In your benevolence, hear the Campaigner’s appeal for justice for Meridian Veccole.
Starring Dédé Davi as Jillin, the Campaigner (she/them)
With additional voices from the season 1 cast
Justice for Meridian Veccole
I Need A Miracle, season 1, episode 9 of 12
Written and created by Matt Boothman
Directed by Robert Valentine
Music by Katharine Seaton
Sound design by Sarah Buchynski
Casting by Fiona Thraille
Recorded at Jukebox Studios
Broadcast assistance from Teresa Milewski
Cover art by Dionysis Livanis
Produced by Sarah Golding of Wireless Theatre for Foggy Outline
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Transcript
Delicate synth and violin music plays; mysterious, calm but slightly haunting.
ANNOUNCER 1:
Foggy Outline presents: I Need A Miracle.
Produced by Wireless Theatre. Justice for Meridian Veccole. Written by Matt Boothman. Performed by Dédé Davi.
The music ends.
A murmur of many pleading voices, overlapping indistinguishably.
Out of the murmur, a single voice breaks through.
THE CAMPAIGNER:
In your benevolence, I implore you, hear my plea and grant me a miracle.
The murmurs die away. THE CAMPAIGNER is in a crowded plaza, shoulder to shoulder with others also reciting prayers to themselves. THE CAMPAIGNER shuffles a sheaf of folded paper.
THE CAMPAIGNER:
(sight-reading, slightly halting) “At this very moment, a woman is being held against her will in the highest cell of the Penitent Apex by a group calling themselves–”
Several other nearby voices echo THE CAMPAIGNER’s next words, nearly but not quite in unison.
THE CAMPAIGNER (WITH OTHERS):
“–the Lectors of the Divine Benevolence.”
The rest of the voices drop back into the background again.
THE CAMPAIGNER:
“Her name is Meridian Veccole.”
THE CAMPAIGNER turns a page.
THE CAMPAIGNER:
“This group claims that Meridian Veccole sinned against you in this very plaza, by…
(in near unison with others nearby) “…denying your benevolence…
“…and encouraging others to do the same.”
THE CAMPAIGNER turns a page.
THE CAMPAIGNER:
“They claim this justifies her assault and the vandalism of her home by their acolytes, and her–”
THE CAMPAIGNER turns another page.
THE CAMPAIGNER:
“This is a plea for justice to be served. I’m just…” Uh…
She flips back and forth through the pages.
THE CAMPAIGNER:
What? Ah, sorry. Er…
They gave me this script, the Deeps people, or – Depths. It’s folded all…
They frantically shuffle the papers, looking for their place.
THE CAMPAIGNER:
Ah, I don’t – sorry. I don’t know if I can do this without … I get nervous. One sec, I just need to…
She gets a grip on the script pages.
THE CAMPAIGNER:
(rote, reciting) “They claim this justifies her assault, and the vandalism of her home by their acolytes and her–”
They turn the page.
THE CAMPAIGNER:
(rote, reciting) “–trust that in your benevolence you will not need convincing that–”
…’s sake…
The Deeps or – whatever people, said the script was gonna make it easier. Sounded like a great idea. Where on earth is the…
A murmur of indistinguishable voices begins to swell up over THE CAMPAIGNER’s voice.
THE CAMPAIGNER:
Don’t stop listening! Please! This is important! I know you know it’s important. You must do.
The murmurs die away.
THE CAMPAIGNER:
You know I try not to do this all that often. Asking you for stuff. All my elders always told me, be sparing. Always ask yourself, can you make it happen yourself? Can you live without it happening? Then let’s not bend the ear of the divine with it. And okay, maybe I haven’t always lived up to the letter of that. But … you’ve always listened. Even though it wasn’t the biggest emergency every time. Even though … it was usually … all about me.
(self-mocking) “Don’t let me be late for Marla’s game.” “Help me get over this case of the hack before the wing-trial.”
All of that stuff. So … if you listened when I was being … I can admit it, a little bit selfish, then you should absolutely keep listening now. Because this time it’s not about me. It’s really not something I can make happen by myself. And what’s her name? Meridian Veccole, she literally can’t live without it happening. They’re gonna–
THE CAMPAIGNER leafs through the script.
THE CAMPAIGNER:
Wait –
(quoting from the script, but offhand) “The Lectors say, they see denial of your divine benevolence as–
(in near unison with others nearby) “–the highest of crimes.
