OVERVIEW
CAST AND CREDITS
SCRIPT
SCRIPT
prologue
The actors appear from the darkness, one by one, in single spotlights.
KWAME
I start here.
VÉRONIQUE
He starts in Africa. A place called Teshe. Kwame starts there, a farmer.
KWAME
Where do you start, Véronique? Tell them where you start.
VÉRONIQUE
In a convent. (laughs) In Paris. Véro nique starts in Paris, but her heart will always lead her somewhere else.
COPA
Like Vera Cruz. You remember Vera Cruz, don't you? You were still hustling then...
VÉRONIQUE
Who are you to talk, Copa? As I remember, you would do just about anything for money. You spied for that redheaded conquistador, didn't you?
DON JAIME
Mexico was good to me. Started as Lieutenant, and before 400 years were out, there I was, Vice-Chancellor of Spain, His Majesty's right-hand man.
MATTEO
Don't take Don Jaime too seriously. Of course, no one could take him quite as seriously as he takes himself. That's a Spaniard for you. Not one iota of ironia.
SIMON
Easy for you to say, Doria. You Genoese had the world by the balls for more than a century. Not a lot a laughs to be had about that, my friend.
MOLLY
Listen to him talk, will you? Simon, I don't know how you presume to preach against the monopolists. What was your textile empire, after all? Or did God make you expand outside Flanders?
DHARWA
That's the voice of Molly Stills. I'd know it anywhere. It's Dharwa, Molly - the hem-finisher on your right.
MATTEO
Dharwa! How did you manage to crawl out of India?
DHARWA
No thanks to you, Doria, that's for sure. Tell me, did the Empress of China come across for you, after all?
PU WI-LIN, EMPRESS OF CHINA
She certainly did.
IVAN
Really! I guess I never thought I'd been the first...
EMPRESS
Oh, Ivan, Italians are a lot of fun, but nobody makes love with their entire soul like a Russian. Besides, that opium deal we did brought in a lot more than the Dorias would ever give anybody.
IVAN
Yes, that was, good wasn't it... The Czar didn't do badly, either, as I recall.
ALI
Ivan, my brother. So you did manage to ease your Russian melancholy in the end, then?
SIMCHA
No, it can't be... Ali! (screams with delight)
ALI
That voice! That can only be the flower of Israel... How are you, Baroness Abarbanel?
SIMCHA
Please, be quiet! I'm very well, thank you, Ali. But we don't want the old King Fritz hearing you talk that way. He hates the idea of Jews with titles. It drives him absolutely crazy. But he depends on us for cash to pay the army. Soldier's don't much like letters of credit, you see...
KLAUS
For heaven's sake, it's that Jew who bought that letter of credit from me in Nuremberg!
SIMCHA
Klaus, is that you? Klaus Obermayer? That marvelous actor who I say play Nathan the Wise in Berlin.
KLAUS
The very one.
SIMCHA
(shrieks with delight)
ALL
(general babble) How many years has it been? Did it go up or down? How much did you say? No, I'm not selling any more. Well, I wouldn't dream of buying now, etc.
KWAME
I guess everybody's forgot about me by now...
ALL
No, no! Why would we forget about you? How can you say such a thing? Forget a man of vision like you! Are you kidding - didn't you work for Jefferson? Lawrence Jefferson, isn't it?
KWAME
People don't like to look down and see what it's like on the bottom.
SIMCHA
Nonsense, Kwame. You're worth exactly as much as anybody else.
KWAME
Let's see about that, why don't we?
Lights and house lights up. Ensemble steps forward, lining up before audience.
KWAME
Here's what we're going to do, dear audience. We're going to offer you shares in our future.
KLAUS
This is no joke. We are going to make an initial public offering. Right now.
VÉRONIQUE
Each of the thirteen characters in this play is offering you the opportunity to invest in her future.
IVAN
We're talking about real investments in real dollars.
DON JAIME
We start the play in the fifteenth century and we end at the end of the eighteenth. Fourteen hundred to eighteen hundred.
ALI
We will present a brief prospectus for each of us - we'll outline our selling points and our shortcomings right here at the start, and those of you who wish to, can buy shares in our future.
SIMCHA
At the end of the four hundred years, we will tally our assets and liabilities, as events and your investments have shaped them.
SIMON
By the end of the play, our values will have risen or dropped. We will cash in your shares, deduct a small commission, of course, and return to you either more money or less money than you invested.
MOLLY
Let's get started. I'm Molly Stills. I'm starting out as an Lancashire peasant. I'm brave, hard-working and I see things more clearly than most people. Maybe I'm not the youngest or strongest among us, but I think I more than make up for that with intelligence and determination. I think we ought to start out simply. A dollar a share. That's my price. Molly Stills. A dollar a share.
MATTEO
I'm a Doria. That means I'm Genoese, rich and powerful. Three dollars a share. That's my price.
DHARWA
I'm an Indian beggar. Four shares for a dollar. Know why I'm a good buy? No place to go but up. That's me. Four shares for a dollar.
IVAN
I have at my disposal the vast resources of the Russian Empire. We have all the raw materials the world needs. Besides, I'm tall, blond, blue-eyed and well-educated. I also sing. Two dollars a share. That's my price.
EMPRESS
I am the Empress of China. Need I say more? Five dollars a share. Not a penny less.
DON JAIME
I represent Spain, who, you may remember, is the principal source of the world's gold and silver throughout this period. Act accordingly. Three dollars a share. And it's a bargain.
COPA
If you're interested in putting your money on a guy with nothing to lose and who's not afraid to try anything, I'm your man. Two shares a dollar. I'll surprise you.
VÉRONIQUE
I'm a member of a very wealthy order of sisters under the personal protection of the Archbishop of Paris. Act accordingly. Let's say a dollar a share.
ALI
The Muslim world has been on a roll since the very beginning. I'm a Syrian merchant with the most popular stall in the Istanbul market. Three dollars a share. Anything less is a stupid insult.
KLAUS
I'm an actor. What can I say? Actors stay poor unless they make it big. But I'm good. Very good. A dollar a share. Let's call it that.
SIMON
I'm a weaver at Bruges. A member of the Guild and the Town Council. I think you get the picture. Two dollars a share. That's my price.
