One of my plays from the '70s. This was inpired by a one or two paragraph parable Socrates gave in Plato's Republic, thus the title.
SOCRATES
All the world is a dark, dark cave. In one grotto,4 people sit watching silhouettes projected on the wall of the cave. They haven’t noticed that they are bound to their chairs. Their heads are in clamps so that they cannot look at each other, though of course they can speak. Though there is nothing to speak about except the shadows projected before them. Thus all four speak in bored monotones, as their lives are, lets face it, frightfully boring.
1 “It is a cat.”
2 “It is a black cat.”
3 “All cats are black cats.”
4 “All black cats are cats.”
1, 2, 3, 4 “It is a cat.”
1 “It is a dog.”
2 “It is a black dog.”
4 “With black spots.”
3 “All dogs are black dogs.”
4 “All black dogs are dogs.”
1, 2, 3, 4 “It is a dog.”
1 “Oh, look. It is a horse.”
2 “It is a black horse.”
3 “Are you sure it is not a black pony?”
4 “Yes. Black ponies are smaller.”
3 “Why, so they are.”
2 “I like black ponies.”
1 “Yes. They have such a nice, comfortable, blackness about them.”
1, 2, 3, 4 “Black, black, black. All that is, is black.”
1 “If it is black, it is real.”
2 “If it is white, it is not real.”
3 “If it is not real, it does not exist.”
4 “If it does not exist, it is white.”
1 “Therefore, white does not exist.”
2 “That is as plain as black and white.”
3 “I couldn't have put it better, myself.”
4 “Yawn. No. You couldn't, could you.”
1 “If it is black, it is flat.”
2 “As flat as a black pancake.”
3 “As flat as the world.”
4 “As flat as a tire.”
3 “On a flat car.”
4 “I was thinking of getting a new flat black car, to go with my flat black tires.”
3 “It will do zero to sixty in ten seconds flat.”
2 “My beer is flat.”
1 “Your head is flat.”
2 “Why, thank you. That's the kindest thing anyone has said about me all day.”
3 “It's the only thing anyone has said about you all day.”
2 ‘How true, how true.”
1 “If it is real, it is both flat and black.”
2 “If it is not real, it is white and flat.”
3 “It couldn't be simpler.”
1 “He's a regular simpleton, that one.”
2 “Black forests.”
Jesus enters the grotto and silently watches them from behind for a few minutes, listening to their bored monotones.
3 “Black trees.”
4 “Black houses.”
1 “Black people.”
2 “Black suns.”
3 “Black stars.”
1 “Black holes.”
2 “Black flowers.”
3 “Black snow.”
4 “Black rainbows.”
1, 2, 3, 4: “Black, black, black. All that is, is black.”
1 “You did that so nicely.”
3 “You did that so well.”
4 “You finally got your lines right.”
2 “No, no. You're much too kind.”
1 “Yes, we are, aren't we?” All grin in unison, holding the grin until they speak their next line, then return to looking bored. Especially as whoever is projecting the silhouettes is taking a break, so nothing appears on the wall.
2 “It.”
3 “It is.”
4 “Is it?”
1 “It is as it is.”
2: “Is it as it is?”
3 “It is as it is, isn't it?”
4 “Ain't it though?”
1.2.3.4: “It is.”
Jesus decides to take advantage of the pause. He leans over 4 and speaks to her. ‘Excuse me.”
4: is rather startled by that. “I just heard a strange voice.”
The others take it in stride.
1 “Strange voices for strange people.”
2 “My mother told me to never talk to strangers.”
3 “And no one is stranger than you.”
1 “Does that mean no one ever speaks to you?”
3 “I certainly would never speak to you, would I?”
Jesus speaks to 4 again. “There is so much more to the world than flat and black.”
4 fidgets as much as she can worriedly. “That voice just whispered in my ear.”
2 “Don't be silly.”
1 “Ears are flat.”
3: “Everyone knows that.”
