The Hour We Knew Nothing of Each Other

Peter Handke, The Hour We Knew Nothing Of Each Other.
page # 1
The stage is an open square in bright light.

It begins when SOMEONE runs across, quickly.
Then ANOTHER, from the other direction, the same way.
Then TWO pass each other, the same way, each followed
by a THIRD and a FOURTH, diagonally.
Pause.
In the background SOMEONE walks across the square.

As he is strolling along, he continuously opens and
spreads all his fingers and at the same time slowly
stretches and lifts his arms until he has completed a
full circle above the crown of his head. Then he lovers
them again at the same leisurely pace, as he ambles
across the plaza.
Just before he disappears up a street behind the

square, he stirs up some wind with his walk, fans it
toward him with both hands, tilts back his head face
up, then finally swerves off.
When HE reappears, instantly, in exactly the same

rhythm, SOMEONE ELSE comes toward him in the center
part of the square, marking, while moving, a silent
beat, first with one hand, then in harmony with the
other, and by the time he turns from the square into
yet another street, his whole body has joined in, his
gait, too, has finally picked up the beat.
Like his predecessor – who, incidentally, is still

trying to create more air and light around himself
every time he enters and exits in the back – he turns
around on his heels and crosses the square again and
again, always marking his beat; meanwhile, entering in
the foreground, from an invisible balustrade or bridge
– and from below – out of a ditch or a pothole – are
FOUR, FIVE, SIX, SEVEN figures and MORE – an entire
TEAM comes running in.
THEY don't stop in the square either as they fan out in

all directions, disappearing, reappearing, each for
himself and also part of the game in his "warm up",
chimera-like, changing shapes and movements abruptly,
on and on: from a standing jump, face unmoved, instant
transformations into running like a rabbit, knocking
dirt off shoes, spreading arms, shielding eyes, walking
Peter Handke, The Hour We Knew Nothing Of Each Other. page # 2
with a cane, walking softly, taking off a hat, combing

one's hair, drawing a knife, shadow-boxing, looking
over the shoulder, opening an umbrella, sleepwalking,
falling to the ground, spitting, balancing along a
line, stumbling, skipping, spinning once along the way,
humming, moaning, punching one's head and face with the
fist, tying one's shoelaces, rolling briefly on the
floor, writing in the air, all this topsy turvy, not
followed through, just a first try.
And already ALL are gone again, THOSE in front, the

FIGURE in the center of the square, the ONE all the way
in the back.
Pause.
Someone crosses the square, oblivious to it - a

FISHERMAN on his way.
Also, right afterwards, someone as an OLD WOMAN, all

bundled up, pulling a shopping cart behind her.
She hasn't quite disappeared from view when TWO MEN

WEARING FIREMEN'S HELMETS storm across the square,
carrying hoses and extinguishers, in the course of a
drill rather than an actual fire?
Right on their heels, walking like someone lost in his

dreams, A SOCCER FAN on his way home, still a long way
off, with a charred flag under his arm which gradually
disintegrates as he moves along; he is followed by
SOMEONE NONDESCRIPT WITH A LADDER, which another,
entering after him as A BEAUTY, brushes against in
passing without either one paying attention.
Pause.
A ROLLER SKATER zooms across the scene and is already

gone.
After him someone as A RUG DEALER, pile of rugs

unrolled on his shoulder, bent way down, stopping now
and then, sagging at the knees, crosses the square on
his way to customer.
He is still dragging along when someone crosses his

path - A COWBOY OR CATTLE DRIVER - cracking his whip
every third step as both continue on their way.
Meanwhile, farther in the back, A BAREFOOT WOMAN also

walks across the square haltingly, her hands covering
her face; then suddenly she drops her arms and drags in
a circle with a big grin like someone retarded, who
perhaps a moment ago has paraded by as a beauty, while
right behind her, farther down the square, TWO YOUNG
GIRLS, their arms linked when they entered, suddenly
start turning cartwheel and are off in an instant.
After them another zig-zags across the scene in a wide

curve, scattering handfuls of ashes from a bucket - THE
SQUARE KEEPER - attended by one SOLITARY OLD MAN, his
head held up high, on top of it a majestic cradle with
appropriate coat of arms which he clutches with both
fists, first stepping cautiously as if walking a
tightrope, then finally letting go of the piece, he
balances it on the crown of his head as the steps tunt
into skips and finally into a steady, playful dance.
Almost simultaneously with him another rushes by, A

LOCAL BUSINESS MAN; in crossing the square he puts one
set of keys - the car keys? - in his pocket and takes
out another bigger one - the keys to his house, his
store? - fumbling while walking for the right key which
on his exit he points toward his target.
Immediately after him SOMEONE UNDEFINABLE enters as if

running after him, stops in the middle of the square,
and slowly turns back again.
Pause.
The open square in bright light.
An airplane high above, for two, three moments; the

airplane's shadow?
The again the way it was before.
A cloud of dust; a billow of smoke.
A MAN IN UNIFORM marches through quickly on one side

and already returns from the other, same fast pace,
under his arms a bunch of flowers with which he

disappears the shortest way.
A SKATEBOARDER, curving around something imaginary, has

already jumped off, tucked the board under his arm, and
made his leisurely contemplative exit quite unli ke the
earlier roller skater; he is superseded instantly by A
SILHOUETTE IN COAT AND HAT, batches and batches of
leaves tumbling from the latter as THE PASSER-BY lifts
it over and over, turning around and around as if
greeting a circle of people; and when he unbuttons the
former, clusters and clumps of gravel and sand are
thudding from it as well, with even a few rocks
rumbling out in the end.
Drenched, by contrast, is THE FIGURE who in the

meantime has taken a completely different route around
the circle, dripping wet, as only a shipwrecked person
can be, who has been crawling in on his knees,
gradually gets himself in a somewhat upright position,
and right away stumbles out of the picture again.
Now walking in his place is A YOUNG WOMAN, in a light

office dress; she carries a tray with some coffee cups
and makes a small curve around the stage before turning
into one of the alleys.
In another section, A STREET CLEANER comes by as well

with his cart, broom, and shovel.
Pause.
The empty square in the light.
The piercing sounds of jackdaws in high mountains.
Afterwards a seagull.
SOMEONE WITH A BLIND MAN'S GLASSES feels his way in

without a cane; he wanders about, then stops as if
lost, while he is surrounded on all sides by a scurry
of episodic activities: the sudden thumping through of
A RUNNER (who has been on the way a long time); SOMEONE
charges by madly, looking over his shoulder again and
again, with his PURSUER close at his heels, fist
pointed against him, chasing him like a thief; someone
enters as THE WAITER of the outdoor café — opening a
bottle, flipping the top across the square — and exits

