Waiting for Maguffin
& Mokita

Notes from the writer and director Jerrard Moore

Waiting For Maguffin

I have a fascination with the question of the meaning of life and wanted to explore some of the more existential avenues of the question in an unusual way. Inadvertently I found while writing the first draft of Maguffin I was treading in similar territory to playwrights such as Samuel Beckett and Tom Stoppard and entering the realms of ‘absurdist’ theatre. By not having a traditional plot to the play or, indeed, a ’point’ the characters are free to ponder, praise, punish and pee (almost). The two main characters wait in a room for someone to arrive. There is a dead body in the room but it is never made clear who this is. They carry a briefcase which may or may not be very important. They encounter a woman who may be mad or may be someone that they would be fortunate to meet if they realise who she is. They try to find ways to kill the time while they wait. Who is Maguffin?

Who are they? And what’s with the wind?

By its definition absurdist theatre does not make sense. It embraces comedy and tragedy, verbal sparring, repetitive actions, word play and nonsense. Hopefully, even if Maguffin makes no sense to you it will still be an enjoyable excursion to the meaningless, pointless place we call life.

Mokita

Out of a conversation I once had with a friend about how honest we are with our closest friends Mokita was born. Using a shocking catalyst at the start of the play four friends find the bonds that keep them close stretched and then broken by revelations over the course of one traumatic evening.

What could be a very intense, dark play is leavened by black comedy and you may find yourself laughing at things you are shocked to find yourself laughing at.

The play asks questions of our friendships and also of our responsibility to ourselves and to those that we have relationships with.

Performed at The Hawth Theatre Studio

November 2010