KING DAVID (...and Bathsheba )
DRAMATIS PERSONAE SAUL JONATHAN ABNER SAMUEL DAVID MICHAL ABIGAIL ABISHAG BATHSHEBA SOLOMON JOAB ABISHAI NATHAN ELIAB ABINADAB SHAMMAH AMNON ABSALOM URIAH SHIMEI First King of Israel His Son Captain of the Host A Judge Second King of Israel His First wife His Second wife His Next wife? His Eighth wife Their Son Captain of the Host His brother A Prophet David's brother David's brother David's brother David's son David's son Bathsheba's First husband A Bigmouth
ACT ONE SCENE: King David's Bedchamber (ABISHAG is preparing food USR, DAVID is lying on his deathbed, CS. He is old and bearded. He notices the audience and gets up and walks DSC and speaks to them) See that girl? She is to be my wife. My fourteenth wife, if I remember correctly. Well, when you're a king... She is beautiful isn't she? They tell me she is a virgin. So what? I've had beautiful virgins before and felt like I was wasting my time. Both the women I've loved most in my life were married when I met them and had learned how to please me through living with their first husbands; Abigail, may she rest in peace, and Bathsheba, may she leave me in peace, - you'll meet her later, she'll be in here soon to plead with me to make our son Solomon king after me. Fat chance. Adonijah will be king, - he is the oldest. But I digress. You want a story? Oh boy have I got one for you. An ancient story, a modern story, a love story. A story about growing up and growing old, about men and women, about fathers and sons, about man and God. I don't like to boast but I truly believe I've got the best story in the Bible. Where's the competition? Job? Forget him. Genesis? The cosmology is for kids, an old wives' tale. Abraham is ever up to the mark, of course. Always the perfect gentleman and intelligent patriarch. But where's the action after Isaac and Hagar? Jacob stands up pretty well as narrative and Joseph is lively as the pampered, late-born, bratty favourite of his doting father. But he drops out kind of suddenly as a grown-up, doesn't he? One minute he's dispensing corn and land in Egypt and just a few paragraphs later he's on his deathbed, breathing his last wish that his bones be carried up into the land of Canaan someday, - another headache for Moses, four hundred years later. Now Moses isn't bad, I have to admit, but he's very, very long, and there's a crying need for variation after the exodus from Egypt. The story goes on and on with all those laws. Who could listen to so many laws, even in forty years? Who could write them down? When did he have time for anything else? And he has to pass them on. Keep in mind that Moses was slow of speech. No wonder it took so long. Moses has the Ten Commandments but I've got much better lines. I've got the poetry and passion, savage violence and the plain, raw, civilising grief of human heartbreak. "The beauty of Israel is slain upon thy high places." That sentence is mine and so is "They were swifter than eagles, they were stronger than lions." My psalms last; "The Lord is my shepherd"? That would win awards these days. I've got wars and ecstatic religious experiences, obscene dances, ghosts, murders, hair. In those days I was invincible. I gave my enemies what for, I put the whole lot to the sword I had it all:
Song 1 With God By My Side With God by my side God as my guide I survived In those days, God was there for me And what I wanted I would take I never thought my heart could break I had it all Now it seems, He's deserted me But when I look back to the day I never thought that He would say I'd have it all LC1 (Behind the gauze a double of DAVID as a shepherd boy is seen, sitting on a boulder) LC2 (Back to plot) Picture if you can An innocent young man Helplessly waiting an answer to it all Suddenly someone was hearing my call Something had happened to change everything Samuel stood before me and said I would be king Though it seemed quite implausible Why, from a shepherd to a king? Whoever heard of such a thing? The king is Saul And it seemed to be impossible When all my brothers laughed at me I said just watch and you will see I'll have it all With God by my side God as my guide I'll survive All my wives were so beautiful I had my pick of all the girls The finest women in the world
I had them all And of course I was approachable Always a sympathetic ear Always a shoulder for their tears I had it all With God by my side God as my guide I survived Now it seems, God's deserted me But when I look back to the day I never thought that He would say I'd have it all LC3 (DAVID's double, as before) LC4 (Back to plot) Picture if you can An innocent young man Helplessly waiting an answer to it all Suddenly someone was hearing my call Something had happened to change everything Samuel stood before me and said I would be king And it seemed quite implausible Why, from a shepherd to a king? Whoever heard of such a thing? The king is Saul And it seemed to be impossible When all my brothers laughed at me I said just watch and you will see I'll have it all With God by my side God as my guide I'll survive LC5 (Blackout, during which the Gauze is flown)
SCENE: A Hillside (Bright sunshine, green fields, blue sky etc. DAVID is sitting on a boulder DSL playing a harp. He sings, to the traditional tune) The Lord's my shepherd I'll not want He maketh me lie down (He stops and frowns and then repeats the second line as -) He makes me down to lie (As he sings, JOAB enters USR and begins to creep up on him) In pastures green He leadeth me The quiet waters by (JOAB is behind him now) JOAB: (Roars like a lion) Caught you slacking, give me all your lambs (DAVID stumbles to his feet, clutching his heart and turns to face him) For God's sake, Joab, what the hell are you playing at? You frightened the life out of me (Joab sits on the boulder and casually begins to peel a piece of fruit) JOAB: Fine shepherd you are. Supposing I'd been a lion, or a bear? Lions and bears are different. They don't sneak up on people. And you can smell them coming. JOAB: What was that you were singing? A new song I'm writing. I'm having a lot of trouble with it, to be honest. From what I know about this job, comparing the Lord your God to a shepherd is probably pretty close to blasphemy. What are you doing here anyway? Why aren't you off playing at war with your brothers? JOAB: I've been sent to fetch you. Samuel is coming