SIMCHA
What can I tell you? I'm a Jewish woman in Granada. We're well off, I've always got a few irons in the fire... I buy this, I sell that. I'm prepared to travel. A dollar a share. A better deal you won't find.
KWAME
My work is in the field and in the forest. I am husband to the earth. You name your own price. That's how I want to deal.
ALL
That's all of us, now. The market is open.
Ensemble moves about the house, selling shares.
scene 1 - Lancashire, 1456
A lone woman on the stage. She is working out a reaping movement. She has difficulty with it. She begins to sing softly as she moves. Her song attracts others to the stage. As the others arrive, they join in the song and in the attempt to define a reaping action. Gradually, they become a coordinated ensemble of reapers and the song and movement grow stronger.
MOLLY STILLS
My mother dropped me in a rye field. Happens often enough. She was lucky, I turned out to be a lot stronger than the two who died. Not quite as strong, though, as my brother.
Sound of approaching cavalry. Everyone flees. Molly falls. Her brother rushes back to her. The green light turns to red. Sounds of combat. Stills brandishes his scythe in defense of his sister, doing battle with an invisible enemy. Suddenly, in slow motion, he is pierced by an arrow and falls dead. Molly takes up the scythe and drives the enemy away.
MOLLY
He fell when Henry Tudor's men came through to teach Lancaster a lesson after the rising last month. He was too brave. That's what I think.
ENSEMBLE (re-entering)
Molly! Molly! Molly!
MOLLY
Yes?
ENSEMBLE
We'd better get back to work.
Ensemble resumes harvest with movement and song. The harvest continues as the sun burns brighter and brighter. Heat and fatigue overwhelm the reapers. One by one, they collapse. Distant thunder.
MOE (MEMBER OF ENSEMBLE) 1
We've got to get the wheat in before the rain gets here.
MOLLY
Please, everyone, get up! We've got to get to work. If the harvest is ruined, there'll be no bread.
MOE 2
The poor woman lost both her sisters to the hunger two seasons back.
MOE 3
We'd better eat something now if we're going to go on.
MOE 3 produces a half-loaf of hard dark bread. He picks up an axe and starts chopping pieces off. The others pass a jug from which they take a drink and then spill a little water into the cupped palm of one hand. The bits of bread are passed around. Each dips the bread in water to soften it, then eats it. Bits of bread and handfuls of water are offered to the audience - at a price. Cantata of the price of bread is chanted.
ENSEMBLE
bread
wheat
work
food
bread
wheat
work
food
ha'penny a day
a crust
a week
half a shilling
a loaf
a shilling a pound
not for us
sugar cake
sugar cake
only in dreams
a shilling a pound
ha'penny a crust
bread
bread
bread
bread
bread
bread
bread
bread
sugar cake
Sounds of the approaching storm. The sky darkens.
MOE
Get the corn in! Get it in!
As the Ensemble struggles to stow the grain in the wings, they are overtaken by the storm. The storm becomes the plague and many die. The storm passes. The survivors rise and count the dead. They count themselves. They carry the corpses off.
MOLLY
The plague carried off nearly half our people. They'll be baking less bread, now.
ENSEMBLE/PLAGUE SURVIVORS
Ha'penny a crust. Half a shilling a loaf. A shilling a pound... Ha'penny a day...
MOLLY
Not any more.
SURVIVORS
Not any more?
MOLLY
From now on, if we want to eat, we'll have to walk until we find work. That's how it is. We'll just have to walk...
scene 2 - Mossi, 1480
KWAME
Listen, no matter how badly things may go for me, the fact is, I'm going to have the last word. That's right - I'm going to have the last word. Remember that when we come to the next market scene.
Kwame sows. Kwame dances. Kwame sleeps. Ensemble sowing action.
KWAME EWE
These are seeds. The seeds that feed the future.
ENSEMBLE
People of the hoe are friends of soil. People of the hoe can charm the earth. Without oxen, without dawn to dusk labor, the earth herself prepares our daily bread.
ENSEMBLE WOMEN
We are groundwomen. We make the earth warm. We top the root.
ENSEMBLE MEN
Iron axe - split the root - iron axe.
ENSEMBLE WOMEN
Set east to west, split root to green stalk.
ENSEMBLE MEN
Bronze bowl - root, stalk and boar's breath. (breathing)
ENSEMBLE WOMEN
Each thing made of earth, taken from home, taken to house.
ENSEMBLE MEN
Each thing taken made mind.
KWAME
I dreamed Undinga's dream this night.
MOE
Undinga is with us. Stretch the vines!
vine-stretching action
Let the shaman-count begin!
Kwame stretches out at the feet of the seated shaman, eyes closed.
SHAMAN
Night voice seven - tongue pitch nine - underwater - feeling fine! Sixteen! Speak the dream!
ENSEMBLE
Seven... nine... sixteen... seven... nine... sixteen... (continues sotto voce)
KWAME
Each thing was taken from its place.
SHAMAN
"Taken"? How do you mean, "taken"?
KWAME
One thing was gone. And in its place - two of another!
MOE
What can it mean?
SHAMAN
Two and one? These are numbers.
ENSEMBLE
Fourteen... eighteen... thirty-two... fourteen... eighteen... thirty-two... (continues sotto voce)
KWAME
And in place of all green things, pieces of metal. And in place of metal, fire. People passed through the fire and were changed.
SHAMAN
How? How were they changed?
KWAME
Some had more than they had before, but became less. Others had less than before, but became more.
MOE
Is this a dream of increase? Or a dream of decrease?
SHAMAN
It is hard to tell. The future is wound tight, tight as a cotton skein.
KWAME
I wish to know the future.
SHAMAN
You wish to know the future, eh? Well, then - open your eyes!
KWAME
(opening his eyes, pause in chant) Undinga is gone. And where is the future?
SHAMAN
The future is not here yet. But listen to the song. It's a future-song.
ENSEMBLE
Fourteen... eighteen... thirty-three... fourteen... eighteen... thirty-three... (continues sotto voce)
KWAME
Fourteen.... eighteen... thirty-three? Wasn't it thirty-two?
SHAMAN
In the future, they add interest.
ENSEMBLE
(like a great parrot) INTEREST!
Ensemble, Kwame and Shaman take off as a cloud of parrots.
scene 3 - Nuremberg, 1487
A performance of a medieval Mystery Play in a public square. An actor, Klaus Obermayer is dressed as King Solomon.
