ALICE ’S RUSSIAN SOUL Хорошо, что я его сейчас не обняла. Было бы очень глупо.

 

PATRICK Leave it on the desk, please. Thank you!

 

He moves to the table and starts writing. Alice is trying to find an occupation and humming a melody while he is writing. Having finished it, he hesitates and is about to destroy his letter.

 

ALICE ’S RUSSIAN SOUL Как он долго пишет! Ну вот, а теперь скомкал…

 

ALICE It was for me, right? (Reaches out her hand to receive the letter.) If so, I have a right to read it.

 

PATRICK Can you please promise me not to read it before I have left?

 

ALICE Of course—

 

PATRICK Which means for me that I have to leave as soon as possible. Good-bye!

 

He leaves.

 

ALICE (reads the letter aloud)

 

It is too strong. I cannot hold it back anymore. To begin with, I do not think I can stay with Adele. I have clearly mistaken pity for love. What is worse is that I am desperately in love with you. I will never mention the subject again. Full stop. Now, you are humming this Russian song of yours, and it makes me tremble all over. I would never believe that it hurts so much. Poor Adele! Poor me!

 

ALICE ’S RUSSIAN SOUL Как это трогательно! И как хорошо написано…

 

SCENE 13

THE NARRATOR Между тем учебная группа, узнав про произошедшее, посчитала, что виновата во всём мисс Флоренски, которая, по их мнению, разлучает близких людей. Более того, общественные активисты составили и опубликовали на сайте петицию с требованием уволить нового педагога. Вернувшись после перемены на семинар, Элис узнаёт обо всём этом от своей студентки Кэролайн, которая, единственная, нашла возможным остаться в аудитории. Интерлюдия — отрывок из песни Марка Алмонда, который на английском языке перепевает композицию Бориса Гребенщикова с её выразительным вопросом «Государыня, ведь если ты хотела врагов, кто же тебе смел отказать?».

 

Gosudaryunia,

Remember we were building the house:

Good it was but empty inside.

For many years

   We were embroidering the snow with silver,

Scared of touching it with poison.

For many years

We would sing till the first light of dawn,

Sing but never say it in words.

   Gosudaryunia,

If enemies were what you desired,

Who would ever dare to say ‘no’?

 

(In the college classroom.)

ALICE (enters) Where are the others?

 

CAROLINE Ehm… Um… They have submitted their answers in writing, Ms Florensky. They said they’d prefer not to—

 

ALICE Not to see me?

 

CAROLINE Sort of.

 

ALICE ’S RUSSIAN SOUL Бойкот мне, значит, объявили.

 

ALICE Why did they come at all if they find me so… unpleasant, in the very first place?

 

CAROLINE It is just… You have seen the petition on change.org, haven’t you?

 

ALICE Petition. What about?

 

CAROLINE ‘To fire Alice Florensky’.

 

ALICE Uh-huh. Because of her—my, that is—being a racist, a sexist, a homophobe, and an obscurantist?

 

CAROLINE I admire you, Ms Florensky, really! I wish i could be that smart. Do they say that smart is the new sexy? Do you think it is true?

 

ALICE Yes—that is, it depends… I believe it is true if it is men, not boys you are dealing with…

 

CAROLINE ‘Men, not boys’—I will remember that. You are a teacher, you know.  

 

ALICE You are a very nice person, Caroline! The very fact that you have stayed in the classroom.

 

CAROLINE It is nothing. Actually, this petition… It says that you do things on purpose.

 

ALICE Things like what?

 

CAROLINE Like you believe that Asperger syndrome is a sin, and you split up relationships when one of the partners has it and two people were made unhappy.

 

ALICE’S RUSSIAN SOUL Какая ерунда! Будто это я их специально разлучила!

 

ALICE I have never, never done such a thing, never in my life!

 

CAROLINE You mean you never wanted to do it. Look, Ms Florensky, it is not for me to judge… This Patrick is a sweet boy, isn’t he?

 

ALICE ’S RUSSIAN SOUL А ведь Кэролайн — самая отстающая студентка. А при этом самая умненькая. Как так получилась, что западные вузы из центров знаний стали рассадниками мёртвых догм либерального невежества? Рассказать ей, что ли, всё?

