ROSE’S STORY
Rose’s Story was produced by the Drama Society and performed at the Polytechnic of the South Bank, London, on 25 January 1984, directed by the author, with the following cast: Lola Henry (Rose Johnson), Everton Francis (Mr Johnson), Jenny Baker (Sister Jones), Michael Hinckson (Bertie), Debbie Jenkins (WPC), Diana McDowall (Sister Ennis), Ruth McDowall (Sister Thompson), Diana Phillips (Mrs Johnson), Hazel Samuels (Elaine Johnson), Ainsley Sewell (Leroy Williams), David Seymour (Doctor) and Doone Smith (Social Worker).
Rose’s Story is inspired by Grace Dayley’s personal experience of living in a Mother and Baby home. Dayley wrote the play with the hope of challenging the myth that only ‘troublesome’ young women occupy these homes.
This story highlights the strength and courage of a teenage girl who fights for the life of her baby and independence. Rose is a teenage runaway who unexpectedly falls pregnant at the age of fifteen. Older boyfriend is delighted at the prospect of being a father but lacks the ambition to quit smoking weed and find employment. Rose is forced to reconnect with her estranged family for support and advice. Rose’s mother recruits the assistance of her Christian family, authoritarian husband (who refuses to have a pregnant daughter in his home), police and social worker to encourage Rose to abort her unborn baby. Rose is determined to keep her baby and finish her education but without the financial support of her parents or boyfriend this seems very unlikely. When Rose’s social worker suggests living in a Mother and Baby home, Rose agrees to the move but as an under-age adolescent her fate lies in the hands of her parents.
About the Playwright
Jamaican-born playwright Grace Dayley wrote her first play, Rose’s Story, while she was a student. She received dramaturgical support from British-born playwright Caryl Phillips who helped her develop the characters and storyline of the play. After writing several drafts, Dayley submitted her script to theatre companies who were impressed with it but failed to take it through to production. Unshaken by their response, she decided to set up the Drama Society to produce the play herself at the Polytechnic of the South Bank.
Grace Dayley also wrote Grace’s Story which premiered at the Cockpit Theatre in London in 1986.
Summary
This speech has been taken from the opening scene set in the doctor’s surgery. ROSE has just received the news of her pregnancy and talks directly to the audience.
Jesus Christ, look ‘pon me now… Now they are going to start catorgorizing me, I’ll be on this list, that list and the other list, I’m already on the list for running away from home.
By the way my name is Rose and this is my story… As you have heard, I’m pregnant, yeah, fifteen years old and pregnant. (ROSE looks down at her tummy and then looks back at the audience.) Let me tell you how it all started… My parents, hum, yeah my parents, you see, they are Christians and you know what these Christians are. I grew up a loner in a house full of people, people who did not know and who did not want to know. My parents, well, we’ll forget them for now. My elder sister, Jennifer, she is into her books and getting to university. I don’t think she’s all here some of the time. My brother Patrick, him, he’s only interested in his little job at Sainsburys and buying pretty clothes. Elaine, my younger sister, now she is the devil himself, she don’t put up with shit from nobody, parents, teachers, nobody! She used to get beaten nearly every day, she is so hardened to it now that I don’t think it matters anymore. Me now, I was the quiet one, the one who could be shoved around and told to do anything, (Shakes her head.) no, boy, no I was no trouble.
You know … it was a miserable existence, nobody outside that house could understand, it was church, school, church, school and more church, school.
There was young people’s meetings and prayer meetings in between, but basically church and school was the only … no, no, is the only thing I know, we couldn’t even watch television, … yeah, tell me in this day and age which child cannot watch television… well I couldn’t … not until two months ago when I ran away from home with Leroy. Leroy, sweet Leroy. He came to live next to my home about eighteen months ago. I’ve been seeing him ever since… on and off… About a week before I ran away from home, my parents found out about him, you see I’d been sneaking out to see him all that time and they only found out because of busybodies and church busybodies at that. After they knew, I think I went to hell and back. I was watched and scrutinized, scorned, beaten, no one could ever imagine what it was like, they even timed me when I was sent to the shops. (Tears coming to her eyes.) How are they going to take this? I think I’ll be better off dead, God knows… It was just as well that they didn’t know that Leroy only lived next door ’cause that would have been a turn up for the books…so after thinking of ways to commit suicide, yeah, a fifteen-year-old thinking how to commit suicide. It wasn’t the first time, anyway, I’d thought of it before when I was much younger, this time I decided to run away. I just couldn’t take it.
Hey, I just remembered a recitation we used to say at Sunday School, it’s called ‘Wits’ End Corner’, and that’s just where I was. It went something like this:
‘Are you standing at Wits’ End Corner Christian with a troubled brow?
Are you thinking of what lies before you
And all you are bearing now?
Does the world seem all against you?
And you’re in battle all alone?
Remember at Wits’ End Corner
Is just where God’s power is shown.’
Well, I’d pray to this invisible God often enough, no direct answer came, so I suppose it was his way of answering by putting the idea of running away to me. It may have been the devil, but I prefer to think it was God.
The way I did it though was so sneaky, no one knew: I pretended that I was ill when they were going to church, when they came home, I was gone. (Smiling a little.) I must admit a smile does come to my face when I imagine the horrified look on their faces when they realised that one of their slaves had absconded, and this time she had taken all her clothes… Oh boy… Yes, that’s right, this wasn’t the first time … I’d left for a day or a weekend before. But this had been the longest I’ve been away. This time Leroy and I have a place to stay, with his friend, and now…well now speaks for itself…
[DOCTOR re-enters the room.]