KLAUS OBERMAYER
God gave to you his law, O Jews,
But faith with him ye would not use;
Wardens of his domain were ye,
He stablished you right royally;
Ye would not render judgment right,
Your verdicts were in God's despite;
His will ye would perform no more,
And your iniquity waxed sore.
Among the spectators is Simcha Abarbanel, come to Nuremberg from Granada on business.
SIMCHA ABARBANEL
This is terrible. Just terrible.
KLAUS
Your deeds shall all to light be brought.
Most grievous vengeance shall be wrought
On those that highest sat of all.
And they shall suffer fearful fall.
The performance ends. Applause and bows. As the audience disperses, the manager hands out pay-sacks. Klaus Obermayer opens his and pulls out a piece of paper.
KLAUS
Wait a minute! This isn't money! They're supposed to pay me 10 thalers! We are artists! You can't treat us like this! What is this?
SIMCHA
It's an exchange bill, I think. May I see it?
Klaus passes the paper to Simcha, who examines it closely.
Hmmm... A ten thaler note drawn on the Wittelsbach agents at Lyon.
KLAUS
What good is that to me? Will it buy me bratwurst?
SIMCHA
Not unless you sell it to me first. I'll give you nine silver thalers for it.
KLAUS
Nine? I thought you said it was a ten-note?
SIMCHA
And I thought you said you wanted bratwurst. You go see if the butcher will take the note. Go right ahead and see.
KLAUS
If it's no good to the butcher, why should it be good to you?
SIMCHA
I travel a lot. They come in handy, these exchange notes. If you're in the right place at the right time, a ten-note can even be worth eleven. Sometimes twelve. Sometimes more.
KLAUS
More? How can something be worth more than it's worth? Say, where are you from, anyway?
SIMCHA
Granada. A long way from here.
KLAUS
So you're Spanish, then?
SIMCHA
Not exactly.
KLAUS
You're not Moorish, are you? You don't look Moorish.
SIMCHA
No, not quite Moorish, either. But, you know... something like that...
scene 4 - Granada, 1492
SIMCHA
A woman like me, who sees what's happening and knows how to make the best of it, is going to do very well. Very well, indeed. Remember that when we get to the next market scene. If you haven't bought shares in Simcha yet, you're missing out on a very good deal.
The lighting of the sabbath candles in the Abarbanel home.
SIMCHA
Ba-ruch A-tah Ado-nai El-ohei-nu Me-lech Ha-alom A-sher Ki-de-sha-nu Me-mitz-vo-tov Vi-tzi-va-nu Le-Had-lik Ner Shel Sha-bat.
ALI SAYED
That is lovely. Quite a lovely, simple welcome for the sabbath. No wonder you Jews make such fine poets!
SIMCHA
Coming from a poet as fine as you, Ali, that is quite a compliment! Thank you, and sabat salaam to you! I'm so glad you thought to call on us while you're in Granada.
ALI
You know I come here as often as I can. I don't know a friendlier, more harmonious city...
SIMCHA
We'll see how long that lasts...
ALI
You mean the reconquista, I suppose. Yes, I hear the barbarians are practically at the gates, aren't they? It does give one pause.
SIMCHA
But you look wonderfully prosperous, Ali. I imagine you must be making a killing at the Aleppo fairs.
ALI
A little cloth here, a little coral there... There's no shortage of Venetian gold in Syria, I can tell you that! In fact, I'm burdened with more sequins than I care to carry. You wouldn't happen to have any bills of exchange, now, would you? Something drawn on, say, a German house?
SIMCHA
Shame on you, Ali! You know we don't do business on shabbat. Besides, it's time to say kiddush.
Simcha raises a kiddush cup.
Ba-ruch A-tah Ado-nai El-ohei-nu Me-lech Ha-alom Ba-rei Pe-ri Ha-ga-fen.
Simcha, Ali and Ensemble drink the sanctified wine.
Now, about those bills of exchange... Why don't you come and see me tomorrow.
ALI
Yes, that would be my pleasure. At what time?
SIMCHA
Let's say... just after sundown?
ALI
Simcha, you're a woman after my own heart.
Simcha and Ali down the rest of their wine, arms linked. Suddenly, sounds of cannon-fire and swordplay in the streets. A Spaniard appears.
DON JAIME
In the name of their most Catholic majesties, Ferdinand of Aragon and Isabella of Castille, I declare that in the city of Granada and all adjacent territories...
SIMCHA
Don't bother finishing. We'll be leaving now.
Simcha and Ali exit, arm in arm.
Wouldn't you know they'd come on shabbat?
scene 5 - Tenochtitlán, 1520
COPA
You're about to see how this boy who has less than nothing is going to make some very good connections. And you're going to see that I'm not afraid to do what it takes to get ahead in this world. When we get to the next market scene, remember that. Buy shares in Copa the next time you have a chance. This is a very good tip, a very inside tip.
Copa and Ensemble of Mayan Slaves carrying bundles of maize on their backs and loading them onto donkeys, under direction of an overseer.
COPA
This sucks. I want to go back to Tikal. To the forest. I miss the monkeys. I'm sick of slaving for the Aztecs. Fuck the Aztecs. Fuck'em!
Overseer beats Copa with bag of corn, interrupted by the sound of gunfire and approaching voices speaking a strange language. Everyone scatters. Copa, curious, hides himself. A party of Spaniards arrives.
DON JAIME
I've not seen a city like this in my life! The cathedral of Seville is a cow-shed compared to these temple pyramids! And the gold! There's gold everywhere!
Copa falls from his hiding place into view of the Spaniards.
DON JAIME
Seize him!
Spaniards grab Copa. Don Jaime inspects him.
DON JAIME
I would guess you must be a Mayan slave, aren't you, boy?
COPA
Maya... (nodding assent)
DON JAIME
And I'll bet you wouldn't mind seeing the Aztecs taken off your back, would you? Az-tec (throat-slitting gesture).
COPA
(learning quickly) Az-tec - take off back... (repeats throat-slitting gesture)
DON JAIME
Well, that's very brave of you, my friend, but we'll take care of that part. What we need from you is to smuggle our men into the Aztec presidio.
Don Jaime pantomimes smuggling action. Copa appears confused, shakes his head.
