Vlad's trip Second scene (in English) - Transnational dialogue

SCENE II

HOPE / inspired from a synopsis by Stendhal team, Roma. Translation MG.

Six characters: Fergie, Vlăduţ, a Customs Officer and a Policeman (romanian actors) ; Hope (Salvatore Scafuro) and a female flight attendant (italian actress) but also some ghosts (italian students)...


Arrivals terminal in Roma Airport 


The airport waiting room in Rome. Vlad and Fergie are in a queue, a lady from the cabin crew is just behind them

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Vlăduţ (arranging his black glasses, hat and scarf): This journey is , really, not a big deal ! We’d like to go to Romania, and here we are in Italy !

Fergie: Italy, such a lovely place ! … It’s so romantic ! Let’s take advantage of this ! Vlăduţ : Tssst ! Why did we have to come here, anyway ? I hate these big cities :too crowded, noisy, polluted ! And look at these Italians : they speak so loud, saw the air…Half of the guys are in the mob !

The policeman: The mob ? Who’s speaking of the mob here ? Your papers, Sir, and please show your face…

Fergie: I beg your pardon, Sir, but my husband is ill, as you can see, he can’t expose his face…I have a medical certificate, here you are.

The policeman (barely looking at them but at he passport) : It’s such a doubtful story ! Hey, my friend !

Come here ! (he calls out a customs officer). The guy’s not quite clean-cut : an Englisman with a Romanian name, and look at his lineage !

The customs officer: It’s fair enough, a complete check-up is imperative…Nothing to say ? Show me your luggage, Sir !

The policeman: First of all, your ticket !(he’s checking it) But what are you doing here ?Rome is not Romania ! Have you mistaken the plane ? You are confusing Rome with Romania, maybe ?(sarcastically) Are you a Romany or a Romanian ? Ah Ah AH !

Vlăduţ (dignified): a storm has skyjacked us, the company is responsible for the whole situation ! And this policeman is racist ! Very shocking, indeed !

The air hostess: it’s not the company’s fault, Sir, the global warming causes tropical storms, even in Europe.

Fergie: Do not obstruct !We are going to ask you a ticket repayment. Put it down, Miss ! We’ll make a complaint against the police. They treat us like we’re Gypsies though we’ve got a British passport !

The air hostess: Make the complaint, it’s ok with me… and, undoubtedly, you’re right, signora. But the company has just announced that it went bankrupt (sighing) I’m afraid of being left in the lurch for too long.

ghosts appear suddenly on stage

Vlăduţ (throwing away his glasses and his hat, he takes a strange stand): You see these guys coming towards us.

The Rome ghosts greet them

The customs officer: But who are you talking about ?

Fergie: I’ve told you he was sick…Don’t pay attention to what he’s saying !

Vlad: No, I’m not sick, I’m not sick..I feel fit all of a sudden, : it’s you who are sick…

A thunder strikes. All the characters stand still, except for the ghosts who start dancing with rage and joy.

Hope (coming out of nowhere): Hello ! What are you telling me, Rome ghosts? Why are you calling my name? (perceiving Vlad, to public): My God : or rather The Devil! A vampire…. (taking out his sword he looks through the guard for a second) And what a Vampire! Considering this magic instrument, it must be Vlad Dracul, the Heir ! (he’s crying out, to Dracul) Hello to you, Vlad !

Vlad: My name is Vlăduţ…

Hope: Vlăduţ !, this nickname is ridiculous. Especially now, my friend, that I found you rich and great.

Vlad (to himself): I don’t get it, but I feel better, that’s right. (to Hope): But who are you ? How do you know me ?

Hope: All the Vampires and creatures of the Dark have heard the news : the Night Prince is dead, as it seems, so, there’s a new king ! (he’s taking a bow) At your full service, Majesty. Let me introduce myself : Hope, the vampire of Via Appia.

(to the public): He doesn’t seem to be so fit. One says nobody has revealed his future yet. Perhaps I’m the first vampire he comes across ?

Vlad: Majesty? I don’t understand anything.I have never thought of being a vampire !

Hope (to the public): That’s it ! He’s landing ! It’s my chance !

(to Vlad) : Listen to me, young prince.For a long while, I have lived, just like you, without knowing my true origins.But look at these humans you have petrified, and these ghosts that only you and I can see. You are the chief of the vampires in Transylvania, that is the King of the Night, at present. Since your uncle, Count Dracula, has passed away. You are going to succeed to the throne !

Vlad: Me, a vampire ? But I’m so scared of vampires… This story is insane.

Hope (persuasive): Listen to my own story, you’ll undersand your own situation much better. My father was a vampire: he fell in love with my mother, on ordinary young and beautiful woman. He wanted to seduce her without using his powers. Thus, I always ignored who I was in my childhood. Before I found a letter from my grandfather explaining the history of my family , I didn’t even know I was a vampire. My story is just like yours. For it is well known that Count Dracula’s own sister married a mortal, an Englishman…named Murray.

Vlad: Daddy ? That’s out of the question! He was afraid of vampires, as well. Hope : Listen and think! I also used to be afraid of everything. Especially because my parents died in a terrorist bomb explosion ! Just like you, you see, I’m an orphan.It’s difficult for us half-humans to find our own place in the world of the Night. But trust me, I’ll help you prove your rank and reign over the world of the dark… I’ll be your lieutenant. Let’s proceed, the deal’s done?!

Vlad (absent-minded): But my mother is not dead, only my dad’s gone : a car accident !

Hope: I don’t believe that your mom is still here, in this world. She was a very stong vampire, a friend of my own dad . Concentrate! You have the sign upon you. And the power, as well. Mmm… (looking again at his sword) One would say you are connected to this object. You know well that this airport, all these people, that’s not your world.

Vlad (talking to himself): Mother’s gone. She’s out there in the Pyrenees to explore a cave ; and she’s never returned…I hope she’s not dead.

Hope (attentive): The departure to the Basque Country! A trivial fate for a vampire. I overlooked this detail. But the caves from Navarre and Soule mountains are famous. We’d better avoid them. Vampires never return from those tombs !

Vlad (who failed to listen): if my mother is alive, I need to find her. This is a voyage worth taking…I have to go to the Basque Country !

Hope: You have better things to do, I think.You have to defeat your own death, first of all, that’s the main job of a vampire.For months, I have been training myself here, in Rome, with the ghosts from the eternal City. They have immediately pointed out your presence. Together we’ll change the world of the Night. I want to become a powerful vampire, get even with it all.You’re going to halp me, I bet you will ! Vlad : How could I help you ? I don’t understand anything. I’m so scared, I need to awaken my wife and…

Hope (interrupting harshly): No ! What must be done, is admitting in front of everybody that you are the new king of vampires, the Prince of the Night. Your powers will show at that moment. I have the tool you need to achieve this ( he waves his sword and argues) We’ll go right away find the Werewolf in Riga . I know where to find it…

Vlad (clutching at his head): Riga ? Why going to Riga ? I’m afraid of the cold ! I don’t want to go by plane again… (jumping) What Werewolf?

(they vanish)

partenariat ERASMUS+ NUITS BLANCHES NBE+ 2015-2018 et eTwinning ILARGIA / coordination internationale Vanderplancke P-L / EUROPEAN LEAGUE OF TEACHERS SINCE 2018