again; again THE OLD WOMAN with the shopping cart, with
another almost IDENTICAL COMPANION, only their carts
are different; at the same time SOMEONE ON A MOUNTAIN
BIKE continuously lifting himself out of the saddle; at
the same time AN ENTIRE GROUP, taking big steps,
swinging their traveling bags, crossing the square
single file the way young people sometimes move on a
train from one compartment to the next, or like an
athletic team on its way from the bus to the field; and
at the same time SOMEONE LEAFING THROUGH A NEWSPAPER
while walking, without ever looking up, curves around
the blind man, who appears to be listening in the
center of the square, and when a newcomer grabs him by
the shoulder from behind, he links arms with him
without turning his face toward him and exits through
the center while carefully feeling the book which the
other has put in his hand.
In the meantime, another WANDERER is coming through the

spot where the two have just been standing, in a floor-
length dust coat, with a rather antiquated knapsack and
hobnailed shoes, too dreamily absorbed in his walk to
take even the shortest break in the square; and now he
wraps his one wide swinging arm as if around a waist of
air, then also the other.
Meanwhile, A YOUNG WOMAN crosses, in elegant clothes,

hammer in one hand, extended measuring stick in the
other, nails between her lips.
Pause.
A NEWSPAPER PAGE glides across the square, then

another.
A remote-control toy car shoots out of one corner,

bolts here and there, speeds off again.
A multicolored kite trundles down, trails across the

square, gets blown into the alley like the newspaper.
The sound of an iron pole falling elsewhere.
A foghorn.
A short, undefinable scream, then nothing but the

sounds of small birds, and the kind of patter that can
come only from a multitude of children's feet running
freely down a boulevard.
In the back someone, A DRUNK, staggers diagonally

through the scene into the circle, humming, then
moaning, then hissing, and finally baring and grinding
his teeth.
A complete FLIGHT CREW with appropriate luggage cut

across the square as if on their assigned route, right
behind them A FOOL who apes them, grimacing, kissing
their tracks, then listens to the ground, and finally
crawls off on all fours.
Meanwhile A YOUNG WOMAN is already walking along

elsewhere; on her way she takes a pack of photographs
from their cover, looks at them one after the other,
stops, smiles, moves on, still smiling, still absorbed
in the photograph until, at the sight of A NONDESCRIPT
PASSER-BY from the opposite direction smiling along
with her, she drops her smile abruptly and with a mask-
like face turns into an alley; in her stead the other
now carries the smile across the square, aped for a
moment by the fool who has been tumbling in and out in
a quick small curve, which made the smile even broader.
Out of the depth of the space one as A YOUNG MACHER

with appropriate accessories scurries along, stops
midway, searches his suit pocket, feels the others,
empties them, first into his hand, then on top of his
brief-case, then puts away again, carefully,
deliberately, ceremoniously, one after the other: his
bright multicolored handkerchief, a pair of dice, an
empty tin of shoe polish with which he creates the
sounds of drums in the bush, a scallop shell, pocket
calculator, brass knuckle, an apple, a woman's
stocking, a gingerbread heart, shoelaces, loose wad of
money, accordion of credit cards, the miner's lamp.
Then he hurries off the way he came, the hand carrying

the briefcase also holding the apple.
THE SQUARE KEEPER appears with his broom, sweeping,

while the pieces of paper which he sweeps ahead of him
are already flying behind him; the more he sweeps in
one direction, the more fly and tumble by him from the
opposite direction, from left and right, no matter how
often he retraces his steps and starts again;
unflaggingly turning here, turning there, still
managing to push on, in this manner he disappears from
view.
Walking by now at last is A BEAUTY, who lowered her

eyelids the moment she appeared and keeps them that way
on her glide through the center of the stage, conscious
of being seen everywhere and playing with it — not
adding a thing — just this one long, extended gaze,
barely to be sensed, from the corner of her eyes: No
howling of cats, no burping from a speaker, no sudden
honking of horns, neither the barking of dogs erupting
in an alley just now — is it someone aping the sounds?
— nor the paper that's getting caught between her legs
just now, nor the brick crashing out of the blue
bothers or worries her, not even the jet of water
brushing over her out of an alley for a moment; only as
she exits the square does she open her lids again.
A GIRL IN A BOUTIQUE DRESS walks in a wider circle

carrying a tray with coffee while someone, A BEGGAR
after his day's session, crosses the square, counting
the coins on his plate and then stuffing everything in
one coat pocket.
TWO NONDESCRIPT FIGURES move through the quadrangle

from different directions, one with a book in his hand,
the other with a loaf of bread.
When they are opposite each other, without paying

attention to each other, one opens the book, the other
takes a bite from his bread.
The one reading slows down; so does the one eating;

then the reader looks up and over his shoulder, while
the eater, looking around him, exits the square.
The big, open square in its bright light, nothing else.
TWO NONDESCRIPT PERSONS appear.
One stops, lifts his head, as if he has arrived, looks

around him, breathes in deeply, nods, while the other
signals him to move on, again and again until the first
one, turning once leisurely around himself, follows him

at some distance.
Meanwhile, in the back, A WANDERING APPRENTICE has

walked along his way ringing his bell.
A WOMAN WITH A SCARF AROUND HER HEAD and rubber boots

crosses the square lugging a watering can and also
carrying a bunch of wilting, no, already rotting
flowers which she throws off stage in a high arc.
Right after her AN ALMOST IDENTICALLY DRESSED WOMAN

comes in from a completely different place, type old
hag, with a sickle, a bunch of evergreens and a basket
filled to the brim with wild mushrooms.
A THIRD WOMAN, undefinable, clothed almost identically,

appears on a third path, nothing in her hands, back and
neck bent low, face fixed on the ground, steadily but
barely moving from the spot, while another left
WANDERER follows in her steps, getting slower and
slower as if the path were too narrow for passing, his
gaze fixed in the distance throughout, with no eye for
the creature at the tip of his hiking shoes.
Across from the two, who are still more or less

stepping in place, someone - A COOK - has stepped
outside for a few quick drags on a cigarette; that
done, he is already out of sight.
THE NEXT ONE works his way around the corner, his
shoulders weighed down by a heavy fishing net, while
the wanderer on his exit produces a creature that has
flown into his shirt and throws it up in the air to
continue its flight.
There was thunder and it is thundering again.
And A WOMAN has run across the square and now she is
running back, in her arms a gigantic pile of unfolded
laundry.
As if nothing has been happening at all, someone struts

by, legs spread wide, hips and shoulders swaying, with
the posture of THE SQUARE'S MASTER, followed by the
SQUARE'S FOOL, who first apes him, then puts his arm in
his, then his foot - hopping along on one leg – finally
romping around him on all fours, barking, while the

square master, fully conscious of himself as the one
and only far and wide, pays no attention to him
whatsoever on his inspection route.
In the meantime A STATUE tied upright to a dolly is

pulled along another path, and on yet another path AN
INDIVIDUAL walks by, covering his ears against the
sounds from left and right, of sirens' shawms which
quickly turn into a howling alarm (immediately broken
off).
As an apparition, PAPAGENO whisks across the stage,

with bird catcher's cage, in feather costume.
Our view of him is obstructed by something like A SMALL

