Sycorax (2021) - full transcript
Mother of Caliban and imprisoner of Ariel, Sycorax remains offstage for the duration of The Tempest, dismissed by Prospero as an evil sorceress. In this collaboration between Lois Patiño and Matías Piñeiro, she becomes the central subject, as a director (played by Piñeiro regular Agustina Muñoz), with the help of local women from a village in the Azores, attempts to give a face and voice to this silenced character.
You know this damned
witch Sycorax,
was banished from Argier
for her terrible sorceries
too mischievous
to enter human hearing.
For one thing
they would not take her life.
This blue-eyed hag
was left here by the sailors.
Because she was
brought with a child:
Caliban.
Ariel, my slave,
As you call yourself,
You were servant of Sycorax;
And you, a spirit too delicate
To act her abhorred commands,
by force of her more
potent powers,
she painfully trapped you
in her most unmitigable rage,
Into a cloven tree;
And within its hollow
for twelve years
you remained prisoner.
Location:
an uninhabited island.
[Fire]
[Night]
[Snow]
Characters for a Tempest
by William Shakespeare.
Prospero,
the right Duke of Milan.
Antonio, his brother,
the usurping Duke of Milan.
Ferdinand,
son to the King of Naples.
Mariners.
Gonzalo,
an honest old Counsellor.
Trinculo, a Jester.
Master of a Ship.
Boatswain.
Miranda,
daughter to Prospero.
Caliban, a slave.
And Sycorax,
Caliban's mother?
Where is Sycorax?
The first of these characters
to step on this island.
Her?
Maybe her?
Where is Sycorax?
Why would she trapped
Ariel in a tree?
[Swamp]
[Wind]
[Night]
[Bees]
- That's for Sycorax?
- Yes, let's try it.
You know that these capes
were made with whale bones.
There are many whales
on this island.
I didn't know.
But what I like the most
of these capes
is that women could walk
out there without being recognized.
Thanks to that, they could do
whatever they wanted.
Sometimes they could only be
recognized for the shoes,
but not always, because the shoes
were also very similar.
You lie, malignant thing!
Have you forgotten
the foul witch Sycorax,
who with age and envy
was grown into a crooked hoop?
Have you forgotten her?
How do you imagine her?
Sycorax?
Neither old,
nor wicked,
or ugly, or crooked.
I wouldn't believe
Prospero so much.
The problem in the play
is that Sycorax is voiceless.
So what are these
women going to say?
No word that does not
appear in the play.
Sycorax I.
Wind, rain, fire, fog.
This island they want to steal.
Ariel,
this tree will take care of you.
Thank you.
Sycorax II.
Wind, rain, fire and fog.
This island they want to steal.
Ariel,
this tree will take care of you.
Thank you.
Sycorax III.
Rain, wind, fire, fog.
This island they want to steal.
Ariel,
this tree will take care of you.
Thank you.
Sycorax IV.
Wind, rain, fire and fog.
This island they want to steal.
Ariel,
this tree will take care of you.
Thank you.
Sycorax V.
Wind, rain, fire, fog.
This island they want to steal.
Ariel,
this tree will take care of you.
Thank you.
Sycorax VI.
Wind, rain, fire, fog.
This island they want to steal.
Ariel,
this tree will take care of you.
Thank you.
Sycorax VII.
Wind, rain, fire and fog.
This island they want to steal.
Ariel,
this tree will take care of you.
Thank you.
Sycorax VIII.
Wind, rain, fire, fog.
This island they want to steal.
Ariela,
this tree will take care of you.
Thank you.
Sycorax IX.
Wind...
Wind, rain, fire, fog.
This island they want to steal.
Ariel,
this tree will take care of you.
Thank you.
Sycorax X.
Wind, rain, fire, fog.
This island...
This island they want to steal.
Ariel,
this tree will take care of you.
Thank you.
Sycorax XI.
Wind, rain, fire, fog.
This island they want to steal.
Ariel,
this tree will take care of you.
Thank you.
Sycorax XII.
Wind, rain, fire, fog.
This island they want to steal.
Ariel..
this tree will take care of you.
Thank you.
Sycorax XIII.
Wind, rain, fire, fog.
This island they want to steal.
Ariel,
this water will take care of you.
Thank you
Sycorax XIV.
Wind, rain, fire, fog.
This island they want to steal.
Ariel...
this tree will take care of you.
In which tree did you trap Ariel?
In the most beautiful.
Ariel...
You well know
in which torments I found you;
Your groans made wolves howl,
and penetrated the breasts of angry bears:
it was a torment
which Sycorax could not undo:
It was my art,
when I arrived and heard you,
that opened that tree,
and set you free
When you first arrived, Prospero
You caressed me,
and cared much for me;
You would give me
water with berries
and teach me how to name
the bigger light,
and the smaller one,
That burn by day and night:
I loved you then,
And showed you all
the qualities of the isle,
The fresh springs,
brine-pits,
barren lands
and fertile ones.
In which tree did you trap Ariel?
This island they want to steal.
Ariel,
this tree will take care of you.
Are you sure
Ariel is in the tree?
Is this the tree?
Yes.
I don't hear anything.
I think you're asleep.
How long will I sleep for?
It could be years.
Who will wake me up?
Come in.
In here?
And close your eyes.
How am I going to wake up?
How would you like to?
With some of my songs.
I will sing until you wake up.
While you sleep here peacefully.
conspiracies happen
in full view of all
If you care for the life you keep
Shake yourself off and beware.
Awake,
awake!
While you sleep here peacefully,
conspiracies happen
in full view of all
If you care for the life you keep
Shake yourself off and beware.
Awake,
awake!