1 “How can you whisper into something that's flat?”
1, 2, and 3 sound suspicious. “Say, what have you been drinking?”
4 is still worried and confused, but decides to ask for clarification. “Voice? What do You mean by saying ‘there's more to the world than flat and black‘?”
“I mean that there are 3 dimensions. There is color, texture and smell as well.”
4 “Color? 3 dimensions? Texture? Whatever can these words mean?”
2 “There she goes. Talking to herself again. Always said she was crazy.”
3 “Yes. But you always said that about him.”
1 “About me? Is that how you really feel?”
1, 2, and 3 eerily chant together, appropriately enough, the opening line to ‘The Shadow‘ radio program. “Who knows what evil lurks in the hearts of men? Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha!”
1 “Anybody here know?”
3 “I sure don't, do you?”
Jesus has more to tell 4. “There is a whole world outside the cave. It is ever so much larger, and ever so much nicer to live in. The smell of the flowers is truly wonderful. The song of the birds is a delight for the ears. The grass feels ever so much better than that chair you are tied to.
4 is surprised by that. “Tied? I'm not tied?”
2 “Well, she's fit to be tied, anyway.”
4 “And how can grass feel like anything, anyway? How can you feel what's flat and black?”
Jesus touches her shoulder. “Like this.”
4 “Yikes! Something just touched me!”
3 “She always was a little touched.”
1 “I wouldn't touch her with a 10 foot pole.”
2 “She's just trying to get attention.”
3 “It's all just a fad. It'll go away.”
1 “And I wish you would go with it.”
3 “20 years from now, who will even remember?”
2 “Remember what?”
3 “I forget. What were we discussing?”
Jesus makes an offer. “Let Me untie you and set you free.”
4 “Free?”
2 “Free with any purchase of $10 or more.”
3 “Void where prohibited.”
1: “And prohibited in voids.”
4 “Yes, I would like to be free. Can You free me?”
“It's what I do best. He who the Son has freed is free indeed.” He removes her bonds and unclamps her head. “Now, arise and walk. There's something I must show you.”
4 “Ye-owch! Ooohh! I'm as stiff as a flat black board!”
“Don't worry. As you move more, the pain will decrease, until it is all gone. Now, come, follow Me.”
When they step out of the cave, 4 sees sunlight for the first time. “Agh! My eyes! They're on fire!”
“Don't worry. It just takes a minute or two to get used to the light.”
4 “What's this stuff I'm walking on?” She looks down. “It's kind of flat, but not really. And it's not black. What is it?”
“It's grass. That non-blackness is called color. That color is green.”
She looks ahead. “Oh, my. And that thing there, it looks something like a tree. But it seems to me that it has more than one of these color things. And it definitely isn't flat at all.”
“It's round. Three dimensional. It is both green and brown. Things can have more than one color. And that thing above it all is the sky. It's the color blue.”
“And those white things must be clouds. At least they look like black clouds. But they are white. You mean a thing can be real and white at the same time? Wow. And what is that lovely sound I hear?”
“That is the sound of the birds singing.”
4 turns to Him and sees Jesus for the first time. “And You! That is You, isn't it?”
“Yes, I am.”
She points at Him. “Yes, it must be You. The sound is coming from You when You speak. And You're not flat or black.” She notices her own hand. “And this! This is my hand. My arm. My body. I'm not flat and black, either! It's all so beautiful!” Suddenly she saddens.
“What's wrong?”
“The others. In the cave. They don't understand. They've never seen the real world. I'm going back and tell them all about what is real.” She renters the cave followed by Jesus. But when they get to the grotto, there is an argument going on. A rather strange argument, as all three arguers are bored.
1 “It is a rose.”
2 “It is a daisy.”
3 “It is a pansy!”
1 “Well, whatever it is, it is a flower.”
2 agrees. “A lovely black flower.”
3 however, rejects the compromise. “A lovely black pansy.”
1 “Don't start that again.”