We'll pay you well, of course, boy. Here, look at this - this is yours if you get us in.
Don Jaime empties a sack of reals into his hand and holds them before Copa. Copa seems unimpressed.
With this you can buy anything. Anything. Food. Wine. Women.
Copa does not react.
It will even pay your passage to Spain. Would you like to come to Spain, my boy?
Don Jaime acts out getting on board ship and sailing off. Copa nods enthusiastically, mimicking sailing action.
COPA
Spain. Spain.
DON JAIME
That's a good boy. What's your name, boy? I am Don Jaime de la Vega. You are-
COPA
Copa.
DON JAIME
Welcome into their Catholic Majesties' service, Copa. Now show us the way in.
After Don Jaime explains himself through pantomime, Copa indicates the path to the Spaniards. They rush off. Copa remains alone, somewhat confused. Screams from offstage. Copa is pleased at first, but then a sick feeling comes over him. He weeps.
scene 6 - Genoa, 1553
The port of Genoa. Gentle, Mediterranean sea-sound. Blue fog. The lighthouse beam sweeping the house at regular intervals. A flock of sea-birds settles.
ENSEMBLE/CHORUS OF GULLS
This is a port along our long path. This is the port called Genova. Here flow the goods from the world entire. Bought and sold. And re-sold. This is a place of multiplication. Values here flow free with the tide. There ought to be pickings for the likes of us here. This is a city of men of fortune. A capital for a merchant prince.
MATTEO DORIA
That is I.
ENSEMBLE
Matteo Doria, Andrea's clever cousin. A man among men. Show us your game.
DORIA
Over there, there's silver.
ENSEMBLE
Where?
DORIA
There, in the New World. And there, you see, there's silk?
ENSEMBLE
Where's that?
DORIA
At Granada, fluttering in the wind from the Darro docks up to the gates of the Alhambra. And there, on the Malabar coast, are bales of cotton. Now, over there, on the Levantine coast, the docks are piled high with spices.
ENSEMBLE
So many goods in so many places!
DORIA
Now, over there in Venice, they need a lot of silver. Silver to make the goods flow wide and far. Silver is the lifeblood of every merchant port.
ENSEMBLE
And what would the Venetians have to give Genoa for her silver?
DORIA
Bills of exchange on the places up north where they are aleady owed money.
ENSEMBLE
Owed money for what?
DORIA
For all the goods they supply up there.
ENSEMBLE
It's a circle, isn't it, this pattern of exchange.
DORIA
No, it's a spiral.
ENSEMBLE
Why a spiral?
DORIA
Because we genovesi pay the Emperor's bills, and Charles' expenses are many. We are glad to wait for the next shipment of bullion from Mexico, whenever that happens to be. Steady cash spirals into Madrid from us, and the silver and gold spirals out through us.
ENSEMBLE
Is there anything you don't control?
DORIA
Oh, yes, quite a few things, in fact. China, for example. I mean to see the place Polo found. I mean to go to China.
Doria and Ensemble set sail.
scene 7 - Paris, 1553
A group of nuns prostrating themselves.
CARMELITE SISTERS
The world is evil.
The body is evil.
Money is evil.
Lord, save my soul!
Because there is death,
There is god.
Because there is god,
There is life.
Flesh is to eat,
So do it.
Blood is to drink -
Be it done.
Lord, save my soul!
Lord, save my soul!
Lord, save my soul!
VÉRONIQUE
(stepping out of the prayer étude) These are prayers I've said a lifetime. But if the body is not the soul, what is the soul?
Simcha Abarbanel arrives at the abbey, having traveled a long way.
SIMCHA ABARBANEL
Excuse me, sister. Would the abbey have anything they'd like to sell at the Champagne fair? Do you make lace, for instance? Or do you do pottery, maybe? Anything like that?
VÉRONIQUE
Well, there is the cherry liqueur... Sister Marie-Claude taught us to make it years ago. It's really quite good. We do sell a bottle to a visiting bishop now and then, and it does help pay for repairs - the roof is very old, you see...
SIMCHA
A bottle of quality brandy can bring a good price at Champagne. I happen to be heading that way. What have the bishops been paying you for it?
VÉRONIQUE
One silver écu a bottle, I think. Though I remember that once Bishop Calvert gave us five écus for two bottles. He's from Geneva, you know.
SIMCHA
Oh, I could do better than that. I could give you, say, three écus a bottle, provided you can give me at least thrity bottles.
VÉRONIQUE
Thirty bottles at three écus each - that would be 90 écus! What would we do with all that money?
SIMCHA
Trust me, you'll think of something. Is it a deal?
VÉRONIQUE
We'll have to get Mother Superior's permission. I can't act on my own.
SIMCHA
That's what you think.
Simcha presses a large bag of coins into Véronique's hands.
Now, fetch the brandy, why don't you...
Véronique peeks into the bag of coins, then runs off. Simcha looks at the remaining nuns lost in their prayers
Such lovely girls. What a waste!
scene 8 - Bruges, 1554
JOOST
In the next scene, you'll see me take my first step up the ladder. Once I get started, I don't stop. Nothing stops me. If you buy shares in Simon Joost, you're going to be holding the most valuable securities on the market. That's a fact. Heard of the Dutch East India Company? I'll bet you have. Enough said.
Simon Joost and Ensemble in weaving-at-the-loom étude.
SIMON JOOST
Here where Flanders meets the sea, meets the world...
ENSEMBLE
Woolens are woven, woolens are loaded, woolens are shipped.
SIMON JOOST
Each time the goods change hands, someone has gained!
ENSEMBLE
And someone has lost!
SIMON JOOST
(breaking away from the Dance) I've had it with this piddling life. I want more.
ENSEMBLE
A Genoese ship has just put in. Running the Doria flag. Of course, they have been coming for centuries, by now.
MATTEO DORIA
Greetings, Guildsmen!
ENSEMBLE
What can we do for you, Doria?
MATTEO DORIA
I'm off to see the Empress of China. I have a hunch that a boatload of your fine woolens would be just the thing to bring. They're in frightfully short supply there. I do believe they'll fetch twice the Aleppo price.
SIMON JOOST
That shouldn't be hard to arrange.
ENSEMBLE
You're not one of us any more, Simon Joost. You're a middleman now.
