by Tom Casling

Synopsis

Playwright Tom Casling says:

“This play was written in about one hour, based on the rantings and diatribe of a taxi driver who was one hour late in picking me up as a fare because of an incident on the Tyne Bridge. The character of the Angry Man is based on the taxi driver and a succession of people I have heard over the years decrying people with mental illness. The Jumper, David, has decided to end his life due to the culmination of a series of issues which he feels make his life irrelevant.  

He can see no reason for going on. The reality of jumping however and the interruptions from various do-gooders who come up to help talk him down add to his own thoughts about jumping. It is the full on aggression of the Angry Man, which in many ways gets his back up and causes him to rethink his actions, that, plus the crowd which has gathered below, some of whom are his friends. 

The play is heavily dominated by male characters, which may cause some problems for smaller amateur groups, with fewer men in the society. The author is happy for groups to change the gender of some of the characters, particularly the Voice Off or even the jumper as long as the integrity of the play is not lost. The text may need to be changed to accommodate this. Some groups, mindful of their audiences may wish to tone down some language; again this is acceptable to the author. The location and the time period are however crucial to the plot”. 

Duration

Characters

(2m, 1f, 2m/f)

• Jumper - 25-55ish, modern day dress (m)
• Police Officer - 30-50ish (m/f)
• Doctor - 25+, dress a bit dated under her white coat (f)
• Angry Man - 30+ (m)
• Voice Off - 25+ (m/f)