 

ALICE (sighs) Yesterday, Patrick came to me and apologised for Adele who was… very rude with me. Then he asked me for a pen and a piece of paper. He wrote a letter for me and left it on the table. The letter was saying that he is in fact desperately in love with me. That was it. Nothing else has happened.

 

CAROLINE But you haven’t even… And you suffer for nothing! Look—here is my phone number. (She writes down her phone number on a piece of paper and gives it to Alice.) Not that I think you need it, but—

 

They shake hands.

INTERLUDE

THE NARRATOR Все эти волнения, видимо, не могли не отразиться на душевном здоровье главной героини. Она начинает видеть комшары, в которых бесы современного политкорректного мира тащат её в ад, связывая её по рукам и ногам обвинениями в том, что она — расистка, женоненавистница, мракобес, защитница токсичной маскулинности — и так далее по списку. В качестве интерлюдии — отрывок из Breathe современного британского барда Лоры Марлинг. «Ночь перед рассветом бывает очень темна», — говорит Лора Марлинг, и это правда.

You came here to tell me something

I already know

The dark before the dawn

Is the darkest I can go

The calm before the storm

Is what leaves me here to breathe

So breathe

SCENE 14

(Alice’s dream.)

Alice is in a strange place. Two devils appear before her. They resemble an obese Afro-American and a pale effeminate man.

 

ALICE So this is what the devils of today look like…

 

DEVIL ONE Who the hell are you to call us devils?

 

DEVIL TWO She is a sexist!

 

DEVIL ONE A racist!

 

DEVIL TWO A misogynist!

 

DEVIL ONE A homophobe!

 

DEVIL TWO A transphobe!

 

DEVIL ONE An obscurantist!

 

DEVIL TWO An abuser!

 

DEVIL ONE A body shamer!

 

DEVIL TWO A slut shamer!

 

DEVIL ONE A defender of patriarchal society!

 

DEVIL TWO A spreader of toxic masculinity!

 

DEVIL ONE A supporter of dictatorship!

 

DEVIL TWO Russian!

 

The demons begin to dance around her, tying her with a rope, and then draw her to hell.

DEVILS (screaming) To hell with her! To hell!

 

INTERLUDE

THE NARRATOR Но любой кошмар кончается. Оказывается, Кэролайн, студентка мисс Флоренски, сидела у её постели и ухаживала за бессознательной больной, оказавшись рядом именно тогда, когда ей «[б]ыл нужен друг» — что является названием песни группы Coldplay.

Holy, holy, God defend

Shield me, show me

When I need a friend

Slowly, slowly, violence end

Love reign o'er me

When I need a friend

SCENE 15

(Alice’s studio.)

Alice is in her bed, Caroline is sitting beside her bed.

ALICE (opens her eyes. Caroline shrieks.) Have you been here for long?

 

CAROLINE No, I just…

 

ALICE ’S RUSSIAN SOUL Ты подумай: я провела в бреду пару суток, а она сидела у моей постели в качестве няньки. И ведь никто не заставлял!

 

Alice gets up. They move to the kitchen area and take their seats at the table.

ALICE I had a very strange dream, I was in a very strange place and had a conversation with a mighty being. Then two demons came. They started shouting at me and accusing me of being a sexist, a racist, an abuser and—all that. They began to dance around me, and they drew me to hell.

 

CAROLINE Uh-huh. (Pause.) No psychedelics are involved, you say?

 

ALICE No substances, I swear.

 

CAROLINE I just can’t get my head round it. It sounds so—

 

ALICE …Medieval?

 

CAROLINE Medieval, that’s the word. It is all so insane, and the strangest thing is that I believe you. That is, I think that you must go and see a doctor. It is rude of me, I know, but I am worried about you, Ms Florensky, and—

 

ALICE I can see that. Why else would you nurse me today?

 

Caroline blushes.

 

ALICE Look, Caroline, I am so deeply…

 

CAROLINE Stop—don’t be—don’t mention it—it was nothing! I have to go now, I will text Patrick that you are okay. Bye for now!

 

Caroline leaves abruptly.