While you sleep here peacefully,
conspiracies happen
in full view of all
If you care for the life you keep
Shake yourself off and beware.
Awake,
awake!
While you sleep here peacefully,
conspiracies happen
in full view of all
If you care for the life you keep
Shake yourself off and beware.
Awake.
witch Sycorax,
was banished from Argier
for her terrible sorceries
too mischievous
to enter human hearing.
For one thing
they would not take her life.
This blue-eyed hag
was left here by the sailors.
Because she was
brought with a child:
Caliban.
Ariel, my slave,
As you call yourself,
You were servant of Sycorax;
And you, a spirit too delicate
To act her abhorred commands,
by force of her more
potent powers,
she painfully trapped you
in her most unmitigable rage,
Into a cloven tree;
And within its hollow
for twelve years
you remained prisoner.
Location:
an uninhabited island.
[Fire]
[Night]
[Snow]
Characters for a Tempest
by William Shakespeare.
Prospero,
the right Duke of Milan.
Antonio, his brother,
the usurping Duke of Milan.
Ferdinand,
son to the King of Naples.
Mariners.
Gonzalo,
an honest old Counsellor.
Trinculo, a Jester.
Master of a Ship.
Boatswain.
Miranda,
daughter to Prospero.
Caliban, a slave.
And Sycorax,
Caliban's mother?
Where is Sycorax?
The first of these characters
to step on this island.
Her?
Maybe her?
Where is Sycorax?
Why would she trapped
Ariel in a tree?
[Swamp]
[Wind]
[Night]
[Bees]
- That's for Sycorax?
- Yes, let's try it.
You know that these capes
were made with whale bones.
There are many whales
on this island.
I didn't know.
But what I like the most
of these capes
is that women could walk
out there without being recognized.
Thanks to that, they could do
whatever they wanted.
Sometimes they could only be
recognized for the shoes,
but not always, because the shoes
were also very similar.
You lie, malignant thing!
Have you forgotten
the foul witch Sycorax,
who with age and envy
was grown into a crooked hoop?
Have you forgotten her?
How do you imagine her?
Sycorax?
Neither old,
nor wicked,
or ugly, or crooked.
I wouldn't believe
Prospero so much.
The problem in the play
is that Sycorax is voiceless.
So what are these
women going to say?
No word that does not
appear in the play.
Sycorax I.
Wind, rain, fire, fog.
This island they want to steal.
Ariel,
this tree will take care of you.
Thank you.
Sycorax II.
Wind, rain, fire and fog.
This island they want to steal.
Ariel,
this tree will take care of you.
Thank you.
Sycorax III.
Rain, wind, fire, fog.
This island they want to steal.
Ariel,
this tree will take care of you.
Thank you.
Sycorax IV.
Wind, rain, fire and fog.
This island they want to steal.
Ariel,
this tree will take care of you.
Thank you.
Sycorax V.
Wind, rain, fire, fog.
This island they want to steal.
Ariel,
this tree will take care of you.
Thank you.
Sycorax VI.
Wind, rain, fire, fog.
This island they want to steal.
Ariel,
this tree will take care of you.
Thank you.
Sycorax VII.
Wind, rain, fire and fog.
This island they want to steal.
Ariel,
this tree will take care of you.
Thank you.
Sycorax VIII.
Wind, rain, fire, fog.
This island they want to steal.
Ariela,
this tree will take care of you.
Thank you.
Sycorax IX.
Wind...
Wind, rain, fire, fog.
This island they want to steal.
Ariel,
this tree will take care of you.
Thank you.
Sycorax X.
Wind, rain, fire, fog.
This island...
This island they want to steal.
Ariel,
this tree will take care of you.
Thank you.
Sycorax XI.
Wind, rain, fire, fog.
This island they want to steal.
Ariel,
this tree will take care of you.
Thank you.
Sycorax XII.
Wind, rain, fire, fog.
This island they want to steal.
Ariel..
this tree will take care of you.
Thank you.
Sycorax XIII.
Wind, rain, fire, fog.
This island they want to steal.
Ariel,
this water will take care of you.
Thank you
Sycorax XIV.
Wind, rain, fire, fog.
This island they want to steal.
Ariel...
this tree will take care of you.
In which tree did you trap Ariel?
In the most beautiful.
Ariel...
You well know
in which torments I found you;
Your groans made wolves howl,
and penetrated the breasts of angry bears:
it was a torment
which Sycorax could not undo:
It was my art,
when I arrived and heard you,
that opened that tree,
and set you free
When you first arrived, Prospero
You caressed me,
and cared much for me;
You would give me
water with berries
and teach me how to name
the bigger light,
and the smaller one,
That burn by day and night:
I loved you then,
And showed you all
the qualities of the isle,
The fresh springs,
brine-pits,
barren lands
and fertile ones.
In which tree did you trap Ariel?
This island they want to steal.
Ariel,
this tree will take care of you.
Are you sure
Ariel is in the tree?
Is this the tree?
Yes.
I don't hear anything.
I think you're asleep.
How long will I sleep for?
It could be years.
Who will wake me up?
Come in.
In here?
And close your eyes.
How am I going to wake up?
How would you like to?
With some of my songs.
I will sing until you wake up.
While you sleep here peacefully.
conspiracies happen
in full view of all
If you care for the life you keep
Shake yourself off and beware.
Awake,
awake!
While you sleep here peacefully,
conspiracies happen
in full view of all
If you care for the life you keep
Shake yourself off and beware.
Awake,
awake!
While you sleep here peacefully,
conspiracies happen
in full view of all
If you care for the life you keep
Shake yourself off and beware.
Awake,
awake!
While you sleep here peacefully,
conspiracies happen
in full view of all
If you care for the life you keep
Shake yourself off and beware.
Awake.