Four addresses the three. “I'm back.”
2 “You were so quiet for a while, that‘s all.”
Four persists, despite the obstinacy. “I was gone. I went outside into the real world. And now I have returned to tell you all about it.”
1 “Humph. Perhaps you should have stayed quiet.”
2 “What nonsense is this? How can any one go anywhere?”
3 “There is only here. There cannot be anywhere else.”
1 “Anything else is a delusion, a dream, a fantasy.”
2 “And what did you dream the next night?”
Four persists. “But it is real; I have been there myself. I have seen all the colors of the rainbow. I have seen that things are round. That we are round as well.”
1 “There can be no reality beyond reality.”
2 “All the colors of the rainbow? Black is all the colors of the rainbow.”
3 “I am flat. My father was flat. His father was flat. And that is that.”
2 “I'm even flat broke.”
1 “My singing is always flat.”
2, and 3 agree. “We noticed.”
1 “It is obvious that you are insane. You are a danger and menace to society at large and small. There is only one thing to do with people like you.” A silhouette of a hand holding a gun comes up on the wall.
1, 2, and 3 recite in a disinterested fashion. “Bang! Bang! Bang! Now you are dead. You are white. You no longer exist.”
Four shakes her head in amazement. “That's silly! Of course I exist. I'm right here... you can hear me... you can... can't you?”
Jesus pats her shoulder. “No, they can't. Not because they lack the means. Because they refuse to. To them you really are dead. They will never hear you. They did the same to most of the others I sent as well. They even tried it with Me. Didn't work with Me. I just refused to stay dead. But then I am persistent like that. They keep trying to lock Me out, but I just keep sneaking back in.”
Four is depressed. “Is there no hope for them?”
“For some yes. A few, like you, will listen when I visit them. Sadly, most will not. And so they will stay in the cave, as it gets darker and darker, until finally only the darkness is all that is left to them. But that is no longer your part. For you have come to eternal life, and that in abundance. Come with Me now, to the place I have prepared for you, and let Me introduce you to My Father.’
SOCRATES
All the world is a dark, dark cave. In one grotto,4 people sit watching silhouettes projected on the wall of the cave. They haven’t noticed that they are bound to their chairs. Their heads are in clamps so that they cannot look at each other, though of course they can speak. Though there is nothing to speak about except the shadows projected before them. Thus all four speak in bored monotones, as their lives are, lets face it, frightfully boring.
1 “It is a cat.”
2 “It is a black cat.”
3 “All cats are black cats.”
4 “All black cats are cats.”
1, 2, 3, 4 “It is a cat.”
1 “It is a dog.”
2 “It is a black dog.”
4 “With black spots.”
3 “All dogs are black dogs.”
4 “All black dogs are dogs.”
1, 2, 3, 4 “It is a dog.”
1 “Oh, look. It is a horse.”
2 “It is a black horse.”
3 “Are you sure it is not a black pony?”
4 “Yes. Black ponies are smaller.”
3 “Why, so they are.”
2 “I like black ponies.”
1 “Yes. They have such a nice, comfortable, blackness about them.”
1, 2, 3, 4 “Black, black, black. All that is, is black.”
1 “If it is black, it is real.”
2 “If it is white, it is not real.”
3 “If it is not real, it does not exist.”
4 “If it does not exist, it is white.”
1 “Therefore, white does not exist.”
2 “That is as plain as black and white.”
3 “I couldn't have put it better, myself.”
4 “Yawn. No. You couldn't, could you.”
1 “If it is black, it is flat.”
2 “As flat as a black pancake.”
3 “As flat as the world.”
4 “As flat as a tire.”
3 “On a flat car.”
4 “I was thinking of getting a new flat black car, to go with my flat black tires.”
3 “It will do zero to sixty in ten seconds flat.”
2 “My beer is flat.”
1 “Your head is flat.”
2 “Why, thank you. That's the kindest thing anyone has said about me all day.”
