Night, Mother

The play, which is presented in one act, with no intermission, takes place in the present day in the living room of Thelma Cates. The text notes that the set should include clocks and that they should be set to about 8:15pm at the beginning of the play and allowed to run normally throughout the action. As the play opens, Thelma fumbles through her cabinets before extracting a package of Sno Ball cupcakes. She sees that one of the snack cakes was eaten and blames her son, Dawson. Thelma’s daughter, Jessie, enters busily, searching for old towels and a sheet of plastic or some garbage bags. Thelma warns her not to make a mess, reminding her that it’s Saturday night, when Jessie usually repaints her mother’s nails. She points out that they need more Sno Balls, and Jessie replies that she has ordered an entire case, which is arriving tomorrow. Jessie asks about her late father’s gun and pulls the ladder down to check the attic, although the floor of the attic is unstable. Thelma asks Jessie why she wants the gun, and Jessie replies, briefly, “Protection” (11).