TROOP OF WOODCUTTERS on their way with axes and saws on
their shoulders.
Behind them A YOUNG WOMAN nickers through the scene,

eyes wide open, hand on her mouth, which she then
drops, a silent scream, playfully framed by noontime
sparrows and the summery whirring of swallows and
similar feathery whinnyings.
The woman is crossed hastily by SOMEONE CARRYING A

BALL, then also by a JAPANESE with one camera around
his neck and another ready to shoot, oblivious to the
woman coming toward him, his eyes focused on the square
only, which he captures, together with the silently
exiting woman, another ROLLER SKATER, this one with a
sail in front of him, and, in the place of and just
like the cook before, A HOSPITAL ATTENDANT rushing in
and right back out after a drag on a cigarette, all of
this in one frame, that done, he runs straight back to
where a car already honked the continuation of the
tour.
Now there are TWO, one crossing in front, one in the

back, heads down, nothing noticeable about them except
maybe their busy way of walking.
Pause.
The square is empty, in its bright light.

A rustling sound sets in, becomes stronger, a roar,

circles all around, calms down.
Someone, BLINDFOLDED, feels his or her way in from one

street and immediately vanishes in the next.
Now SOMEONE CROSSES WITH A FEATHER IN HIS HAIR, as if

it has been forgotten there; he shields his eyes, while
ANOTHER passes him, his gaze fixed on his apparently
freshly bandaged hand.
In a distance, from different directions, TWO RUNNERS

are madly thumping through; when they reach each other,
they almost brush each other without a word or gesture
of greeting.
Greetings are exchanged, on bicycles, between TWO

MAILMEN, also at the encounter of TWO UNIFORMED
PATROLMEN, and then, though almost hidden or
clandestinely, between A MAN AND A WOMAN passing each
other.
For a few moments SOMEONE pulls a delicate blue bark

across the square, in which one divines A WHITE FIGURE,
perhaps a mummy.
Someone, with the posture of an idle STORE OWNER steps

out on one side, lets himself be seen like that for a
while, steps back again.
A SMALL GROUP OF HIKERS crosses diagonally, properly

divisioned into advance guard, main troupe, and in the
rear one solitary figure lagging behind, head bowed,
dragging his feet, not even accelerating when someone
whistles through his fingers from beyond the square;
exiting, the laggard even stops; tilting his head back,
he draws what seem the flight patterns of different
birds in the air which he tries to fan under his
clothes as he walks on.
Meanwhile, again THE SAME BEAUTY - or is it another? -

has been - floating by, arms linked with THE SAME OR
ANOTHER SQUARE IDIOT, beaming, limping, jumping,
somersaulting at her side; along her path flashes of
lightning spark off her from the mirror jewelry
cascading down her crown of hair all the way to the
spiked heels, while every now and then she directs her
glances through the holes of a big leaf as if through a

fan; and the idiot keeps throwing his handkisses into
the circle, from where BLACK NUN has stepped out
immediately, her face invisible, a plastic suitcase in
one hand, a parcel tied with strings in the other, and
in the back of the pair moved on to some other place.
Then SEVERAL NONDESCRIPT PERSONS populate the square

for a few moments, on their way from one activity to
the next.
SOMEONE passes carrying a tree.
Someone appears from below, from the depths, with a

SEWER MAN'S hard hat, and disappears the same way.
Also from the depths in the rear, as if out of a ditch

or a hollow, ANOTHER COUPLE appears that seems to have
been together there for a long time; now they walk
entwined in the light of the square, leisurely moving
off in a widening spiral, occasionally looking back to
their place.
In the meantime, someone in GANGSTER gear has made a

brief appearance, his hands empty, playing finger
games, and now rushes back the way he came, both hands
loaded with shopping bags, vegetables sticking out on
top.
Someone else passes by as quickly, HANDCUFFED, A

BAREFOOT MAN, escorted by TWO NONDESCRIPT PERSONS IN
PLAINCLOTHES.
On his quick passage the captive's eyes had searched

around for spectators, but right behind him comes
ANOTHER BEAUTY - maybe it is the same? - attracting
everyone's attention by the way she moves across the
square, this time heavily, with prominent belly, well
advanced in pregnancy, all alone, a letter in her hand
on which she glues a stamp while walking.
THIS AND THAT PERSON, OLD PEOPLE, YOUNG PEOPLE, MEN AND
WOMEN coming after her from all directions now follow
in her trail, all with their assorted pieces of mail
which they check from all sides, still addressing,
licking, closing envelopes, rereading postcards,
looking at the pictures, all headed toward an invisible
center beyond the square; one man returns empty-handed,

goes elsewhere; another woman has continued down the
street, another man, back again for a moment, climbs
down below the ground further in the back.
In the meantime, somewhere else, SOMEONE WITH BARELY

ANY CLOTHES ON had whisked by, and down the square
SOMEONE IN OVERALLS has been on his way, a thick rope
tied around his waist, a duffel bag over his shoulder,
which he had taken off the moment he entered to stuff
it with an enormous globe that now illuminates the bag
from inside as its CARRIER moves on and plunges
himself, again and again, into an unintelligible speech
that keeps ebbing away in a murmur and whisper.
TWO HUNTERS PULL A THIRD ONE on a stretcher made of

evergreens.
Then SEVERAL PERSONS are simply walking, some with,

some without a clear sense of destination; one who
doesn't know where he's headed transforms midway into
someone who does, while his successor, clear at first,
suddenly loses his goal.
And again a rustling sound rotates around the square.
Someone as a WAITER, appearing briefly, empties a

bucket of icecubes which crackle and bounce all over.
Pause.
The empty square in bright light.
A single leaf drops from high above, like a summer

leaf.
A shot, and its echoes, again and again.
SOMEONE enters the square with an eerie contraption of

lenses and glasses, like something from an
optometrist's office, tries to look through it, steps
back again.
Somewhere else A WOMAN crosses with a basket filled

with early apples slipped over her bent arm, eating one
while walking.
A SQUARE KEEPER - the same or another? - comes in for a

