The Loved One

Episode 1: The One by Oliver Emanuel

September 02, 2024 • Created by Danny Krass. Series concept by Oliver Emanuel. • Season 1 • Episode 1

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‘Ten days without sleep but I can’t stop now. I won’t. Not while you’re out there alone…’
 
 The long nights are beginning to take their toll on Pink, but as her reality begins to crumble, will another runaway bring her the focus she needs? 

Performed by Katie Barnett, Karen Bartke, Sharon Duncan-Brewster, Catriona Faint, Lewis Gribben, Rosalind Sydney, Owen Whitelaw and Matthew Zajac
 
 Written by Oliver Emanuel
 Directed by Lu Kemp
 Sound Design & Music by Danny Krass
 Series concept by Oliver Emanuel
 Produced by Tron Theatre and supported by Creative Scotland
 
 #TheLovedOne

Cat:

Hello, Welcome to the Loved One. This is a piece of immersive audio drama designed for listening on headphones. If you want to have a wee, lie down in a dark room, stick on a cheeky eye mask and go ahead. But wherever you're listening, please enjoy the Loved One.

Pink:

Here's a question how far would you go to find the person who means the most to you in all the world?

Cat:

This is the Loved One, episode 1. The One by Oliver Emanuel.

Pink:

Glasgow Shit this weather. If Glasgow were a person, I'd say it was pathological.

Luca:

Nice to see you, senora the usual, senora the usual.

Luca:

Señora, the usual

Pink:

Oh, it's so loud.

Luca:

The usual

Pink:

Oh God. This place has the worst coffee in the world, but I don't come for the coffee.

Tattoo 1:

What do you want from me?

Tattoo 2:

Everything. I want everything.

Pink:

It's past midnight, but this place is busy. The lost, lonely, the freaks. The boys at the next table are covered in tattoos, not an inch of visible skin. They don't speak, but their tattoos do. I can hear them.

Tattoo 1:

You're no good for me.

Tattoo 2:

But you like that, you like bad, you know, you do.

Pink:

I don't come for the ambiance. I come here for you.

Pink:

Name: Billie Pinkerton, age at disappearance: 17. Missing from: Pasadena, los Angeles.

Pink:

Missing since: February 27th 2023. Last seen: Glasgow, Scotland.

Pink:

Billy Sitting across from me Drinking a Coke through a straw. Except not. This was the last place you were seen one week ago. The trail goes cold after that. So I come back to this place day after day, night after night. I don't sleep. I won't sleep, not until I find you.

Pink:

People call me pink, just pink. 20 years I've been a private investigator. I find them missing. Your casual runaway.

Pink:

The CEO absconded with the pension fund. I follow ghosts Shadows. I go wherever I have to go. I'm relentless, which I guess makes it ironic that my own kid has eluded me.

Woman:

Is uh, is anybody sitting here.

Pink:

No, go ahead, thank you. This woman has a story. I know the type. No one comes alone to a place like this after midnight, unless they're running from something. She's wearing a cheap leather jacket over an Annie Lennox t-shirt. The Annie Lennox t-shirt gives me the once-over.

Annie Lennox T-Shirt:

All right, how's it going?

Pink:

Excuse me.

Annie Lennox T-Shirt:

You're not from around here,

Pink:

that's correct

Annie Lennox T-Shirt:

You're American, aren't you?

Pink:

Yes, but don't blame me, I was only born there. Annie Lennox gives me a look.

Annie Lennox T-Shirt:

Was that supposed to be a joke?

Pink:

This sort of thing never happened when you were safe at home.

Pink:

I need some sleep.

Annie Lennox T-Shirt:

You have to help her.

Pink:

What

Annie Lennox T-Shirt:

Her. The one with the tea.

Pink:

I've got my own troubles.

Annie Lennox T-Shirt:

There's someone following her when she gets up in the morning, when she goes to work, when she goes to the shops. He keeps himself in the shadows. She called the police. But the police ask who he is, what he's done. He's never confronted her, not threatened her or smashed a window, he just follows. It's been going on for weeks and she can't sleep, can't eat. You have to help her.

Pink:

I can't. I told you, I've got my own mess to deal with.

Pink:

Ah no, no, sorry, just tired.

Luca:

Well, thanks for letting me share your table. Well, goodnight.

Annie Lennox T-Shirt:

Help Her!

Pink:

No, no, I can't, I shouldn't. What if you come back and I'm not here? No, no, who takes a job on the word of a badly printed t-shirt? Then again, anything is better than sitting here drinking this shit.

Pink:

You are my double, my reflection, my shadow. We have the same face, same expression, same everything. You'd make me up before a date. I didn't see the point, but you enjoyed it. You were my mirror. What did you do to my eyebrows? It was you and me, me and you. Then something stretched, then snapped. We lost the thing that held us together.

Pink:

Shadowing is an art. You can delve into someone's life, check their records, hack their email, tap their phone. That's the easy part. What takes skill, what takes years and years of practice, is having your eyes on a subject without them knowing. Human instinct is strong. We can tell when we're being followed. That and the fact that even your average person can surprise you. The art comes in knowing what they'll do before they do it.

Pink:

I know nothing about this woman except for her taste in female vocalists, but I can tell she's on the alert, nervous. I can sense she's just an inch from breaking into a run.

Pink:

Knowing you hasn't helped me figure out what you're up to LA, seattle, vancouver, toronto. You worked as a kitchen porter, a receptionist, a second-hand car dealership, a librarian's assistant. You knew I'd follow, so you never stayed longer than a week. I taught you well, new email account, new bank card, but you couldn't get a new passport, could you? You probably thought you'd lost me when you got to Europe, but here I am.

