A weird combination of thoughts and interpretations has led to this work: a play with a creeping actress; not the death but the ‘depth’ of a salesman; the question of how it would be to live in a balloon; the beauty of hand-painted vintage advertisements from the 50s/60s, and – last but noy least – a song by The Fall of which I misunderstood the text: What about us.

Ba ba ba ba ba ba ba ba ba
Well, leg-end… living

We are living leg-ends
The living leg-end
I am a rabbit from East Germany
I was very happy
And I could get anything I want
I was so-oh happy

Then I moved to North Britain
I became an immigrant
I could frolic around all night
In the green grass

I was sort of happy

Ba ba ba ba ba ba ba ba ba

But then one night
By the green grass
By a rubbish receptacle
I saw a newspaper
I was not very happy

There was a man going round all the time
He was dishing out drugs
He was a doctor
Dishing out morphine to old ladies

I said, what about us? (Shipman!)
What about us? (Shipman!)
What about us? (Shipman!)
What about us? (Shipman!)
What about us, Shipman?
What about us? (Shipman!)
What about us, Shipman?
What about us? (Shipman!)

Hop hop hop!
Hop hop hop!
Hop hop hop!

I’m an immigrant from East Germany
I was sort of happy
I could frolic around a lot
In the train station
I could get anything I want
There was a doctor going around
He was dishing out drugs
He was dishing out left and right
To old ladies

So don’t get me wrong
People in Great Britain
Please don’t get me wrong

Hop hop hop!
Hop hop hop!
Hop hop hop!
Please don’t get me wrong
Hop hop hop!

What about us? (Shipman!)
What about us? (Shipman!)
What about us? (Shipman!)
What about us? (Shipman!)
What about us, Shipman?
What about us? (Shipman!)
What about us, Shipman?
What about us? (Shipman!)

Tekst/Text: Mark E. Smith/The Fall – Fall heads Roll – 2005