A one-minute absurdist play featuring Lenny Bruce and Yorick in a cosmic diner beyond time.
[Setting: A red-vinyl booth in “The Afterlife Café.” Neon sign flickers above: “ALL YOU CAN STAND TO EAT.” A plate piled high with Rocky Mountain oysters sits between them.] YORICK (leaning back, skull under one arm) Though I have no tongue, I’ve tasted eternity. You think I fear a plate of bovine baubles? LENNY BRUCE You don’t taste anything, bone-boy. You remember flavor like a Catholic remembers sin. Me? I digest the moment. YORICK Ah, but digestion is but the soul’s lament— for what it couldn't keep. LENNY You ever bomb at the Hungry i with a gallbladder full of bull-nuts? That’s transcendence, pal. YORICK I once out-ate Falstaff at a Tudor wake. He wept and declared me kin. LENNY You got no stomach! You’re a prop from a play with daddy issues! YORICK You’re a prophet with indigestion! [They each grab an oyster and eat in unison. Silence. Then—] LENNY How many’s that? YORICK I've lost count. And also… my dignity. LENNY I lost that in '62. Keep chewing. [Lights dim. The neon flickers once more: “ALL YOU CAN STAND TO EAT.”]
End.
This entry was posted on Monday, April 14th, 2025 at 2:34 pm and is filed under plays. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.
You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
