This extract is taken from the play The Inquiry by Francis Adeyemi.
The Inquiry (extract)
A formal hearing room. A table, two chairs. MINISTER, 50s, sits with papers arranged in front of him. DR. OSEI, 40s, enters. The MINISTER does not look up immediately.
MINISTER: (without looking up) Dr. Osei. Thank you for coming.
DR. OSEI: I didn't have a great deal of choice.
MINISTER: (looking up now, pleasantly) No. I suppose you didn't. Please sit.
5 DR. OSEI sits. She does not arrange herself. She watches the MINISTER.
MINISTER: You'll be familiar with the process. We're not a court.
DR. OSEI: No.
MINISTER: We're simply trying to establish a timeline.
DR. OSEI: Then I imagine you've spoken to the people who make timelines.
10 MINISTER: (a small pause) We have, yes. We've spoken to a great many people. (He opens a folder.) You were present at the facility on the eleventh.
DR. OSEI: I was.
MINISTER: And you submitted a report on the twelfth.
DR. OSEI: I did.
MINISTER: And then no further reports.
15 Pause.
DR. OSEI: That's correct.
MINISTER: Can you tell us why?
She looks at him for a moment.
DR. OSEI: I can tell you why I was given to understand that further reports were not required.
20 The MINISTER writes something down.
MINISTER: That will be helpful. Yes.
How and to what effect are stage directions used in this text?
Essay preview
Stage directions are crucial in this extract because they expose the struggle for control that the dialogue, on its surface, tries to disguise as polite procedure. Adeyemi uses them not merely to tell actors where to move, but to reveal the real drama of the scene: an institutional figure attempting to dominate a witne