with both of the men eventually equipped with machine guns. Olivia becomes an agonised and vulnerable bystander with any idea of progressive gender politics dumped in the dustbin.

OLIVIA & ARTHUR are the lovers who are separated. They are at first bemused and bewildered when their moments of peace and harmony are interrupted by the keen jobsworth official. However their bemusement turns quickly to frustration and anger as it becomes clear that he has divided the couple at either end of the bench and he is going to strictly control the border that divides the two newly independent countries, and the hapless lovers.

The play becomes an absurdist vision of things going from bad to worse. The combination of the sharply written dialogue, well formed believable characters and moments of farce make for an intriguing piece, and it works on a number of levels. There is a good balance between comedic and serious moments.

The play is a sharp and timely reminder of the primitive forces that can be unleashed-particularly in the male psyche- whenever human beings give themselves any new excuse to create barriers and for “us and them” thinking.

The actors will be required to find all the laughs in this script, be sharp on their cues whilst being heartfelt and truthful in their reactions to the situations that they find themselves in.

The setting is a summer’s day in a leafy park with a wall, a bench and a duck pond, disturbed by the sounds of war.

A report from Leatherhead Drama Festival by the local press can be found at the link http://www.thisissurreytoday.co.uk/Leatherhead-Drama-Festival-judges-hail-high/story-16173138-detail/story.html