BENCH

1988

(An old woman in a large overcoat sits on a bench feeding pigeons, tossing bread crumbs onto the stage. A tramp enters and watches her from behind the bench, scowling at the bread crumbs and imaginary pigeons. She takes a sandwich out of a large coat pocket and the tramp begins to pace back and forth behind her, watching her eat. She notices him and smiles. He looks around, afraid she might be smiling at him, realizes she must be, and he gives her a little wave and walks away. Near the curtain he looks back at her, she is still smiling at him. She motions for him to join her on the bench, he shakes his head no and begins to walk on. She becons and he changes his mind, timidly coming to sit next to her on the bench. She puts her sandwich back in her pocket and takes out some bread crumbs to the birds. This frustrates the man, who is obviously hungry. She gives him some bread crumbs, which he tries to eat, but she stops him and motions that they are for tossing to the birds. He resentfully tosses crumbs to the pigeons. She smiles. When the bread crumbs are gone she rises and offers him her hand. The tramp looks around and stands up. Holding hands they walk off stage together. As the audience begins to applaud and perhaps go "awww how sweet", the tramp bursts back onto the stage putting on the woman’s coat very violently, sitting on the park bench, pulls out the sandwich and very agressively eats it as the lights fade to black.)