Pink:

I spot him about ten feet ahead of me White dude, late teens, possibly early twenties. Tall, skinny. Black jeans, black raincoat, black beanie. No wonder he's been hard to spot. There's no sign of him carrying a weapon, but you can never be too sure. He doesn't know I'm here. Keeps his eyes on the woman. I get a step behind him before.

Shadow:

What? Why the hell are you following me?

Pink:

Why? The hell are you following her?

Shadow:

Who

Pink:

Annie Lennox

Shadow:

what?

Pink:

You know who I'm talking about. Or are there other women you follow home at night?

Shadow:

Fuck off

Pink:

hey. Hey, that's my line.

Shadow:

None of your business.

Pink:

Well, that's where you're wrong. Stalking is a crime.

Shadow:

You don't know what you're talking about.

Shadow:

I'm not stalking anyone.

Pink:

You're right, our little chat has given her the time to get away. Where did she go? Forget her. Come talk to me. What's your story? I could do with something to get me to sleep, fuck off, get lost and don't touch me, you crazy bitch.

Pink:

I am a crazy bitch. It wasn't always crazy, but the world has made it so. Did you know my beloved, only daughter is missing. I traveled halfway across the world to find her, but she's vanished. I haven't slept in over a week. I'm exhausted. I don't know what day it is anymore. Last night I hallucinated a lion, that's right, a big, furry-faced beast of the desert, standing right in front of me, as close as I am to you. I was hoping it had some sort of message from my daughter, but it just looked at me. I think it felt sad for me. Do you know how bad your life has to get before an imaginary lion feels pity for you? So yes, I'm crazy and I'm not scared of anything that I'm on a piece of shit, like you

Shadow:

mum

Pink:

what did you say?

Pink:

what did you?

Shadow:

mum, she's my mum. I swear I wasn't stalking her. I was just, mum, she's my mum. I swear I wasn't stalking her. I was just. I wanted to talk to her, but I couldn't find her. We'd not spoken in a long time. I was a wee kid. We had a fight. I hit the bloke. She married after my dad. She didn't understand, I ran away, but Harry's gone now. So I thought maybe, maybe it was okay to come back. Look, I went right up to the front door, but when I got there I didn't know what to say. I thought I'd keep an eye on her until I figured out what to say.

Pink:

And have you.

Shadow:

No

Pink:

it doesn't matter what you say,

Shadow:

do you reckon

Pink:

I think she'll just be happy to see you? You better get going if you're gonna catch her up yeah.

Shadow:

Okay, thanks.

Pink:

How far would you go to find the person who means the most to you in all the world?

Pink:

How far would you run to get away from the person who means the most to you in the world?

Pink:

What the fuck did you say? What the fuck did you say? You can't talk to me like that, Billy. I won't allow that.

Pink:

That's not the way you're being able to communicate. Do you hear me? Do you hear me?

Pink:

I don't blame you for running my love.

Luca:

Afternoon. Do you want a coffee?

Pink:

All the way to the top, luca oh fuck, fuck.

Salt:

What are you looking at, you, prick.

Pepper:

Leave her alone.

Pink:

The salt and pepper on the table are fighting with me.

Salt:

I just about had my fill of you Hanging about doing nothing, letting the days go by and for what?

Pepper:

You cannae help some people.

Pink:

I need to sleep.

Ketchup:

What sort of mother are you? What sort of mother doesn't have a clue where her child is? Is that

Ketchup:

normal? Is that natural? You need to look at yourself in the mirror, pal.

Pink:

The ketchup is at it too.

Pink:

Fuck off

Luca:

Hey language.

Luca:

This is a family cafe.

Pink:

That's coming up to ten days without sleep. How long can I go on like this? It feels like something is broken. There's a gap in reality and I I'm falling into it. Here they are, annie Lennox and her shadow, together again. There's color in her face. His shoulders are relaxed. I'm glad for them. The Annie Lennox t-shirt gives me the finger In her face. His shoulders are relaxed, I'm glad for them. The Annie Lennox t-shirt gives me the finger.

Pink:

Piss off, bitch.

Luca:

All right, that's it. You need to leave now.

Pink:

I can't leave.

Luca:

I'm not asking

Pink:

but what if

Luca:

I have your number? If I see the girl, I'll call you

Luca:

Now go. Sleep.

Pink:

Shadowing is an art An art I've spent a considerable amount of my life trying to perfect. I can tell within a few feet of leaving Lucas that there's somebody on my tail, but when I get to the end of the street, I sense something has changed. And so I look back and there's a small girl sitting on a bed in the middle of the street, her whole body shaking. Her eyes are looking straight at me.

Pink:

She opens her mouth to speak.

Pink:

I know what I have to do. I close my eyes, I give in..

Cat:

You've been listening to the Loved One, episode 1. By Oliver Emanuel, featuring Sharon Duncan Brewster, matthew Zajac, karen Bartke, Katie Barnett, Rosalind Sydney, Frankie Maxwell, Owen Whitelaw and Lewis Gribben, directed by Lu Kemp. Sound design and music by Danny Krass, made in partnership with Tron Theatre Glasgow, supported by Creative Scotland.

Cat:

Next time on episode two of the Loved One.

Pink:

There's a small girl.

Cat:

She won't speak. Pink knows she sees her in her dreams. She must get to her...