“The Apex Lector himself has been heard to affirm that no punishment can be considered too harsh. It seems beyond doubt that Veccole’s life is in danger, and the danger grows the longer she remains in this group’s custody…” Oh, and here.
They turn to the next page.
THE CAMPAIGNER:
“I’m just one of many who feel we can’t sit by while this is done in your name. The Lectors have amassed many acolytes, but–
(in near unison with others nearby) “–we hope you hear their equal in our combined voices.”
(off script) I mean that’s the idea. That’s why this whole thing. With the script, the instructions, the big get-together in the plaza. Speaking with one voice. I thought I’d just be one voice in this huge choir. All beseeching you together, in your benevolence. This chant from all across the land. I wanted to be part of something like that.
But weirdly … I don’t feel like I am? I mean … if we’re a choir, I’m off-key, and out of time, and singing the wrong song. So there’s that. But it also…
I never noticed those other times. Those little selfish pleas. Because it was just me asking. And I went off somewhere no one could hear me to do it. So it didn’t seem weird. But now there’s all these other people here, all asking the same thing. And talking to you still feels lonely. Like I’m the only one you’re listening to. You definitely shouldn’t listen to me. Not instead of any of these others. It’s not me who should make this case. It’s important, and you need to hear it, but … I think I wanted to be part of a choir, more than I actually wanted what we’re meant to be asking you for. As soon as I heard about the plan from the Deeps people, this mass plea idea, I wanted in. It could have been about anything. I committed before I even saw the script. If I’m honest … maybe I just wanna be the sort of person who does this. Who sees something’s wrong and says, “Yes, I’ll add my voice to all these others speaking up.” All those other voices are gonna nail the script, and then you’ll know exactly what it is we’re all talking about, and why all we’ve got left is your benevolence.
If you can hear all of them…
You don’t have to keep listening to me.
Pause.
THE CAMPAIGNER:
I can’t get all the arguments right, not without the script they came up with. I’ll get it all mixed up. I’ll say it all wrong.
D’you know what’s … Can you tell what I mean? Even if I say it wrong?
THE CAMPAIGNER takes a deep breath.
THE CAMPAIGNER:
Okay, so … I mean you know about this woman–
(pronouncing it wrong without the script) –Merridin Veccole, who got herself thrown in a cell by the Lectors. I don’t know her really. She was no one to me before I read her name on the script. But I don’t think it’s right she’s locked up, just for saying something someone in a big hat didn’t like the sound of. Maybe it’s none of my business, asking you for favours on behalf of someone else. Someone I don’t even know. But if it was me?
I’d want to think other people minded enough to speak up. Just for a few minutes. Just to say they thought it was wrong. I think it’s wrong what happened to her. And basically, I think the big thing is, if they do this to her, and get away with it, they’re gonna start thinking they can do it to whoever they like. So obviously it’s bad for her to be stuck up there – but it’s not just about her. Just her would be enough reason to do something, but there’s this … bigger reason too, to get her out so the Lectors can see they can’t just do stuff like that.
So I think the script says, to ask you to grant her her freedom. But I was thinking … since I’m singing the whole song wrong anyway … I was thinking … if the bigger reason for getting her out is to put the brakes on the Lector … I mean, why not, right? But why not just ask that? As long as you’re still listening, I’ll let everyone else here ask for her freedom. What I’m asking … is to take the Lectors’ power away. They can believe what they like, but they shouldn’t get to beat people up, and put people in cells because of it. So, whatever it is, that’s letting them do that, my plea to you, is to take that away. Then Ms Veccole can be free, and so can the rest of us.
No one else seems to be having a crisis. So hopefully you heard the proper script as well. Someone worked hard on that.
(in near unison with others nearby) “As one voice in many, I implore you again, in your benevolence, to grant this plea for justice.”
A murmur of indistinguishable voices swells up over the voices of the crowd.
All the voices gradually fade away.
ANNOUNCER 2:
I Need A Miracle is a Foggy Outline podcast produced by Wireless Theatre. Directed by Robert Valentine. Produced by Sarah Golding. Casting by Fiona Thraille. Broadcast assistance by Teresa Milewski. Music by Katharine Seaton. Sound design by Sarah Buchynski. Recorded by Stephen H. at Jukebox Studios. Find more audio gold at wirelesstheatrecompany.co.uk and foggyoutline.com.
Thank you for listening.