3 “It's the only thing anyone has said about you all day.”
2 ‘How true, how true.”
1 “If it is real, it is both flat and black.”
2 “If it is not real, it is white and flat.”
3 “It couldn't be simpler.”
1 “He's a regular simpleton, that one.”
2 “Black forests.”
Jesus enters the grotto and silently watches them from behind for a few minutes, listening to their bored monotones.
3 “Black trees.”
4 “Black houses.”
1 “Black people.”
2 “Black suns.”
3 “Black stars.”
1 “Black holes.”
2 “Black flowers.”
3 “Black snow.”
4 “Black rainbows.”
1, 2, 3, 4: “Black, black, black. All that is, is black.”
1 “You did that so nicely.”
3 “You did that so well.”
4 “You finally got your lines right.”
2 “No, no. You're much too kind.”
1 “Yes, we are, aren't we?” All grin in unison, holding the grin until they speak their next line, then return to looking bored. Especially as whoever is projecting the silhouettes is taking a break, so nothing appears on the wall.
2 “It.”
3 “It is.”
4 “Is it?”
1 “It is as it is.”
2: “Is it as it is?”
3 “It is as it is, isn't it?”
4 “Ain't it though?”
1.2.3.4: “It is.”
Jesus decides to take advantage of the pause. He leans over 4 and speaks to her. ‘Excuse me.”
4: is rather startled by that. “I just heard a strange voice.”
The others take it in stride.
1 “Strange voices for strange people.”
2 “My mother told me to never talk to strangers.”
3 “And no one is stranger than you.”
1 “Does that mean no one ever speaks to you?”
3 “I certainly would never speak to you, would I?”
Jesus speaks to 4 again. “There is so much more to the world than flat and black.”
4 fidgets as much as she can worriedly. “That voice just whispered in my ear.”
2 “Don't be silly.”
1 “Ears are flat.”
3: “Everyone knows that.”
1 “How can you whisper into something that's flat?”
1, 2, and 3 sound suspicious. “Say, what have you been drinking?”
4 is still worried and confused, but decides to ask for clarification. “Voice? What do You mean by saying ‘there's more to the world than flat and black‘?”
“I mean that there are 3 dimensions. There is color, texture and smell as well.”
4 “Color? 3 dimensions? Texture? Whatever can these words mean?”
2 “There she goes. Talking to herself again. Always said she was crazy.”
3 “Yes. But you always said that about him.”
1 “About me? Is that how you really feel?”
1, 2, and 3 eerily chant together, appropriately enough, the opening line to ‘The Shadow‘ radio program. “Who knows what evil lurks in the hearts of men? Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha!”
1 “Anybody here know?”
3 “I sure don't, do you?”
Jesus has more to tell 4. “There is a whole world outside the cave. It is ever so much larger, and ever so much nicer to live in. The smell of the flowers is truly wonderful. The song of the birds is a delight for the ears. The grass feels ever so much better than that chair you are tied to.
4 is surprised by that. “Tied? I'm not tied?”
2 “Well, she's fit to be tied, anyway.”
4 “And how can grass feel like anything, anyway? How can you feel what's flat and black?”
Jesus touches her shoulder. “Like this.”
4 “Yikes! Something just touched me!”
3 “She always was a little touched.”
1 “I wouldn't touch her with a 10 foot pole.”
2 “She's just trying to get attention.”
3 “It's all just a fad. It'll go away.”
1 “And I wish you would go with it.”
3 “20 years from now, who will even remember?”
2 “Remember what?”
3 “I forget. What were we discussing?”
Jesus makes an offer. “Let Me untie you and set you free.”
4 “Free?”
2 “Free with any purchase of $10 or more.”
3 “Void where prohibited.”
1: “And prohibited in voids.”
4 “Yes, I would like to be free. Can You free me?”
“It's what I do best. He who the Son has freed is free indeed.” He removes her bonds and unclamps her head. “Now, arise and walk. There's something I must show you.”