The Judge? Why would he come here? What is there in Bethlehem to interest a Judge? JOAB: Who knows? Personally, if it was up to me, I wish he wouldn't come. He probably has bad news Maybe this time he brings good news JOAB: Why would God send a prophet with good news? Good news can't happen by itself? They say he can work miracles. They say that only last week he turned a calf into a cow JOAB: That's not such a good trick, if you think about it. With a pig, - that I would like to see. Anyhow, it's getting late and you've got work to do. See if you can perform your own miracle and turn those sheep into a fold. (He exits USR) Song 2 "Who Is It?" What's the point of it all? Out on the plain With the sheep and the bears and the lions again Something must change 'cause I don't want to have to go through this again Samuel is waiting in the wings Talking of destiny and things And who is going to be king (SAMUEL enters DSR) SAMUEL: This boy is slight But if God says it's right then it must be alright A boy with a harp But it seems God has seen something deep in his heart Now that the sacrifice is made Soon all the world will know his name And who is going to be king (David's brothers enter with JOAB and his two brothers)
Tell me what does he mean when he says, 'This is he'? Is it me that he means? I can hardly believe Samuel what does your message mean? Tell me the prophecy you've seen And who is going to be king JOAB: This can't be right Can a boy with a sling ever challenge the king? David's alright But he's not got the fight that he'll need to get by Not without someone by his side Loyal and true with good advice If he is going to be king Tell me what does he mean when he says, 'This is he'? Is it me that he means? I can hardly believe Samuel what does your message mean? Tell me the prophecy you've seen And who is going to be king BROTHERS: It's you! (Everyone exits, leaving DAVID alone. Again, he speaks to the audience) King! That Samuel, he was nuts. That was months ago and look at me, nothing. I tend the sheep, I tend the sheep. How much sheep-tending does a king do? And look at me today. Taking sandwiches to my older brothers in battle. I say in battle, but to be honest, nothing much is happening. The Philistines can't come up, and we don't care to go down. To tell you the truth I think they are all frightened of the giant... you know about the giant? One of these days I may even go down there and kill him myself. I wonder what the king would do for me if I did. (All the brothers enter USL and form a small crowd, looking into the wings)
ELIAB: starving Here you are at last. Hurry up with those sandwiches, we're I'm sorry I was so long. What with the sheep and everything. I didn't realise the time. How's the battle going? (He tries to look over their shoulders) ABINADAB: It's going, it's going. (He looks in the bag) Cheese. Again. SHAMMAH: Why must you always put cheese in the sandwiches? Can't you think of anything else? What else is there? What do you expect? Lamb? Tell me, what will the king do for the man who fights and kills this Philistine and takes away this reproach from Israel? SHAMMAH: Don't ask ELIAB: Go on back home. Who is tending those few poor sheep of yours in the wilderness while you are idle here? Suppose that bear comes back? I've told you a million times, the bear won't come back. How can the bear come back? Didn't I kill it with my sling? ELIAB: So you say All I did was ask a simple question SHAMMAH: simple questions Never mind your simple questions. We know all about your ELIAB: I'll give you simple questions. I knew you'd be back here, showing off. Go home, go home, thou vain and naughty boy SHAMMAH: Can't you see we've got trouble enough? Maybe I can help ELIAB: Don't make me laugh. You just want to hang around and watch the battle, don't you? We know your pride and the naughtiness of your heart
What pride? What naughtiness of heart? I've got no pride. I've got no naughtiness of heart. All I did was ask what will the king do for the man who fights and kills this Philistine and takes away this reproach from all Israel (ABNER enters DSR as he is saying this) ABNER: What will the king do? What won't the king do, better you should ask. Probably the king will enrich him with great riches, give him one of his daughters as a wife, and make his father's house in Israel tax free Then how is it that none will go down to meet him, for who is this uncircumcised Philistine that he should defy the armies of the living God? ABNER: ABNER: Who the hell are you? I am the son of the king's servant Jesse the Bethlehemite of Judah (Scornfully) Judah? It's the reason I'm asking, and why I'm having so much trouble figuring things out. You know how dull-witted we are in Judah. What will the king do for the one who kills this man, and how is it that none will go forth against this Philistine and take away this reproach to Israel? (SAUL enters DSR as he is saying this) SAUL: like that? Can't you see how big he is? Would you go down to fight a man Why not? He hath defied the armies of the living God, hasn't he? SAUL: You are just a youth, and he has been a great man of war from his boyhood. Thou are not able to go up against this Philistine to fight with him The bigger they are, the harder they fall. Thy servant kept his father's sheep and there came a lion one day and a bear another and took a lamb out of the flock. Thy servant slew both the lion and the bear - I swear to God I did - and this uncircumcised Philistine shall be as one of them. The self-same Lord that delivered me out of the paw of the lion and out of the paw of the bear, will deliver me out of the hand of this Philistine ABNER: a try (Takes SAUL aside) My lord the king, why not? It's certainly worth
SAUL: I'll tell you why not, Abner. The Philistine hath said that if we choose a man able to fight with him and kill him, they will all be our servants. But if he kills our man, then shall we be their servants and serve them ABNER: My lord the king, don't be a fool. Saul, Saul, do you really believe those Philistines are going to be our slaves if we win? Or that we will be theirs if we lose? That dumb we're not. Neither are they. Let the lad go down if he chooses to. What have we got to lose but his life? SAUL: OK, OK. But here, take my sword, and my shield. Oh, and a coat of mail. One blow from that giant's sword could separate you from your soul Let me go as I am. For the Lord saveth not with sword and spear. The battle is the Lord's and I know He will deliver the Philistine into our hands