SIMON JOOST
I am, aren't I? I like that. I get it coming and going.
DON JAIME
(entering) Good day to you, Don Mateo! We haven't seen you at the Escurial in the longest time!
MATTEO DORIA
Ma, che piacere rivederti qui, Don Giacomo! I'm traveling all the time, these days. Business is good.
DON JAIME
Glad to hear it. (unrolling and reading a scroll) In the name of his Imperial Holy Roman majesty, Carlo de Absburgo y Borbon, it is my duty to announce that 13% of the value of all imports and exports from the Spanish Netherlands shall be paid to the Crown Treasury. (rolls up scroll, winks at Doria and exits)
SIMON JOOST
Oh god, the Spaniards! There go my profits! And I was just getting started!
MATTEO DORIA
Take it easy, Joost. We are the Crown Treasurers. The Emperor, remember, banks with us. Let me have the woolens at cost, and I'll see to it that you're exempted from excise taxes.
SIMON JOOST
You've got it. (they shake hands)
ENSEMBLE
And our share? What about our share?
MATTEO
(licking a finger and putting it to the wind) It's time I set sail. You take care of the local labor problems, Joost. You're a Guildsman, they're your people, you know what to do. (exits)
SIMON JOOST
All right, people, look here. We've got to handle the Spanish and their Genoese bankers very carefully. If we play our cards right, we can do very well here. We just musn't stop the flow, that's all.
Ensemble stops the flow.
ENSEMBLE
What do you mean, "we, " fatcat?
scene 9 - Venice, 1553
ALI
When you see me and my colleague, Ivan, walking through Venice in the next scene, you'll be seeing two men at the top of the heap.
IVAN
Between the two of us, we control the world's supply of the goods most in demand.
ALI
Did you happen know that nothing produces as much profit per pound as the Asian spices I sell on the European market.
IVAN
Iron, coal, diamonds, lumber - you name it, we in Russia have got it.
ALI
Buy shares in Ivan Kulakov.
IVAN
Buy shares in Ali Sayed.
ALI
Buy both and we'll give you a discount.
IVAN
You can't do better than that.
Ensemble travels up and down aisles as if by gondolas. A continuous shift from moving over water to walking on the docks and streets.
ENSEMBLE OF GONDOLIERS
The world flows through these canals, just now,
In Venice, in 1553.
And we, we're gondoliers.
We keep the material moving.
That's our job.
It doesn't pay much.
But fishing is worse.
IVAN KULAKOV
The Adriatic is like the Caspian Sea. But I miss my home.
ALI SAYED
The lagoon is like the Bosporos. But I miss my home.
KULAKOV & SAYED
The prices. The prices are more or less the same everywhere these days. It's depressing.
IVAN KULAKOV
Still, in Russia, we sell more than we buy.
ALI SAYED
In Istanbul, we buy more than we sell.
IVAN KULAKOV
But Russia's a backwater.
ALI SAYED
And Istanbul is the center of the world. Which only goes to show-
IVAN KULAKOV
That money isn't everything!
scene 10 - Surat, 1554
DHARWA
You're about to meet me on the street in India. And by the end of the play, you're going to see me in a position to challenge the greatest powers on earth. Invest in Dharwa, and you become part of history. More than that - you become the revolutionary part. I'll bet some of you would like that.
Doria and Ensemble arrive at bustling, exotic port. A fortune-teller is waiting on the dock, ready for business with arriving travelers.
DHARWA AMNET
Welcome to India, sir. May I know your noble self?
DORIA
Who are you? Why are your eyes like that?
DHARWA
These are eyes that see very far. They can see all the way to Genoa. Have you come to buy cotton? I can tell you which of our merchants you can trust.
DORIA
No, we are only stopping for supplies. We're bound for China. Excuse me.
Doria tries to move past Dharwa. She backs up as he walks forward.
DHARWA
A Doria doesn't stop in Surat without making a profit. If you're not buying, what is it you've got to sell.
DORIA
I said, excuse me...
Doria attempts again to push past Dharwa. Explosions and flashes of light. Doria and Dharwa are hurled across the space and land on top of one another.
What was that?
DHARWA
It must be the Ottomans raising a siege. I hate when this happens.
DORIA
Ottomans! Omigod! They'll slit my throat.
DHARWA
I can get you to safety. I know every tunnel in this town.
DORIA
You would do that for me?
DHARWA
How much silver have you got on you?
DORIA
I'll give you five talents.
DHARWA
Ten, and I'll tell your fortune, too.
DORIA
Six is all I can give you.
Further explosions and flashes. Sounds of shouting soldiers.
DORIA
All right, then, ten. But only when I reach safety.
DHARWA
Five out front or the Turks will have your ass. Of course, some Italians like that...
DORIA
All right, all right... here's the five.
Doria extracts five silver rods from the lining of his jacket and gives them to Dharwa.
DHARWA
You're a sensible man, Doria. Follow me.
Dharwa leads Doria on a circuitous route about the space to a safe place.
From here you follow the stream to the horse-traders' camp. They'll sell you a mount and you'll be on your way home.
DORIA
No, no... I'm not going home. Not yet. I have a message for the Empress in Beijing.
DHARWA
Whatever.
DORIA
You promised to tell my fortune, you know.
DHARWA
All right.
Dharwa puts her hand under Doria's jacket and spills a sack of his gold coins on the floor.
Quite a fortune it is. You'll go far.
Dharwa leaves Doria on stage and starts up the aisle, offering her services.
Fortunes... Tell your fortune... There's got to be something better than this...
scene 11 - Beijing, 1564
EMPRESS
There is only one person here that has absolute power. That is me. I am China, and China is the greatest power in history. And the greatest power in the world's future. The future - that's what you're buying shares in when you buy shares in me. Remember that the next time the market opens.
The Empress is being showered in silver rice.
EMPRESS
The people are rice. Rice is silver. People are silver.
ENSEMBLE
The river waters the paddies. In dry years, we are barren. In wet years, we drown.
EMPRESS
Prosperity, like happiness, says Kung, comes about when we attain the mean. The golden mean, where everything balances out.
ENSEMBLE
Happy to be average.
EMPRESS
laughs
MATTEO DORIA
Che vuol dire? Che la sua maestà avrà mangiato la minestra di riso?