moment, hosing the ground.
Led by SOMEONE HOLDING UP A CLOSED UMBRELLA, A SMALL

GROUP OF TOURISTS enters - rather gnarled, rustic
figures, all dressed up in dark festive clothes, most
of them old - all stopping at once as if jolted just by
the light in the square into one unison shout of
surprise, which they repeat on their exit as a resonant
hum through their shut mouths for the benefit of their
leader, their silent witness as it were, each veering
off in crooked-slow circle.
And again A MAN AND A WOMAN approach each other from

afar, he immediately lowering his head while hers is
held up high; just before they cross, he suddenly looks
up into the other's face, which she, alas, has turned
away a moment before.
TWO BEAUTIES, as speed-walkers, in fitting gear,

skitter by in a jiffy.
A BUDDING MODERN BUSINESSWOMAN, with transparent

briefcase, this and that showing through, studies a
dossier while on the run, portable telephone, antenna
extended, tucked in the same hand, but soon falling out
of it, whereupon, as she bends over to pick it up
grudgingly, her briefcase snaps open, spilling its
contents, which she angrily collects before moving on
only to stumble on one of her next steps, which
suddenly elicits a vague smile that gets broader when
she is on her way again, immersed in the dossier, and
now that she stumbles even worse, bruising herself and
almost falling, after a scream of pain and anger, her
smile turns into howling laughter on her exit.
Again A WANDERER journeys along his path, hat in one

hand, book in the other, his head lowered way down,
when all of a sudden another JOGGING COUPLE come
clopping in, their steps resounding all over the
square; boxing him in from both sides while passing,
they knock both items from his hands and have already
bobbed out of sight without ever turning to look at the
man who now spits out ceremonious, stoops, and
continues on his way; suddenly greeted by the raised
hand of the SUCCEEDING RUNNER, he waves his hand as
suddenly to return the greeting.
Behind his back, while he is still enjoying his walk, a

LAND SURVEYOR has already planted his equipment, looks
through it, motions HIS INVISIBLE PARTNER beyond the
square quickly to the left, to the right, signals
thumbs up, and has already cleared the square.
A rather ANCIENT MAN with an antiquated key has come

into view as a fleeting marginal appearance.
Likewise, a man - he could be the JAPANESE from before,

alpenstock in his fist, carrying a WHITE-HAIRED WOMAN
on his back; a YOUNG MAN with a frond of palm leaves or
ferns; TWO OR THREE MEN, drinking from a canteen as
they move along; one as Moses, returning from Sinai
with the tablets of law; one, slow and sloppy, suddenly
standing at attention, clacking his heels, a SMALL
PARTY in festive black-and-white clothing shaking
kernels of rice from their hair and shoulders while
walking; and once again A BEAUTY, visible at first only
from the back, suddenly turns around to to look - at
ME!
Just as suddenly a ROLLED-UP BUNDLE throws itself onto

the square, tap dancing to a chorus of groans, shouts,
whimpers, tremors, screeches, rolling back and forth
until it becomes apparent that these are not several
creatures, not even two locked in a fight, but only one
in his battle with death which finally comes to an end;
the ball unravels, scattered next to it the objects
lost in the struggle, his shoes.
Sashaying his way into the scene, the SQUARE'S FOOL had
aped the dying man through his final spasms.
Silence.
TWO come running in, in white coats, with a stretcher;

a few expert movements, and already the body is carried
off, with all personal belongings.
A COUPLE, somewhat apart at first, having become

witnesses to the death, now fall into each other's
arms; they pounce on each other, mount one another as
they rush off.
One more PERSON strolls by, blissfully unaware.

The square by itself in its bright light.
Again the rustling sound sweeps all around, autumnal.
Someone passes by, a GARDENER, rake as scepter,

dragging a sack of hay from which he keeps losing a few
bunches.
A fragment of A CIRCUS TROUPE parades around the square

as if it were an arena - a herald, a show-girl, one
suggesting a juggling act, someone with the mark of the
clown, a small monkey on his shoulder, a dwarf - midway
they are joined by the SQUARE'S FOOL, who completes the
picture as it were and finds refuge as a fellow
traveler for just one moment; the next he is alone
again and strays away.
Again A BEAUTY struts across the scene, followed by

ANOTHER who walks faster, suddenly sprints, punches the
one in front other violently in the head, and has
already run off into another street; the first, holding
her head, has stopped.
While she stays there like that, SOMEONE ELSE pushing

himself on ski poles comes along on roller skates,
grabs her purse as he flies by, which makes her spin
around herself.
Then, while she stands motionlessly again, SOMEONE

WALKS by with an easel, in nineteenth-century costume
and a pointed black hat; someone else, in a FAUN'S
MASK, emerges briefly from an alley; two are kicking a
ball back and forth between their feet as they cross;
another OLD CRONE pushes her familiar cart, which by
now has become quite screechy and is filled with
tattered plastic bags; far in the back TARZAN swings
across the clearing, SOMEONE IN HIS MORNING COAT
briefly grazes the scene with a garbage can; ANOTHER
WOMAN AND A MAN come by on their way to mailing their
letters.
A MAN sneaks up on THE BEAUTY from behind; about to

jump, he softly puts his hands over her eyes, then,
without her turning to look at him, he lifts her as
gently under her knees and arms and carries her off the
square.
A deep sigh emanates from her.
SOMEONE passes, his bare arms covered with watches up

above his elbows.
TWO OR THREE FIGURES in heavy winter coats, with heavy

suitcases and boxes, meet TWO OR THREE on their way in
airy, brightly clothes.
Both groups were stopped briefly by an electric vehicle

on rubber tires cutting between them with TWO MEN IN
VISOR CAPS transporting a coffin, behind them the
SQUARE'S FOOL, hands folded around his stomach,
tiptoeing in as the mourner; then without further ado
the two groups quickly exchange their clothes and
things as if this had been planned a long time and take
off again, each in its own direction.
Meanwhile, a veil has been blowing in from somewhere

followed immediately by A YOUNG WOMAN IN A BRIDAL GOWN
obviously still in its fitting stage; she looks, finds,
disappears.
In the rather quiet comings and goings that follow, the

CLATTER OF CHILDREN racing each other will also become
audible square, together with their yells and shouts.
ONE WHO COULD BE ANYBODY passes ANOTHER WHO COULD BE

ANYBODY, hesitates, the other also hesitates, they
stare at each other, recognize each other, made a
mistake, shake their heads, veer farther apart,
hesitate once more, look at each other rigidly, then
continue on their separate ways shaking their heads.
While the two were still in the picture, somewhere else

and apparently quite by coincidence A THIRD HEAD SHAKER
has come along whose shaking, however, slowed down
steadily until he switched to nodding and then back to
shaking, then back to nodding again, both getting
slower each time as well as larger, until toward the
end of his scene both express the same thing.
He has had no eyes for THE OLD MAN IN THE RICHLY

