ACT III
THE FILE
Reports hang from the ceiling. A giant file sits on a throne. Everything was received. Nothing was heard.
The stage is now dominated by paper. Reports hang from the ceiling. Documents cover the floor. A giant file sits on a throne. THE REPORT sits inside it.
THE REPORT
We have reviewed the situation.
ORPHEUS
Which situation?
THE REPORT
The situation.
ORPHEUS
My relationship with my daughter?
THE REPORT
Partly.
ORPHEUS
The circumstances that preceded the placement?
THE REPORT
Relevant.
ORPHEUS
The history with her father?
THE REPORT
Relevant.
ORPHEUS
The witness statements?
THE REPORT
Received.
ORPHEUS
The police records?
THE REPORT
Received.
ORPHEUS
The medical information?
THE REPORT
Received.
ORPHEUS
And what did they tell you?
THE REPORT
They were received.
ORPHEUS
That is not an answer.
THE REPORT
It is a record.
THE FOOL turns to the audience.
THE FOOL
There is a difference. A record can prove that somebody wrote something. It cannot, by itself, prove that what they wrote was true.
He pauses.
THE FOOL
Unfortunately, that distinction requires reading.
THE WITNESS
Lanthe’s opa enters, carrying a letter.
SIBE enters carrying a letter. He stands alone.
SIBE
I wrote what I observed. I separated what I personally witnessed from what had been reported to me. I offered to provide further information.
ORPHEUS looks at him.
ORPHEUS
Did they hear you?
SIBE
I don’t know.
ORPHEUS
Did they read your letter?
SIBE
I don’t know.
ORPHEUS
Then what good is being a witness?
Sibe looks at the papers.
SIBE
A witness can speak. The Kingdom decides whether speaking becomes evidence.
CORNELIA enters.
CORNELIA
I saw a child come to our door. I saw distress. I reported what I saw. I was not the judge. I was not the court. I was there.
Sibe stands beside her.
SIBE
I was there too.
CORNELIA
We did not ask anyone to believe us simply because we were witnesses.
SIBE
We asked them to examine what we said because we were witnesses.
BOTH
That should have been enough to ask more questions.
Silence.
THE ECHO
The dangerous territory of history.
THE FATHER enters.
THE FATHER
I want my daughter.
ORPHEUS
So do I.
THE FATHER
I can provide stability.
ORPHEUS
Then examine the history of who provided it.
THE FATHER
I am her father.
ORPHEUS
And I am her mother.
THE FATHER
I am capable.
ORPHEUS
Then examine the evidence.
THE REPORT
The father presents as capable.
ORPHEUS
Presentation. That word can become a hiding place.
THE REPORT
The father expresses concern for the child.
ORPHEUS
Then ask what happened when nobody was watching.
THE REPORT
The father wishes to care for his daughter.
ORPHEUS
Then ask who cared for her before the audience arrived.
THE FOOL applauds slowly.
THE FOOL
Excellent. We have reached the dangerous territory of history.
This is a work of fiction. Characters, events and circumstances have been fictionalised.