Taxes, Death & Pyjamas
Cast: 2M, 3F (with doubling)
Run time: 25 minutes
Following a deliberate and violent car crash into a brick wall, a severely injured man - referred to by various loved ones as JJ, John, Johnny, and Jonathan Emery - lies comatose in a hospital Intensive Care Unit. As he drifts in and out of consciousness, he delivers a cynical interior monologue about the irony of pyjamas marking life's biggest milestones.
Why is he there?
While he lies incapacitated, a series of visitors arrive at his bedside, completely unaware of each other's existence. Each visitor brings a brand-new pair of pyjamas, inadvertently exposing the man's elaborate secret life.
As the nurse frantically shoves the competing pairs of pyjamas into a rapidly overflowing bedside locker, she narrowly prevents the three partners from crossing paths. However, the tragedy deepens in the final moments: both the comatose man and his pregnant fiancé, Patsy, reveal a dark truth. The crash was not an accident.
CAST
2M / 3F
Jonathan 40s
Patrick Early 30s, His devoted romantic partner.
Patricia 40s, His wife, who also believed he was away on a business trip.
Patsy Late 20s, His pregnant fiancé, completely oblivious to his other families.
Nurse Any
Doctor Any
Mother 70s
(Doubling: Nurse / Doctor / Mother)