EMPRESS
What's the man saying? I like those boots - he must be Italian.
MATTEO DORIA
Genovese, your majesty. And we too have learned to love rice. And silver.
EMPRESS
What have you brought us?
MATTEO DORIA
The finest woolens Flanders has to offer, Your Highness. Enough to keep the entire court beautifully warm through the icy Beijing winter.
EMPRESS
And in return, Doria? What do you want from us?
MATTEO DORIA
That, Your Highness, can only be spoken in the strictest confidence.
EMPRESS
Very well.
Empress removes her sheer silk robe and slips behind it with Doria as Ensemble stretches it. A light appears behind the robe and reveals Doria and the Empress in silhouette profile.
You may speak freely now.
MATTEO DORIA
The House of San Giorgio is prepared to offer your majesty a large block of certificates of deposit which upon maturity will nearly double in value.
EMPRESS
This begins to be interesting...
Doria and the Empress are seen, in silhouette, embracing.
scene 12 - Istanbul, 1566
Ensemble industriously involved in Souk Action: goods are moved, bargaining is done, coins are passed, and sometimes, paper currency and bills of exhange appear and are examined with skeptical curiosity.
ALI SAYED
We meet again, my Russian friend! Welcome to Istanbul!
IVAN KULAKOV
You've done well these thirteen years, I can see that!
ALI SAYED
It's not hard to be succesful if you have a decent spot in the Istanbul souk - at least, for as long as we Arabs make it worth the Turks' while to cut us some slack. But you, my handsome friend, why do you look so sad?
IVAN KULAKOV
It's hard not to look sad if you're Russian, my friend.
ALI SAYED
Why do you say that? Your balance of trade is stronger all the time. Europe can't get enough Russian goods. And they pay you with hard currency. A good part of the gold and silver being loaded on the Spanish galleons in Vera Cruz ends up in the Czar's treasury. Doesn't that make you glad?
IVAN KULAKOV
Ali, you are as clever a businessman as any. You must know that if the Spanish and their Italian moneymen are willing to let us accumulate Mexican gold and silver, it's because they are gaining something yet more valuable.
ALI SAYED
Well, these days, they're selling Russian goods in Europe at 15% over what they pay you, you know. And the shipping business, too, is all theirs.
IVAN KULAKOV
No, that's not it. There's a much more significant game underway... It has little to do with goods of any kind, nor with gold and silver, for that matter. Before long, the really big money is going to be made in negotiating letters of credit
ALI SAYED
You mean bills of exchange? People find it hard to put much faith in those scraps of paper.
ENSEMBLE
What the hell is this? What do you mean it will be worth more next month? Sure, sure... this piece of paper is worth a hundred piasters. And my chickpeas are worth 10 piasters each. How many do you want?
IVAN KULAKOV
That's because you Arabs always have your feet on the ground. You know, I think that we Russians are really somehow Middle Easterners like you, dear Ali. Both our Orthodox Church and your Islamic worship put us in more immediate touch with God's creation. Those European prisoners of the corrupt Roman Church can't feel as we do. Their spiritual connections have been polluted. We still manage to be intimate with the moon and sun, with forest and desert, even with silver and gold, in a way.
Véronique Daumesnil appears, working the edges of the gold and silver export operation.
ALI SAYED
The thing is, Ivan, that these Europeans have learned to put their faith elsewhere, neither in God nor in the world. They believe in their own cleverness. And, indeed, they are busy organizing their cleverness into the most potent form of selfishness the world has ever seen. A system so flexible, it can slither around the healthiest community and crush and devour it like a python. I think they say it's a "capital" idea.
IVAN KULAKOV
And we Russians, full of poetry and song, will glide across snowfields in our troikas full of amber and birchwood-
ALI SAYED
And our Arab minions, chanting Allah's praises, will sail across the deserts in caravans fragrant with spices and silks...
IVAN KULAKOV
While the bankers write notes that multiply in secret.
ALI SAYED
And we Arabs and you Russians will eventually be locked out of history. That's what you're getting at, isn't it?
IVAN KULAKOV
How can I not be sad? (sings Russian melody)
Véronique Daumesnil approaches Kulakov.
VÉRONIQUE DAUMESNIL
You poor thing. That is the saddest song I've heard in my life. You need a little cheering up.
IVAN KULAKOV
Oh yeah? Where do come from? How do you fit in here?
VÉRONIQUE DAUMESNIL
I was stuck in a convent in Paris for years, but I decided to hit the roadm and do some honest work. How about it, blue eyes? Bet you never made it with a French nun before. We're the best, you know...
IVAN KULAKOV
How much? I can't give you more than fifty piasters.
VÉRONIQUE DAUMESNIL
You wouldn't happen to have any of those letters of credit I've been hearing about, would you?
scene 13 - Vera Cruz, 1610
A human pyramid surrounded by miners.
ENSEMBLE
Out of the earth, the blood of a people,
Out of the earth, and down to the sea,
This is Mexico, 1610,
Ninety years after the conquest.
Véronique Daumesnil enters.
Who are you?
VÉRONIQUE DAUMESNIL
I am Véronique Daumesnil, originally from Paris. But just now, I've come from Istanbul. I had to get out of there. Nobody in that city cares about anything but business. The New World, that's what I need.
COPA
Hey, lady, want to buy a banana?
VÉRONIQUE DAUMESNIL
Listen, sonny, if anybody's going to get paid to do it around here, it isn't going to be you.
COPA
You'd be surprised what I get paid for.
DON JAIME
Copa!
COPA
Yes?
DON JAIME
You had better get the dockhands moving quicker. There's another load of silver on its way from Xocotla and the warehouses are all full. Here, look to it!
Don Jaime tosses Copa a silver coin. Copa catches it, looks at it and does not budge.
DON JAIME
All right, you Mayan devil - take this!
Don Jaime hurls another coin at Copa, who ducks, then retrieves it.
COPA
When am I going to Spain, señor? It's ninety years now since you promised me.
DON JAIME
Still dreaming of Spain, eh? And what do you suppose you're going to do in Spain?
COPA
I'm going to be free, señor. Free to be rich. Rich as a Spaniard!
ENSEMBLE
This is a story of gold and silver
Torn out of the land and sent to Europe.
And with that, the earth's center of gravity
Collapsed.
