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Ed by Mike Murphy

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Download Ed from Harvest Audio Productions

Harvest Audio, April 2012
 
In an unspecified time in the future, Carpenter (H. Keith Lyons) finds himself marooned on a strange planet: unable to return due to a faulty capsule, he has to adjust to a new life there. All the inhabitants seem happy enough, especially Triana (Kim Gianopoulous), an attractive young woman who becomes Carpenter's lover. The future seems set fair, except for one disturbing fact (at least in Carpenter's mind): all the inhabitants defer to the judgment of their leader Ed (Joe Stofko). He is not a native of this planet; on the contrary, he is the sole remaining survivor of a previous planetary expedition, in which all the crew were assumed to have died. Now he leads a life of luxury.
 
Needless to say Carpenter is disturbed by this type of goverment; as a confirmed democrat, he believes that states should be ruled by the people, for the people. He makes strenuous efforts to reform - in spite of Triana's objections - but finds to his cost that good deeds often have unforseen consequences.
 
At one level, Mike Murphy's play works as a romance - a desert love-affair transposed to the future amid swirling sandstorms and exotic peoples. At a deeper level, however, it questions the viability of the democratic ideal, especially when introduced into a state that is more accustomed to autocratic government. Those who believe that 'reform' is necessary in many contemporary states - especially in the Arab world - should take note: it is perhaps more prudent to respect cultural difference rather than trying to impose one's views on those who believe in alternative socio-political systems.