The Master Thief
Based on a Russian Folk Story
Written by Kevin M. Flanagan
2013
CHARACTERS
VARVARA: The master thief. Has nice boots.
HERDSMAN: Once had an ox, but it was stolen. Rather simple.
TEAMSTER: Once had an ox as well, but it was stolen. Rather simple.
DROVER: Also once had an ox, but it was stolen. Rather simple.
OXEN 1, 2 and 3: 3 Oxen, stolen by robbers. They don’t speak “people.”
ROBBER: One of the three thieves.
HIGHWAYMAN: One of the three thieves.
BANDIT: One of the three thieves.
PROPS
LOOT SACKS: 3 sacks of “loot.”
APPLES: At least two.
WINE: A wineskin, bottle, or goblet should suffice.
3 CLUBS: For clubbing.
3 KNIVES: For knifing.
THE MASTER THIEF requires a few simple scene changes, from the VILLAGE to the CAMP to the VILLAGE again. How these occur, what the sets entail, and so forth, are open to interpretation.
SCENE 1
(IN DARKNESS ENTER VILLAGERS STAGE RIGHT, ENTER VARVARA STAGE LEFT. SPOTLIGHT on VARVARA)
VARVARA (addressing audience)
There once was a time when cleverness and guile were treasured so much that we told our children stories of those heroes possessed of both deviousness and cunning. I am one such story, for I am Varvara, the master thief. My story began long ago, but tonight is the night that it ends, here in this scenic little village of Kanash.
(LIGHTS UP on VILLAGERS. The VILLAGE of Kanash is not particularly scenic.)
HERDSMAN
Oh! Lament!
TEAMSTER
Oh! Sorrow!
DROVER
Oh! Devastation! Kanash is ruined!
HERDSMAN
Ruined!
TEAMSTER
Ruined!
VARVARA
I had come a long way, through endless storm and forest, having crossed wits with vodyanoy and leshy, rusalka and vila. Ruined little Kanash was a warm hearth in a cold blizzard. You might think I plan to rob these poor souls, but you’d be wrong.
DROVER
OH! Emaciation!
TEAMSTER
OH! Famine!
HERDSMAN
OH! Starvation! Kanash is destroyed!
DROVER
Destroyed!
TEAMSTER
Destroyed!
VARVARA
Hearing the subtle pleas of the people of Kanash, I came out from the woods to see what help I could offer. Also, it was very cold.
(VARVARA approaches the VILLAGERS)
VARVARA
Hail, good people of warm, inviting Kanash!
HERDSMAN
TREACHERY!
DROVER
CHICANERY!
TEAMSTER
THIEVERY! KANASH IS OBLITERATED!
HERDSMAN
OBLITERATED!
DROVER
OBLITERATED!
VARVARA
You seem uneasy, good friends. Is something the matter?
HERDSMAN
We are poor, we have no mayor, and our oxen have been stolen!
TEAMSTER
Stolen by thieves this very night!
DROVER
If we had seen then, we would have stopped them. With clubs.
HERDSMAN
Oh, yes.
TEAMSTER
Quite.
VARVARA
Indeed. Stolen, you say?
ALL VILLAGERS
STOLEN!
VARVARA
I see. You wouldn’t happen to be offering a reward for their safe return? (Next line as aside) Altruism lacks the kind of cunning good stories oft require.
HERDSMAN
I’ve naught but my ox to plow my fields, and a bushel of apples to my name.
TEAMSTER
I’ve naught but my ox to pull my cart, and a barrel of wine to my name.
DROVER
I’ve naught but my ox to grind my mill, and a warm hearth to my name.
VARVARA
All fair offers for a simple task. I shall recover your oxen, you graceful, quiet people of Kanash, before this night is through. (to audience) You might think such a paltry sum would tempt me to theft, but you’d be wrong. For I am Varvara, the master thief, and a bigger heist I’ve hatched.
DROVER
The camp of thieves is just to the north, where they plot their next pillage.
TEAMSTER
You’ll find them there planning murders and legerdemain, I’d wager.
HERDSMAN
Such dishonest folk, who know not the sweat of a day’s hard work.
VARVARA
Heathens and roustabouts, no doubt. Have no fear, sweet, honest, defenseless people of Kanash! For I am Varvara, the master…collector. I shall go.
(Lights down, VILLAGERS exit)
SCENE 2
(VARVARA in SPOTLIGHT CENTER STAGE.)
VARVARA
(to audience) You might think I planned to stumble clumsily through the moonlit forest to the camp of cutthroats and simply lead the oxen back by their collective noses, but you’d be wrong. For I, as I have mentioned, am Varvara, the master thief, and a plan I’ve already woven.
(Enter OXEN, THIEVES. OXEN are “tied” to a post STAGE LEFT. THIEVES are huddled by a CAMPFIRE STAGE RIGHT.)
VARVARA
Common thieves are an unsubtle rabble, and their camp was not hard to find.
(LIGHTS UP on THIEVES)
BANDIT
Murder.