Pyramid collapses and miners rise, gold in hand, proffered toward Don Jaime.
VÉRONIQUE DAUMESNIL
Introduce me to your boss, won't you, Copa...
scene 14 - Piacenza, 1610
VÉRONIQUE
I'm the one that doesn't do what she's told. The one that makes her own rules. I'm having a great time. And I'll let you in on a secret. Soon after the next market session, I'm going to make my way to the very top. I'm talking about Versailles. That's inside information. See you when the market opens.
The Moneymen encircle the others, who are huddled in formation.
SIMON JOOST
These are the bills like the bills that will soon build factories in England.
Molly Stills spills out of formation.
MOLLY
I am lost.
SIMON JOOST
The bills that will move the world's peoples about, till Indians cover London.
Dharwa Amnet spills out of formation.
DHARWA AMNET
I can breathe. Finally, I can breathe.
ALI SAYED
The instruments of capital that will bend China to her knees.
Empress of China spills out of formation.
EMPRESS
This is ruin. This is death.
SIMCHA ABARBANEL
These are the markets without goods where Germans and Jews exchange notes.
Klaus Obermayer spills out of formation.
KLAUS OBERMAYER
I'll move to Berlin. I'll play Lessing.
DON JAIME
This is the kind of money will bankrupt Mexico.
Copa spills out of formation.
COPA
Serves the bastards right!
IVAN KULAKOV
Here at Piacenza, at the dawn of the seventeenth century, we are breaking ground.
Véronique Daumesnil spills out of formation.
VÉRONIQUE DAUMESNIL
They are freeing money from gold, freeing gain from goods. Splendid châteaux will go up in France, but the soul is buried deep.
MATTEO DORIA
The moneymen have freed themselves from coin - capital is born!
Kwame Ewe spills out of formation.
KWAME EWE
You know what this means for me?
scene 15 - Dakar, 1641
Ensemble lying on backs, legs and arms in air. They are slaves waiting to be shipped to America.
KWAME EWE
There's a change in the weather
Money is in motion
And so are we.
Look, we're being sold as slaves here. I think that speaks for itself. We ought to take stock of our values here.
Members of ensemble deliver short update on their fortunes, one by one.
This is a free market, you know. You're all free to trade your shares now. Any buyers? Any sellers?
Character shares are traded in the house.
scene 16 - Madrid, 1690
DORIA
You're going to get one more chance to invest before the evening's out.
DON JAIME
In the next scene, you're going to hear Doria and I do a little soul-searching.
DORIA
Don't be put off by our honesty.
DON JAIME
Because there's another side to the capital game.
DORIA
And we're going to be right on top of it.
DON JAIME
When the official accounts go bust, there's a lot of money to be made. Privately.
DORIA
And we on the inside are in the best position to take advantage of disaster.
DON JAIME
Remember us when the market opens for the last time.
DORIA
We've got cards up our sleeve nobody know about.
DON JAIME
Except you.
The end of a royal audience. Everyone is on bent knee as the king departs. Then they rise and explore the space, bumping into walls and each other.
MATTEO DORIA
It's slipping away from us, old friend. I feel the reins slipping away.
DON JAIME
I feel it too, Doria. The source of our power, weakening.
MATTEO DORIA
Our arrangements had done us so handsomely. We put too much faith in gold.
DON JAIME
That would make us alchemists, now, wouldn't it?
MATTEO DORIA
And I saw it, too. I saw it coming eighty years ago at Piacenza. And we did buy into the new game - for god's sake, we invented it!
DON JAIME
But we've been beaten at it. Face it, Doria, we've been beaten at our own game. Amsterdam and London have all the cards now.
COPA
Not all the cards, señor. There's a whole other economy out there - underground, off the books and tax-free.
DON JAIME
Watch your tongue, Copa! You're talking to the king's Chancellor. You're not in Mexico any more, you know. Remember, this is Madrid!
MATTEO DORIA
Pazienza, Don Jaime... pazienza! The boy has a point. A certain amount of resources could be diverted to "special projects," shall we say... Tell me, Your Excellency, do you still have that tenuta just outside Palermo?
DON JAIME
Why... yes. But why do you ask?
MATTEO DORIA
Why? Ask Copa. He'll tell you.
DON JAIME
Copa?
COPA
We have an organization in Sicily, señor. A kind of secret society...
DON JAIME
Tell me more...
scene 17 - Paris, 1710
The court is posing for a group portrait by Véronique Daumesnil.
VÉRONIQUE DAUMESNIL
I can't believe it's been 157 years since I left Paris, and so little has changed!
scene 18 - Beijing, 1740
The Empress is seated before her mirror, arranging her hair. Kowtowing servants surround her.
EMPRESS
The world is different now. There are foreigners all over the place. Even the Emperor isn't Chinese. They married me to that Manchu dog to convince the people it's ok. I don't like it. I certainly don't like him.
IVAN KULAKOV
Your Highness, I bring cordial greetings from His Imperial Majesty, Peter, Czar of all the Russias.
EMPRESS
Ambassador Kulakov, your presence here is always occasion for happiness. Did you bring any salmon? You know how I adore it...
The Empress draws Kulakov inside her silk robe.
IVAN KULAKOV
Wouldn't you like to smoke a little something first?
Kulakov produces a dark brown sphere the size of a grape.
The English Consul gave me this. I hear it's awfully good.
ENSEMBLE OF SERVANTS
Don't forget us, Your Highness!
EMPRESS
Never, my faithful darlings, never!
Kulakov, the Empress and servants nest inside each other's legs and smoke.
ALL
O-O-O--P-I-I-I--U-U-U-M...
The smokers reel. Kulakov draws the Empress aside.
IVAN KULAKOV
You know, the certificates you're holding on the Bank of San Giorgio? His Highness the Czar is prepared to offer you 12% above face value.
EMPRESS
This begins to be interesting...
Kulakov and the Empress kiss.
scene 19 - Berlin, 1786
KLAUS
I'm about to make it big. Very big. I'm about to become the most successful actor on the European stage. Kings like nothing better than having a great artist at their table. They would sooner pay us a fortune for our favors than they would fix the roads or build schools. Star quality is the most valuable commodity there is. Remember that when the market opens again.