ORNATE EASTERN robe pointing one arm ahead into the
light, guiding A RAGGEDY YOUTH caked with mud and
barely able to walk across the square back to his home:
his lost son who earlier had moved one step back with
each forward step he took toward him, and a third man
appeared, dressed in SERVANT clothes, with a lamb in
his arms, who now walks ahead of the pair.
No sooner have all reached their respective streets

than they are pursued by THE SQUARE’ S FOOL or square
master with his spectacles pushed up his forehead, his
finger in something like a script, as their
enthusiastic imitator - he plays them all, indicating
each one, in no particular order, mixing them all up -
accompanied at some distance by A MAN CARRYING A
REDUCED WOOD OR CARDBOARD MODEL OF THE SQUARE in all
its light, and finally joined by A THIRD PERSON WITH A
MANNEQUIN IN ONE HAND, a pile of costumes in the other;
all are gone very fast.
The empty square in bright light, like a tiny island

surrounded by an episodic torrent of oceanic sounds.
The whistle of a marmot, the scream of an eagle.
For an eerily brief moment, the shrilling of a cicada.
TWO PERSONS push and pull a column that lies tilted in

a small cart.
A MAN follows A WOMAN, and right away, as if they had

made a quick circle behind the square, a woman follows
a man; she blocks his way, he sidesteps her, she again
blocks his way and, as he wants to pass her, grabs his
cape; he tears away and runs off half-naked, while the
woman, without looking at THE THIRD PERSON who now
comes her way from someplace else, holds the fabric up
to him, whereupon the newcomer pursues the first hero
with big steps, the woman close at his heels; midway
they are crossed by a small ENERGETIC SENIOR-CITIZEN
HIKING PARTY.
A SOLITARY OLD MAN approaches the group; he too has a

cane, with which he proceeds without further ado to
attack the hikers, who parry immediately with their
canes, the melee turning into a fencing match that
lasts until the lone rogue has driven away his
opponents and laconically continues on his trail.
For a while it seems that only OLD MEN keep crossing

the square, and it is always the same old men, moving
in the same direction, appearing one side, exiting on
the other, reappearing where they first came from, on
their eternal rounds: once as if waiting in a rather
slowly advancing line; then as ROBED DIGNITARIES IN A
PARADE; then as RURAL PEOPLE in their harvest
procession, arms loaded with bundles of wheat, cradled
bottles of wine, garlands of corn cobs; then as
VETERANS with everything that goes with that; and
finally they are just solitary old men, each for
himself, some more, some less agile, now passing, then
again approaching each other, one squeezed between two
moves to the side, and, while the others continue their
circles, feels his way along the edge, along the edges,
dragging one foot behind the other, the next one
branching off to another edge, now standing still,
looking for a wall, a ledge for the head, for the arms,
for the feet, and also his cane, trembling all over
while his face remains still and appears even stiller
and whiter as a child's screams erupt in one of the
streets, stop, burst out again, sounds of terror, wails
of pain drowning out even the busy comings and goings
which had followed on the square, all kinds of passers-
by among them A FILM CREW that casually dominates the
scene; just passing, they own the place with all its
local and all its transient people, although it
evidently isn't the location for their shoot; and in
all the sudden hubbub, set off against the horizon and
accompanied by the child's screams, the last moonface
of the old men's round quivers off, albeit so slowly
that his steady tremor frames all the more clearly each
sudden motion with which he raises his head toward the
one person in all the pushing and shoving whose eyes
might be on him; to no avail (or maybe they are not the
eyes he is looking for).
This episode is followed by a few shorter ones with

suddenly only YOUNG PEOPLE crisscrossing and curving;
suddenly ONLY MEN; suddenly ONLY WOMEN.
|
Then, A MAN DRESSED AS A WOMAN and a WOMAN AS A MAN run
along different ways; en route they keep losing parts
of their disguise, one after the other, pick them up,
continue to run.
Meanwhile, someone has passed as A YOUNG MAN and now he

returns much aged, which is evident not from his gait
but rather from his skin and hair, and in another
distant place - the child has calmed down long ago -
TWO YOUNG PEOPLE, also in Eastern robes, stroll about
the square, brotherly, one of them carrying a big fish
on a hook, while after that, and in yet another distant
place, AENEAS crosses the square carrying his ANCIENT
FATHER on his back and holding a scroll that smokes and
burns.
Pause.
The square shimmering with emptiness.
Invisible, the customary thundering through of one

isolated motorbike, then the sputtering of a propeller
above the scene.
Then again that rustling sound surging up and around.
Again, PAPAGENO walks in one area of the square, in a

costume of sea shells rather than leathers; the
birdcage he carries is empty and opened wide.
Followed by someone NONDESCRIPT whose hand bulges

underneath his coat, he turns around more and more
often, the other advancing as if in his steps, along
the same twists and turns.
Only when THE MAN TRAILING him bites into an apple and
produces from his coat a package of baby diapers, does
the man in sea shells look ahead again, and even
venture, playfully, a carefree spin along the way.
Promptly, the man behind him is at his side, ties his

hands behind his back, pounds him in the neck with the
package so that he collapses on the ground, where he
remains motionless, and the man walks off, chomping on
his apple, swinging the diaper package.
While the man on the ground, cage in his clenched fist,

crawls after him, another WANDERER enters the scene, on
his head - with its roots up - an entire tree trunk
that has been rained out of the ground; after a brief
glance around he puts it down and sits on it, the roots
as the legs of the stool.
While he opens a map, SOLDIERS suddenly storm across

the square and a moment later, coming from the same
direction, they race by one more time, now fewer of
them and finally, in the same area, only one appears
transformed into A REFUGEE, gasping for breath,
throwing his head from side to side; then suddenly he
spreads out his arms as if he has arrived, circles
leisurely around the place, and joins the man sitting
on the clump of roots, his hand raised as if
acknowledging the next TWO LITTLE GROUPS passing
review: one dragging a Bedouin tent, the other
transporting in a pushcart a statue that's broken into
many pieces; in the meantime the wanderer has slipped
off his shoes and now shakes sand and gravel out of
them, letting each run through his fingers.
Meanwhile, another WOMAN has entered, pregnant, with a

full shopping cart, this time accompanied by A MAN;
they gradually come to halt in the light and embrace
every which way - the woman also rocking the cart back
and forth in place.
When they move on - the woman now with a basket wrapped

in white cloth on her head, the man following her at
some distance with the cart - SOMEONE ELSE parades
through the scene with a model on his outstretched
arms; this time, in place of the scaled down square the
oversized model of the classic labyrinth, which he
recreates in the way he walks.
While he dances off as if around many corners, THE NEXT

