and from the inside in

ARE YOU SAFE? (or the occupation of love)
by Shebana Coelho
ACT I
SCENE 1
A pitch dark stage - as dark as you can make it -
slowly lightens into shadows. A dim blue
searchlight roves across the stage, and into the
audience, and in the arc of its turning, it
illuminates a table and two chairs. In one chair,
facing the audience is a GIRL, fair-skinned, in
her twenties with long black hair. Her hands are
clasped behind her back, as if they are tied
together. But they are not. Her head is lowered,
as if she is sleeping. But she is not. One side of
her face looks discolored, as if she’s wearing a
face mask, the kind you get in beauty salons. A
MAN, in his fifties, sits in the chair to her
left. When the spotlight reaches her again, her
head swings up and she opens her eyes.
GIRL
Later, he tells me he knew my name all along.
MAN
Your middle name, to be exact.
GIRL
All it takes is a Muslim in the middle.
MAN
Naseema, to be exact.
GIRL
Naseema.
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