Description

NUMBER OF PAGES: 13

CAST: 3 women, 1 man

GENRE: tragicomedy

SYNOPSIS: The Verdict is a supernatural chamber tragicomedy which takes place at a cemetery. An old woman, Bertha, appears and starts talking to her deceased husband. She obviously feels at ease here. Bertha introduces a second woman, Julie, who also comes to her husband’s grave. Bertha leaves. Julie also communicates with her late husband, Bobby, but in a slightly more serious manner. Another woman appears on the scene. She is young and pretty, her name is Simone. It turns out Simone is Bobby’s former colleague. The women sit down to tea and a friendly talk. But this idyllic scene ends when Simone confesses that she was Bobby’s lover. Julie’s world falls apart and she sends Simone away. Simone tries to apologize but everything is in vain. The situation culminates when Bobby rises from the grave. After the women’s initial shock, communication begins. Julie blames Bobby for his adultery. Bobby is about to leave with Simone, but Julie stops them and an investigation of the context begins. Bobby receives instructions “from above” – the conditions he must fulfill in order to be saved. He and Simone must be forgiven by Julie. Julie, however, finds this unimaginable. Everything changes when Julie is visited by Jesus, whom she alone can see. She decides to forgive Bobby and Simone and helps Bobby return to his grave. In the end, Bertha, who had been watching the whole scene from behind a gravestone, appears onstage again. Simone leaves and Julie wakes up on a bench. Was it real or was it all just a dream?

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