ONE's already coming along, again with a rolled up
carpet or runner, but now that he unrolls it,
diagonally, across the entire square, it turns into a
country road complete with clay yellow cartwheel tracks
and a strip of grass in the center; before they take
their seats again, the two who first arrived have
quickly jumped to his help, finishing the road by
stamping down the clay.
Its carrier, his job completed, sat down cross-legged

at the side of the road, at a distance from the other
two.
ABRAHAM and ISAAC pass by as the first guests on the

road, the father one step behind his son, whom he
pushes ahead of him, one hand on his shoulder, the

other behind his back holding the sacrificial knife;
followed by an undefinable pair which suddenly turns
into A KING and his QUEEN; followed by the "OLD
USURER," who suddenly, for a short distance, turns into
THE MAN who moves in a hop, skip, and a jump; followed
by the HIGH NOON-HERO who, pausing, turns into A MAN
WALKING ON CRUTCHES, into A MAN SNAPPING HIS FINGERS,
into A MAN BEATING TIME, into A MAN SHADOW-CONDUCTING,
into A MAN SHAKING HIS HEAD who all of a sudden turns
into A MAN WHO WRITES with steady calm thanks to a
notebook which he has pulled from his armpit, and then
into A MAGIAN by producing - while putting the notebook
back in his armpit – a crystal ball, which for a moment
gathers the light of the entire square; and already the
magic is gone, dispelled by the man himself popping
paper bag.
Pause.
The square in the light, with its occupants, on the

tree stump, on the side of the road.
Now the slapping sounds as of jumping fish orbit around

it and the intense buzz as of a midsummer swarm of bees
surges up the air.
A MAN in a panicked rush, with a salesrep's suitcase,

pops into the clearing and suddenly he is no longer in
a hurry, but strolls to the side, joins THE MAN AT THE
ROADSIDE, squats beside him.
ISAAC returns, intact, with ABRAHAM, empty-handed, dead

tired in his trail.
While they settle down at some distance from the

others, the father's head in the son's lap, somewhere
out of sight CHILDREN are coming through again,
recognizable from their constant yelling and calling,
and SOMEONE approaches on his knees, then jumps to his
feet, cleans the dust off him, and finds some place to
stand.
Again someone sneaks up as THE SQUARE'S FOOL and ogles

everyone's face from below, one after the other, then
tiptoes into the background, while someone enters as A

BOOKWORM, constantly fanning the light into opened book
while pacing back and forth; on a second path ANOTHER
has skipped in as if over stones jutting from a river;
reaching the shore now, he stops and looks back; and AN
OLD ICE-CREAM LICKING COUPLE has come alone on a third
path.
For the moment no one else passes the square; all stop
and also cease their activities; they stand, sit, rest;
those who follow do the same: TWO circling one another
like wrestlers ready for the body slam now calmly walk
away from each other; ONE WHO HAD ENTERED IN THE
VICTOR'S POSE, arms thrown up in the air, now drops
them on the spot; ONE HAD RUN IN WITH A NUMBER ON HIS
CHEST, which falls off as soon as he stands still;
someone on her first step into the light - A WOMAN
RISEN FROM THE DEAD - now turning somersaults, then
just an inconspicuous figure among the rest; ONE WITH
SNOW PILED HIGH ON HIS HAT AND SHOULDERS, already
almost ,past the square, resolutely heads back toward
its center, takes off his hat, shakes off the snow, and
walks more and more calmly, with smaller and smaller
steps.
Finally, A FIGURE IN BLUE APPRENTICE'S OVERALLS had

stumbled onto the scene rolling a wheel - or isn't it
a rosetta, glazed with the blue of Chartres that breaks
the light now once again into many different colors? -
midway he turns around with the thing and promptly
returns without it, looking for his place among the
others, which he's just not able to find; his not-
finding-his-place becomes more and more dramatic, until
at last the sauares fool alias square’s alias patron of
the square simply ushers him to some place
(consequently, no one has ever been more intensely in
his place), whereupon his helper drops his mask and
turns into I don't know who in that intermediary space
together with all the others.
Pause.
The square in its old bright light, and spread out all
over it, close, together or farther apart, reclining,
standing, squatting, throning, ALL OUR HEROES are
present.
Again, a rustle or roar sweeps around in a circle,

followed by a crack that continues diagonally toward
the back, like a lake freezing over, followed by the
distant din of crickets, followed by silence.
For a long moment the following takes place: EVERYBODY

suddenly recoils, all at once and at the same time a
shiver goes through all, once, then again and once
more, followed by a frightened start and finally a
jolt.
SOMEONE hits himself in the face.
SOMEONE invites A WOMAN to sit on his knees and already

she's on him.
SOMEONE adjusts his jacket to make it look festive.
A MAN cleans ANOTHER'S shoes, ONE leans on A WOMAN in

need of someone to hold onto, ANOTHER wildly scratches
the ground.
SOMEONE apparently waiting is joined by ANOTHER also

waiting and then by a THIRD, who plays the waiting of
the two.
A MAN and A WOMAN put their hand on each other's sex.
SOMEONE cuts a strand of hair off his head; ANOTHER,

while walking, rips apart the garment over his chest;
ONE kicks dog dirt off his shoe; ANOTHER throws a key
to A WOMAN, who jumps up and down upon receiving it.
SOMEONE picks at ANOTHER as he passes him.
SOMEONE throws himself on his stomach and puts one ear

to the ground, then the OTHER.
SOMEONE appears to give up waiting and, already on his

way out, is brought back to his place by ANOTHER.
SOMEONE looks for something, bent over; then, on all

fours, ANOTHER starts looking with him, the same way; a
THIRD joins them, gets in the way; and someplace else
entirely SOMEONE ELSE starts looking as well, while the
first finds this and that which he hasn't been looking
for at all and holds it up into the light, and ANOTHER
FELLOW SEARCHER retrieves something he thought lost

which he now kisses and caresses.
SOMEONE pours water from a canteen on the forehead of

another lying on the ground.
Someone paces as PEER GYNT, peeling his onion.
More and more people on the square start to look at

each other, no, they are watching one another: THE MAN
who suddenly runs amok raging and screaming calms down
simply by being watched; so does THE WOMAN who suddenly
broke out sobbing at the top other lungs and also THE
MAN who whistled so pitifully; their respective
spectators come closer to them as they watch.
It also happens that all of them are simply there, some

all eyes, the others all ears; thus watching each other
they transform into their respective others, all across
the entire square.
SOMEONE circulates with a sign of recognition: flowers,

then a book, then a photograph: shaking heads after
shaking heads, a moment of consideration, an even more
emphatic shaking of the head, then suddenly the
unexpected yes and a clumsy embrace.
SOMEONE apparently waiting is joined by ANOTHER also