Klaus Obermayer and Ensemble performing Gotthold Lessing's "Nathan the Wise"
ENSEMBLE
It's he, it's Nathan! Nathan the Wise! Thank God that you return to us again at last!
PATRIARCH (MOE)
Wait a minute. The Jew must burn!
NATHAN (KLAUS OBERMAYER)
O come, we must, we must be friends!
Despise my people, as much as ever you will,
For none of us has chosen his people. Are we our people? What is a people?
Are Jew and Christian sooner Jew and Christian than human?
SALADIN (MOE)
(entering) Ah, my good, dear friends!
Ensemble fall to their knees.
NATHAN
Sultan Saladin!
SALADIN
Don't judge him too severely, Patriarch. This Nathan is a hero, and quite as good as you!
NATHAN
How good that I have found one man who is content to call himself a human being!
SALADIN
Brother, I must tell you that you can have your gold back, as soon as you desire it!
NATHAN
Now, by our God, let me embrace you, sire!
Nathan and Saladin embrace.
ENSEMBLE
Hurrah! Hurrah! Hurrah!
Applause. Simcha approaches from audience to congratulate Klaus.
SIMCHA
That was wonderful, Klaus, just wonderful. So much better than that anti-semitic garbage you used to do...
KLAUS
Times have changed, of course. It's great to see you, Simcha. How's life in Granada?
SIMCHA
Oh, didn't you hear? We were kicked out nearly three hundred years ago. Time does fly, doesn't it... We live here in Berlin now. We do a lot of business with old King Fritz.
KLAUS
With the King! Isn't that something! What kind of business, exactly?
SIMCHA
Oh, you know, the usual... Moneylending, naturally. They won't let us near anything else.
KLAUS
You people are really amazing!
SIMCHA
No, Klaus. We just trade notes for a profit. Nothing amazing about it. But a gentile getting paid by god-fearing Christians to portray a noble Jew... Now, that's really amazing! Cui bono anyway?
KLAUS
Excuse me?
SIMCHA
Sorry, I thought you people all knew Latin... Never mind. Come see us one of these days. We're in Charlottenburg.
KLAUS
There are Jews in Charlottenburg now? How did this happen?
SIMCHA
At a price, dear Klaus. At a price.
scene 20 - London, 1789
MOLLY
From the beginning, I've been the foundation. The farmer. The worker. The woman. That's who I am. That's who I'll always be. The market is going to open for the last time soon. What do you really want to invest in, after all?
Molly Stills, Dharwa Amnet and Ensemble at work in a textile factory. Biomechanical, repetitive labor. Simon Joost surveys the scene.
SIMON JOOST
This is fabulous! Fabulous! We have got a stranglehold on every market around the globe. And we did it all with credit! God bless those Italian bankers! The poor fools didn't know how good an idea they had! Nobody can challenge London now. Nobody! We've won! We've finally won.
MOLLY STILLS
Who the hell is "we," Dutchman?
SIMON JOOST
I'm Flemish, actually. From Brugge.
Molly glowers.
SIMON JOOST
I was talking about the economy, you know. The world economy. We in England have total control.
MOLLY STILLS
And us that got tossed from the farm to the factory - have "we" won?
SIMON JOOST
(taking pad and pencil in hand) Well, let's see... If we added up everything you earned from when you first came on the scene in 1456 until you came to London in 1748... that's 292 years... All right, yes, it comes to just that... And then, if we look at what you've earned in the factory from 1748 until now... To do that, we would take 1789 - that's now - minus 1748... that makes 41 years... Yes, it certainly comes to a good deal more. It's a fact, Molly. You've made more money in half a century at the factory than you did in nearly three centuries on the farm.
MOLLY STILLS
Except that I never see the sky any more and my lungs are ruined! For God's sake, my dear Mr. Joost, there's more to life than money! (coughs)
Factory action stops. Joost is aghast.
SIMON JOOST
But you're not bound to the land any more, don't you see? You're free! You're all free!
Factory action resumes. Dharwa Amnet steps forward.
DHARWA AMNET
Listen, Simon, I'll admit I feel a lot freer now than I did when I was on the street starving. In fact, I feel so bloody free that I'm quitting this bloody job. You see, the fact is, Simon, that it's still a stinking deal for us, no matter how you slice it.
SIMON JOOST
But if you don't want a factory job, Dharwa, how do you propose to live?
DHARWA AMNET
Well, even on the miserable salary you pay me, Joost, I have managed to save up enough to set up a little Indian grocery business. My people in Gujarat are ready to supply me for 1% of volume.
SIMON JOOST
Indian groceries? Who in the world is going to buy Indian groceries in London?
DHARWA AMNET
You'd be surprised how many of us there are here, Simon. And I have a funny feeling there are going to be a lot more to come... Things change, Simon. More than you think. And in ways you never imagined.
SIMON JOOST
But that's just my point, Dharwa. It's capital that's changing everything.
MOLLY STILLS
Listen to him, will you? He's out of his bloody mind! Capital doesn't change things, Mr. Joost. Capital doesn't do anything. People created capital, for god's sake, and if they know what's good for them, they'll do away with it as well!
SIMON JOOST
You'd better watch what you're saying, Molly. That sounds seditious!
DHARWA AMNET
The word is out on capital, my friend. Have you heard anything from Paris lately? Have you heard what happened at the Bastille last month?
SIMON JOOST
Well, we all know how hot-headed the French can be...
MOLLY
Well, this is England, Simon, and I tell you, you'd better watch out.
DHARWA
Remember who's really running your mills!
MOLLY & DHARWA
Strike!
The Ensemble stops working.
SIMON JOOST
Wait a minute. Wait a gosh darn minute! This is as far as we go. I think it's time we took stock.
[Final Market Scene and Payout]
scene 21 - Monticello, 1800
Ensemble of Jefferson's slaves in cotton picking étude, singing spiritual.
ENSEMBLE
No more auction block for me... No more... No more...
No more auction block for me... Too many thousands gone...
No more master's lash for me... No more... No more...
No more master's lash for me... Too many thousands gone...
Mr. Jefferson says we've got rights. Mr. Jefferson says we work hard. Mr. Jefferson says we're real men. Who knows, maybe someday he'll leave us money...
Lawrence Jefferson breaks away from étude.
LAWRENCE JEFFERSON (KWAME)
You don't you get it, do you? We're still slaves! |
