This piece took the form of a deliberately unfinished film, one whereby it was incomplete to such an extent that there were no visuals. In their place there was an audio track describing a fragmented plot, allowing the audience to imagine the visuals themselves.

The ‘film’ was projected in a darkened room, with seating arranged in a theatre style, as if the audience were to sit down and watch a film. The film begins and the title appears on the screen, a voiceover follows but still no images appear on the screen, instead the audience is left staring at a black screen, expecting and anticipating visuals to complement the narrative. These never surface of course and instead the audience is forced to focus their attention onto the narration, a description of the plot of the film. This continues from scene to scene until the third scene which the narrator says “Will be completely improvised and made up”. This presents a turning point in the story, and one which the audience can only imagine themselves, particularly in light of the subsequent scenes and the ending of the story.

The work aimed to momentarily bewilder the viewer, whilst also encouraging individual thought and imagination with regard to the possibilities of the film.

Narrative:

SCENE ONE Stephen is in the train station, his face is red and cold from the sharp winter air. His dog died this morning and he is late. He buys his ticket with haste and elbows his way through the crowded platform and onto a train. He sighs with relief and sits in the empty seat closest to him, next to a middle aged gentleman with hardly any eyebrows. He would not have wanted to miss this train. He turns to his left and stares out of the window, looking back onto the platform. The train pulls away and as it does he watches the faces of the people getting smaller and smaller. He looks at his watch. Seven thirty eight AM. The man next to him turns to him and asks what he had for breakfast. My dog is dead, says Stephen, and I did not have time for breakfast. The gentleman next to him, whose name was Geoffrey, had eaten two sausages, a poached egg, and two slices of toast for breakfast. He had also had a black coffee.

SCENE TWO Nobody is in the bathtub. The water in the bath is cold and dirty. In the basin next to the toilet the tap is still running. And trickling away down the plug hole. A woman enters but we do not see her face. Instead she walks toward the bath, kneels down and reaches with both arms into the water. She is wearing a red blouse and her hair is black and tied back. As she stands again we see her lift something from the bathtub, cradling it in her arms, but the room is dark and the angle is such that we cannot quite see what it is. The woman exits the room.

SCENE THREE Will be completely improvised and made up.

SCENE FOUR Stephen’s body is face down and motionless on the city pavement. Blood is leaking from most of him and he is probably dead. People crowd around him anxiously and eventually an ambulance arrives to take him away, the paramedics carry him onto the back of the ambulance and we do not see any more of Stephen for the rest of the film.

SCENE FIVE Geoffrey is sitting in a dingy café staring into a mug of cold coffee, the waitress comes over and asks him if he would like a fresh cup but he declines. A woman enters the half empty café and sits down in front of Geoffrey. He refuses to make eye contact with her but he listens to everything she tells him. A tear rolls down his cheek and splashes into his coffee. He stands, thanks the waitress, and leaves. He crosses the street and as he does the ambulance with Stephen’s body inside passes by the camera. Geoffrey has not killed Stephen and neither does he know that he is dead.