waiting and then by a THIRD, who plays the waiting of
the two.
Just as clumsily THE TWO STILL SEARCHING TOGETHER bump

their heads against each other; SOMEONE helps ANOTHER
from the ground and, gasping for breath, walks the
gasping man in a circle; A WOMAN caressing A MAN
grotesquely distorts his face.
Then once again ALL of them are simply there, their

eyes getting narrower and narrower.
Shrieks of ravens, the barking of dogs with some

growling mixed in.
A storm erupted high above the square, thundering,

rattling, while not a hair had been stirred on those
below.
Then many different screams of pain and lamentation

swept around the scene, here from a child, there from
an elephant, there from a pig, a dog, a rhinoceros, a
steer, a donkey, a whale, a dinosaur, a cat, a
hedgehog, a turtle, an earthworm, a tiger, the
leviathan.
Then nothing took place but colors: of their clothes,

their hair, their eyes. THEY were watching each other
as it happened.
TWO warm each other's hands in their armpits; ONE MAN

is terrified by ANOTHER approaching him as his
doppelganger; ONE in his despair looks for a SPECTATOR
and, finding him, can now proceed to perform his
condition; another follows every slowly falling leaf
and flinches each time one hits the ground.
All of them form with their bodies a flight of stairs

in the middle of the square; suddenly THE WOMAN on top
stands up and descends, where upon bells begin to ring
out of the chasm at her feet, hardly perceptible, now
hollow, now sonorous, now distant, now near, now pure,
now distorted, which made them ALL jump up and now,
bent over, hands on their thighs, they are listening,
one enrapt, one morose, one amused, the other in pain.
During the sounding of the bells, behind the square,

only the upper parts of their bodies rising above it,
TWO FIGURES IN SPLENDID AFRICAN ROBES had punted in an
invisible boat - only the two oar sticks are visible -
they stopped and silently, with grand gestures,
beckoned all to their vessel.
No one accepted, although almost everyone, one after

the other, is stirred once again by a jolt in their
direction.
They punt off, while the underwater bells continue to

ring.
At the very last moment THE YOUNG MAN IN BLUE OVERALLS

darts after them and promptly crashes to the ground;
SOMEONE has tripped him.
Bells stop, dream ends.

One waves his regrets, then another, then another, then

the entire CHORUS.
Pause.
The square, the light, the silhouettes.
A VERY OLD MAN, his eyes wide open, gradually gets

everyone's attention; they turn toward him, come
closer, watch him from afar.
Suddenly he smiles around the circle.
Silence.
He will commence his speech any moment now, he is

warming up to it, his hands scanning the meter, his
arms rising to heaven, his bouncing shoulders, his
rocking head, his lips warming up soundlessly, his
bulging nostrils, his arching brows, even his hips,
which add a wiggle now and then, give a preview of the
speech to come.
Even those farthest away pay attention.
One and the other SPECTATOR seem to understand him in

advance; THEY nod, nod again, mouthing him, there -
he's humming now, just testing as it were, he hums
again and again, in various pitches.
Suddenly he falls silent, as if at long last the words

would come, but he remains silent, loses all
expressiveness, lets himself be seen that way.
A WOMAN comes up to him with a bundle - A NEWBORN BABY

– which she puts in the old man's outstretched arms and
he looks at the bundle and looks to the sky and bursts
into wordless stammers and shouts of joy and
jubilation.
And again one and the other spectator nod, always as if

their respective nods followed a particular statement;
some have already set out to leave and they nod as they
pass him.
This turns into a regular procession around the entire

square, but not before the old man in the heart of the
square starts clapping his hands, again and again; then

venting once more his fragments of cheer and exultation
- the baby still in his arms - he finds his place in
the general departure; now, however, a cheeping
emanates from the bundle more and more imploringly, as
from an abandoned brood of birds, and is finally
eclipsed once again by rounds of rustling sounds;
before that an old woman had massaged the old man's
temples as if to get him going.
After that everything went very fast: The country road

gets rolled up right behind the man who takes one last
walk through its savanna grass; the stump of roots
quickly rolls offstage, pushed by various hands and
feet in passing; THE MAN slowing down at the edge for
one last look back over his shoulder gets moved by a
kick in the ass from THE PERSON behind him; this one
trying to catch falling leaves has to do so on the run;
that one getting caught in some sort of foot trap takes
off with it all the faster.
As THEY scatter in all directions, it is clear to see

how one exits with angry disappointment, sticking out
his tongue, spitting; another with cheerful
disappointment, shrugging his shoulders; some rather
relieved to have escaped the dream; others still moving
in it; THIS ONE CRIES OUT, THAT ONE LAUGHS; ONE KISSES
THE GROUND as he moves on; another, also moving on,
maps out his path in the air like a slalom skier before
the start; ONE needs a regular running start; ONE
spreads his hands like a weighdifter ready to go and
then he's already up and away with all his belongings;
and clearly there is something - a scrap of paper, a
plastic bag, a cloud of coal dust - blowing toward each
of the scattering people, their clothes fluttering
summer-light; meanwhile the sounds of fireworks from
several squares beyond the square, undefinable at
first, has turned into chords and faded away.
Pause.
The bright empty square in its light of memory.
A breath of a butterfly (or moth).
Some sort of package tied with ropes floats in on a

miniature parachute.
It is followed instantly by someone, THE SQUARE KEEPER

alias SQUARE CLEANER, dragging behind him a cart loaded
with clanking poles of market stands and a garbage can;
in the other hand a twig broom with which he either
pushes the objects on the ground (he has already gotten
the object on the parachute) or pierces them with the
broom's pointed end and stuffs them in the can: a few
pieces of fruit - a giant strawberry, the carcass of a
bird, a torn book, a fishhead; as he pushes his
equipment off the square, he stops for a moment and
uses the broom to sweep his own shoes.
Meanwhile, in the foreground, yet ANOTHER BEAUTY walks

across the square maintaining her inward-turned smile
throughout the long cross even while she straightens
her stockings on the go; in the background yet ANOTHER
crosses with a ladder so delicately shaped that the
object in the back nearly steals the show from the
human in front; through it all yet another - A DRUNK or
wounded man - totters along his way, his long shoelaces
untied; yet ANOTHER WITH AN OPEN BOOK makes his rounds
with SOMEONE WALKING BESIDE him reading along and
turning the pages for him; and somewhere else A FEW
PEOPLE pass through, above them, on a pole as a
SCARECROW, the dummy of someone whom they are burning
in effigy.
The howl of a screech owl in bright daylight; SOMEONE

