INCOMPLETE by Rían Smith #TinyPlayChallenge

Keep your creativity flowing with Fishamble's #TinyPlayChallenge
In these challenging times, Fishamble - along with many of our colleagues in the wider Irish artistic community - is working hard to keep imaginations lively, communities engaged - and most of all offer people the opportunity of creative expression. We asked our audiences: Would you welcome the challenge of exploring your thoughts and feelings through drama? Do you have a dramatic story that you feel the urge to work out for yourself, and maybe share with your fellow citizens?
​Below is one of the chosen plays from our weekly submissions.


A monologue, for anyone.
 
Note: each moment continues past where the sentence stops.
  
****
  
Recently I haven’t been able to--
Haven’t been able to fini--
Every sentence just seems t--
Every time I try t--
As much as I try I--
I can never just--
 

I haven’t always--
This is--
This is--
This isn’t something I--
And it’s not because of--
It’s--
Things have--
Everything has--
 
Since…
 
 
As you can--
As I’m sure you--
It makes it very difficult to--
To--
Or--
Or even--
… Do you know what I—?
… Never--
Never my--
My--
 
 
It makes me seem--
Getting off buses, not able to--
And at work only--
It’s made me a stranger to my--
To my--
Even I don’t--
 
… I’m--
 
 
The first time this--
It was--
I was--
Now, I hadn’t been on a--
If you could call it a--
And the restaurant was--
And she was--
And I thought it’d--
I obvious didn’t think that--
And it wasn’t until we--
And the waiter is--
And no words are--
It just keeps--
And there’s nothing I--
Nothing I--
And I’m try--
And she’s--
And all I can--
And the waiter is--
And I just--
 
 
Couldn’t even call her a--
 
 
That sounded like--
 
 
Let’s just say their wasn’t a--
Wasn’t a--
 
 
I’ve seen a--
Just so you--
They say it’s something I--
“Can’t go over it, must go—“
It’s all up--
 
 
And I do wonder--
I do wonder why it’s--
And I’ve tried but--
 
 
… As if I don’t--
 
 
In prison, you get given a--
Given a life s--
And I’ve been think--
I’ve been--
What if life is a--
Is--
Just words that--
With a--
Do we all just have a--
And those few words are--
And then it’s—?
 
 
… I know why I--
 
Why I can’t--
 
I can’t fini--
 
Can’t finish--
 
Can’t--
 
 
If life is just a s--
Then what was your—?
Did your sentence go—?
Did it just—?
 
And I feel like I am--
That I’ve--
That everything has gone incompl--
All my memories are--
All my ideas are--
Without you to--
Without--
 
 
And that’s why I--
That’s why I don’t--
Because if I--
Well then does that mean--
Does that—?
 
 
I don’t want to--
And I think that if I--
Then you’ll be--
You’ll--
And I--
So I--
 
And I know it’s--
It sounds--
It sounds absolutely--
But--
But--
But nothing is worth saying if I can’t say it to you.
 
 
 
 
Rían is a playwright from Dublin, based in Navan, Co. Meath and Edinburgh, Scotland.

Read more #TinyPlayChallenge responses