Kiddo

April 2016, HOME, Manchester (pictured, with Weathered). ‘Fizzes with a compelling energy.’ Manchester Theatre Awards.

Published in Selected Plays by Abel González Melo (Methuen Drama).

Christmas Eve in Havana. A knife fight over a few pesos leads to a young man’s death, as a worn-out sister waits for her brother to come home for a Christmas dinner that he will never eat. The darkness over the city shrouds a cocktail of illicit passions, unspoken pain and a dog-eat-dog struggle for survival, whose consequences force its participants to confront and question every aspect of their day-to-day lives.

I look after myself, I know this business and I look after myself. That’s where I always go: by that block, opposite the cinema. Flirt with whichever guy’s there, let him tease me. They like me, I know they do. Tough guys in their tight shirts. Chat for a bit then press myself up against them behind the columns.

But that’s where it ends: no phone numbers, no second dates… Saves trouble. They’re dangerous. You see them with their chains, their tattooed shoulders, and you don’t imagine it.

I’ve been doing the rounds here for years, I’ve lived through horrors, but I’ve never, on my mother’s life, I’ve never seen a man look so peaceful. Not a word. Just the breath of a cigarette beside his lips.

This translation of Kiddo was commissioned by The English Stage Company at the Royal Court Theatre. It was premiered in the UK at HOME, Manchester, on 21 April 2016, directed by Walter Meierjohann and performed by David Judge, Robin Simpson, Jamie Samuel, Katie West, Jacqueline Pilton, David Fleeshman, Kenny Thompson and Jason Furnival.

Other works by Abel González Melo: Weathered, Abyss, Tell Me the Whole Thing Again, Outside the Game.

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