CRYING quietly while walking, then whimpering and
gesticulating wildly; SOMEONE apparently burdened by
something, loading more and more stuff on top of him
and taking off with a relieved smile; SOMEONE entering
and exiting with a branch between his legs; SOMEONE
passing with the model of a bridge, which he compares
to the square; in a litter death is carried by; THE
HUNTER transports "Snow White's heart" in a glass jar;
PUSS 'N BOOTS struts by proudly; charred pieces of
paper falling from the sky; A WOMAN WITH DRESSES IN
DRY-CLEANING BAGS; SHEPHERDS in rubber boots returning
home; SOMEONE walking with a sunflower; A WOMAN
throwing a way a bunch of keys in a high arc; THE
BEAUTY WITH A HAZEL STICK; a monster's huff, and then a
VERY SMALL RUNNER dashes by; a portal decorated with
garlands is carried through; A GENERAL holds children's
shoes; SOMEONE with a celestial chart; SOMEONE with a
folded piece of carton on his nose; THE SQUARE MASTER
or guard, again pushing the cart with THE SQUARE'S FOOL

enthroned on it; SOMEONE CARRYING HIS CANOE on his
head; SOMEONE blindfolded being dragged to the
execution; A WOMAN strolling up and down with a giant
menu; A REFUGEE FAMILY, the head of a small child
sticking out of a shopping bag; THE LEGACY HUNTRESS
ACCOMPANYING HER WEALTHY AUNT; A LIMPING DOG WALKED BY
A LIMPING MAN; A THEATER FESTIVAL PARTY in long evening
gowns works its way through with their noses turned up;
A CHEERFUL RUNNER skipping as he runs; A CARD PLAYER
fanning out his cards while walking; TWO WHO QUICKLY
EXCHANGE SOMETHING WHILE WALKING; a wheelbarrow filled
with masks and dolls is pulled by; A GROUP who had
stepped out together quickly disperses across the
square, everyone on his own; THE RESERVED BEAUTY drops
her reserve as she passes; A YOUNG MAN blows out the
candle of an old one; THE LIGHTHOUSE GUARD slogs
through; A PATROL with dangling handcuffs and clubs;
A WANDERER can be heard walking through the leaves; THE
GRANDFATHER carries the snake winding in the cleft of
his stick; THE PORTUGUESE WOMAN appears; THE GIRL FROM
MARSEILLES walks out on the quai; THE JEWESS FROM
HERZLIYA tosses the gas mask into the street; THE
MONGOL WOMAN strides through with her falcon; THE
PATRONESS OF TOLEDO drags a lion's skin behind her.
And finally there is a general criss-cross movement -

one as A WAITER again empties his ashtray into the
square, A WOMAN CARRYING A TRAY with champagne glasses
strolls from one street into the next, again one steps
out as AN IDLE BUSINESSMAN or weatherman looking at the
sky, CHAPLIN casually saunters by - with everyone
walking this way and that across the stage; after a
time each one is merely involved in pure walking, arms
swinging, playing various ways of walking (A RUNNER
cuts through, panting to his running rhythm, in his
outstretched hand the clay sculpture of a child); one
moment it seems as if all those walking were being
driven as well.
And now, down below, THE FIRST SPECTATOR tears himself

from his seat; for a few moments he joins the people on
the move, wandering about like a dog or a rabbit on a
soccer field, and escapes.
And now THE SECOND SPECTATOR jumps up on the stage and

tries walking along; soon TWO WOMEN get in his way who
carry a pole with laundry hanging from it, which the

others duck with great skill; he stays.
And THE THIRD SPECTATOR appears on the plateau; he

immediately threads his way in and with complete ease
meanders along in the continuous motion.
Coming and going, coming and going.
Then darkness fell on the square.

The Hour We Knew Nothing of Each Other

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The Hour We Knew Nothing of Each Other

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Peter Handke, The Hour We Knew Nothing Of Each Other.

The stage is an open square in bright light.

In the background SOMEONE walks across the square.

Just before he disappears up a street behind the

When HE reappears, instantly, in exactly the same

Like his predecessor – who, incidentally, is still

THEY don't stop in the square either as they fan out in

with a cane, walking softly, taking off a hat, combing

And already ALL are gone again, THOSE in front, the

Someone crosses the square, oblivious to it - a

Also, right afterwards, someone as an OLD WOMAN, all

She hasn't quite disappeared from view when TWO MEN

Right on their heels, walking like someone lost in his

A ROLLER SKATER zooms across the scene and is already

After him someone as A RUG DEALER, pile of rugs

He is still dragging along when someone crosses his

Meanwhile, farther in the back, A BAREFOOT WOMAN also

After them another zig-zags across the scene in a wide

Almost simultaneously with him another rushes by, A

Immediately after him SOMEONE UNDEFINABLE enters as if

The open square in bright light.

An airplane high above, for two, three moments; the

The again the way it was before.

A cloud of dust; a billow of smoke.

A MAN IN UNIFORM marches through quickly on one side

under his arms a bunch of flowers with which he

A SKATEBOARDER, curving around something imaginary, has

Drenched, by contrast, is THE FIGURE who in the

Now walking in his place is A YOUNG WOMAN, in a light

In another section, A STREET CLEANER comes by as well

The empty square in the light.

The piercing sounds of jackdaws in high mountains.

SOMEONE WITH A BLIND MAN'S GLASSES feels his way in

bottle, flipping the top across the square — and exits

In the meantime, another WANDERER is coming through the

Meanwhile, A YOUNG WOMAN crosses, in elegant clothes,

A NEWSPAPER PAGE glides across the square, then

A remote-control toy car shoots out of one corner,

A multicolored kite trundles down, trails across the

The sound of an iron pole falling elsewhere.

A short, undefinable scream, then nothing but the

In the back someone, A DRUNK, staggers diagonally

A complete FLIGHT CREW with appropriate luggage cut

Meanwhile A YOUNG WOMAN is already walking along

Out of the depth of the space one as A YOUNG MACHER

Then he hurries off the way he came, the hand carrying

THE SQUARE KEEPER appears with his broom, sweeping,

Walking by now at last is A BEAUTY, who lowered her

A GIRL IN A BOUTIQUE DRESS walks in a wider circle

TWO NONDESCRIPT FIGURES move through the quadrangle

When they are opposite each other, without paying

The one reading slows down; so does the one eating;

The big, open square in its bright light, nothing else.

TWO NONDESCRIPT PERSONS appear.

One stops, lifts his head, as if he has arrived, looks

one, turning once leisurely around himself, follows him

Meanwhile, in the back, A WANDERING APPRENTICE has

A WOMAN WITH A SCARF AROUND HER HEAD and rubber boots

Right after her AN ALMOST IDENTICALLY DRESSED WOMAN

A THIRD WOMAN, undefinable, clothed almost identically,

Across from the two, who are still more or less

There was thunder and it is thundering again.

As if nothing has been happening at all, someone struts

romping around him on all fours, barking, while the