Martin and Susan are a young husband and wife who deeply love each other and their two young sons.
Martin works in a government factory in a police state (where or when we are not told). He is patriotic
and loyal. But the state police are suspicious of everyone. Because of an innocent, harmless event,
Martin becomes convinced that he is about to be arrested, and he decides to try to leave the country
with his wife and two young sons. What happens when this patriotic sense of obligation to one's nation
comes into conflict with one's love for his children? What decision does a man make when either choice
is certain to be a tragic one?McDonough carries his audience through a tense half hour as the family
tries desperately to solve the problem and avoid tragedy. The suspense keeps audiences intensely
concerned right up to the last moment. This play is for all groups concerned about the future of
mankind.
The setting is a police state resembling that in Orwell's 1984. The action of Filiation
is not, unfortunately, of a single time or place. It is a terrifying situation that can be a memory,
or—or even worse, a prophecy.
Excellent contest one-act; simple interior; non-dated clothes.
A Director's Script by Neil Hess, one of the nation's foremost directors of contest plays, is available
from the publisher. It contains drawings of costumes and set, details on all technical aspects of
staging, discussion of characterization, plot, and theme. it also suggests the complete blocking and
full stage directions for all movement and business.
Other McDonough original plays: Asylum, B.A.T.S.,
Eden, Fables, FAUGH,
Limbo, Mirrors, Plots,
Requiem, Reunion, Roomers,
Stages, Stations