CLEANSE BY JEFFREY LO (DOWNLOAD PDF HERE)
On stage we see the inside of five separate rooms.
In the middle of the five rooms is a lobby type area that connects the four rooms.
In each of the rooms is a person.
A person with yellow paint on their face.
A person with red paint on their face.
A person with brown paint on their face.
A person with black paint on their face.
A person with white paint on their face.
All five of them are unhappy.
All five of them are working to clean the paint off of their face.
Time passes.
We watch them work hard and meticulously to clean the paint off their face.
Yellow pain, red paint, brown paint and black paint have some success cleaning their faces.
White paint has no success.
Time passes.
They continue to clean.
After some time brown paint gets frustrated and leaves their room.
They sit in a chair to breath.
After some time, red pain gets frustrated and leaves their room.
They sit in their chair to breath as well.
Time passes.
Red paint looks at brown paint.
Brown paint takes one of their cleaning wipes and starts to wipe red paint’s face.
It is wiping away parts of the paint that red paint could not wipe off themselves.
Red paint does the same for brown paint.
Black paint eventually gets frustrated and leaves their room.
Black paint sees what red paint and brown paint are doing and joins in.
Black paint is able to wipe away paint that brown paint and red paint could not.
Time passes.
Yellow paint gets frustrated and leaves their room.
Yellow paint watches red paint, brown paint and black paint.
After some time, Yellow paint joins.
Together, the four are quite effective.
Time passes.
Time passes.
Finally, white paint exits their room.
White paint has wipes barely any of their paint off.
Yellow paint, brown paint, black paint and red paint look at white paint.
Pause.
Yellow paint, brown paint, black paint and red paint start to work on cleaning white paint.
White paint cannot believe it but they are able to clean what seemed impossible to clean.
White paint starts to help wipe yellow paint, brown paint, black paint and red paint.
Time passes.
They work together.
Time passes.
They clean together.
Time passes.
Finally, they can see each other’s clean faces.
Without the paint, they see real faces.
Lights fade.
END OF PLAY.