4 “Ye-owch! Ooohh! I'm as stiff as a flat black board!”
“Don't worry. As you move more, the pain will decrease, until it is all gone. Now, come, follow Me.”
When they step out of the cave, 4 sees sunlight for the first time. “Agh! My eyes! They're on fire!”
“Don't worry. It just takes a minute or two to get used to the light.”
4 “What's this stuff I'm walking on?” She looks down. “It's kind of flat, but not really. And it's not black. What is it?”
“It's grass. That non-blackness is called color. That color is green.”
She looks ahead. “Oh, my. And that thing there, it looks something like a tree. But it seems to me that it has more than one of these color things. And it definitely isn't flat at all.”
“It's round. Three dimensional. It is both green and brown. Things can have more than one color. And that thing above it all is the sky. It's the color blue.”
“And those white things must be clouds. At least they look like black clouds. But they are white. You mean a thing can be real and white at the same time? Wow. And what is that lovely sound I hear?”
“That is the sound of the birds singing.”
4 turns to Him and sees Jesus for the first time. “And You! That is You, isn't it?”
“Yes, I am.”
She points at Him. “Yes, it must be You. The sound is coming from You when You speak. And You're not flat or black.” She notices her own hand. “And this! This is my hand. My arm. My body. I'm not flat and black, either! It's all so beautiful!” Suddenly she saddens.
“What's wrong?”
“The others. In the cave. They don't understand. They've never seen the real world. I'm going back and tell them all about what is real.” She renters the cave followed by Jesus. But when they get to the grotto, there is an argument going on. A rather strange argument, as all three arguers are bored.
1 “It is a rose.”
2 “It is a daisy.”
3 “It is a pansy!”
1 “Well, whatever it is, it is a flower.”
2 agrees. “A lovely black flower.”
3 however, rejects the compromise. “A lovely black pansy.”
1 “Don't start that again.”
Four addresses the three. “I'm back.”
2 “You were so quiet for a while, that‘s all.”
Four persists, despite the obstinacy. “I was gone. I went outside into the real world. And now I have returned to tell you all about it.”
1 “Humph. Perhaps you should have stayed quiet.”
2 “What nonsense is this? How can any one go anywhere?”
3 “There is only here. There cannot be anywhere else.”
1 “Anything else is a delusion, a dream, a fantasy.”
2 “And what did you dream the next night?”
Four persists. “But it is real; I have been there myself. I have seen all the colors of the rainbow. I have seen that things are round. That we are round as well.”
1 “There can be no reality beyond reality.”
2 “All the colors of the rainbow? Black is all the colors of the rainbow.”
3 “I am flat. My father was flat. His father was flat. And that is that.”
2 “I'm even flat broke.”
1 “My singing is always flat.”
2, and 3 agree. “We noticed.”
1 “It is obvious that you are insane. You are a danger and menace to society at large and small. There is only one thing to do with people like you.” A silhouette of a hand holding a gun comes up on the wall.
1, 2, and 3 recite in a disinterested fashion. “Bang! Bang! Bang! Now you are dead. You are white. You no longer exist.”
Four shakes her head in amazement. “That's silly! Of course I exist. I'm right here... you can hear me... you can... can't you?”
Jesus pats her shoulder. “No, they can't. Not because they lack the means. Because they refuse to. To them you really are dead. They will never hear you. They did the same to most of the others I sent as well. They even tried it with Me. Didn't work with Me. I just refused to stay dead. But then I am persistent like that. They keep trying to lock Me out, but I just keep sneaking back in.”
Four is depressed. “Is there no hope for them?”
“For some yes. A few, like you, will listen when I visit them. Sadly, most will not. And so they will stay in the cave, as it gets darker and darker, until finally only the darkness is all that is left to them. But that is no longer your part. For you have come to eternal life, and that in abundance. Come with Me now, to the place I have prepared for you, and let Me introduce you to My Father.’
