Short Performance Piece for stage, involving dance. 

Characters: 

A young couple – two dancers, on stage briefly (secondary characters).

Two main characters: HIM and HER

He is dressed in smart casual clothes.

She is wearing a large red heart shape, covering her body but with her head, arms, and legs still visible. The heart has a split painted through it to denote a broken heart.

Setting:

Black curtains across back of stage, to keep it as featureless as possible. At the edge of the set there is a wall with a door that can be opened.

Music:

‘Don’t Go Breaking My Heart’, duo with Elton John and Kiki Dee, is playing softly in the background. 

Lighting:

A spotlight comes on, illuminating the two dancers then following them around as they dance. 

Action:

The dancers are holding each other and dancing happily to the song, twirling in the spotlight. 

When the song ends, Fade to Black as the dancers move off stage.    

Spotlight comes back on. The play begins with HIM and HER illuminated, standing side-by-side in the spotlight, positioned in centre-stage at the front, facing the audience.

The male character begins his lines, speaking to the audience.  

HIM:

I did not mean to be so mean.

I did not mean to break her heart.

I did not mean to play a part.

I did not know I would make her cry.

I did not know I knew how to lie.

I did not know I would say goodbye.

But I did it anyway –

and now there’s nothing left to say.

(He turns and walks slowly off-stage. The spotlight follows HIM, then swings back to HER. She hasn’t moved.)

HER:

I did not know a wink from a nod.

I did not know I could shout at God.

I did not know I was a lightning rod.

But now I do –

because of YOU.

(She points across the stage to where he walked off.)

This bolt from the blue

struck my heart 

and tore it apart.

(There is the sound of a thunderclap. Several flashes of blue light illuminate her briefly, then it is suddenly black, allowing HER to leave the stage unseen.)

Music:

‘How Do You Mend A Broken Heart’, by the Bee Gees, plays softly in the darkness for a while. A muted spotlight comes back on to illuminate the first young dancer without her partner, dancing sadly by herself.

The End