HIGHWAYMAN
Theft.
ROBBER
Treason.
(THIEVES nod in agreement. LIGHTS UP on OXEN)
VARVARA
Just out of earshot from the sinister yet agreeable camp of thieves, the oxen were tied, mooing and simple.
Ox 1
Does this yoke make my butt look big?
Ox 2
Do you ever think about, I dunno, like, life, man?
Ox 3
Ugh, oral story traditions are so over.
VARVARA
You see, long ago in another story, I stole the gift of animal speech from Indrik, The King of All Animals. I have regretted it ever since.
Ox 3
I mean, seriously. Folklore is all the same, it’s never new.
Ox 2
Maybe there’s like, you know, a kind of collective unconscious of mankind, man.
Ox 1
Should I keep this nose piercing? Is it working for me?
VARVARA
So many regrets- such is the life of a master thief. I crept through the woods to where the oxen were kept.
(VARVARA creeps over to the OXEN, addresses them)
VARVARA
Psst! Cows.
ALL OXEN
WHOA.
VARVARA
I know, I speak ox- it’s unfathomable but in this case quite true. I am Varvara, the master…herder. I’ve come to take you back to your owners.
Ox 2
Dude, so uncool. Not happening, bro.
Ox 3
Okay, first: It’s “oxen,” as in plural ox. Additionally, I’m not going anywhere.
Ox 1
Ohmigod, I love your little boots. Also, no.
VARVARA
What do you mean, moo moo moo moo moo?
Ox 1
I’m NEVER going back there. All that guy ever feeds me in boring grain and grass. I’m a fabulous ox- I need something fabulous to eat.
Ox 2
All my owner ever gives me to drink is boring water. That’s animal cruelty- I want something new to drink.
Ox3
Dude, he makes me sleep outside in a barn. A barn, man. How am I supposed to get my cozy on in a barn?
BANDIT
I’m going to murder those oxen.
HIGHWAYMAN
Not to be disagreeable, but I think the word is slaughter.
ROBBER
Yes, let’s slaughter and eat them. Yey, teamwork!
(THIEVES all “high-five”)
Ox 3
I mean, these guys are like, totally chill. They just let us stand around, no work or nothing.
Ox 2
Clearly, these are progressive, forward thinking people who’ve cast off the shackles of “work.”
Ox 1
I kind of love it here- and have you seen their little hoods? Adorbs.
VARVARA
Look, I know you guys don’t speak people, but I’m almost certain those three guys intend to brutally kill you and then eat you. If you head back home, I can promise you a bushel of apples, a barrel of wine, and a nice warm fire to sleep by.
Ox 1
A bushel of apples? Oh, delish. I’m in.
Ox 2
A barrel of wine? Do you know the vintage?
Ox 3
A warm fire to sleep by? Oh, blaze it up, bro.
VARVARA
(cuts them free) Now go- I’ll deal with the thieves.
(The OXEN EXIT, talking amongst themselves)
BANDIT
You know what I’m not sick of at all? All these bags of stolen loot.
HIGHWAYMAN
I agree, my friend. I’m quite pleased with our many spoils.
ROBBER
Moral implications aside, the life of a murderous bandit is the life for me!
BANDIT
Truly, we are friends for life.
HIGHWAYMAN
Here, here!
ROBBER
Who says there is no honor among thieves?
VARVARA
You might think I intend to steal their sacks of gold and jewels, but you’d be wrong. For I am Varvara, master thief, and I intend to steal an even rarer treasure.
(VARVARA creeps towards the campfire, then calls out)
VARVARA
Hail, friends! Is there room for another at your campfire?
BANDIT
Well, that depends.
HIGHWAYMAN
On several factors, actually.
ROBBER
How do you feel about being brutally murdered and robbed?
VARVARA
I’m actually quite a fan of the whole “what’s-yours-is-mine” ethos. I myself am a miscreant and criminal.
BANDIT
You don’t say? You wouldn’t happen to be carrying a large amount of gold?
HIGHWAYMAN
This is, of course, a totally hypothetical question.
ROBBER
It doesn’t have to be a “large” amount, either. Any amount of gold is an acceptable quantity to prompt an answer of “yes.”
BANDIT and HIGHWAYMAN
True, True.
VARVARA
No, sadly, I currently carry no gold, in amounts great or small, on my person.
BANDIT
Drat, that’s really too bad.
HIGHWAYMAN
A shame, really, as we intend to kill you anyway.
ROBBER
It’s really nothing personal. I do hope you understand.
(THIEVES stand and draw knives)
VARVARA
Wait a moment! I have neglected to mention something important. You see, I am Varvara, the master thief. I’ve come with a wager.
BANDIT
That’s quite a title.
HIGHWAYMAN
Strange we’ve never heard of you.
ROBBER
Indeed, most strange, considering our familiarity with the whole thieving industry. What kind of wager?
VARVARA
I am such an expert thief, you see, that I’ve stolen the oxen you three kept just outside your camp.
BANDIT
I’m not only unimpressed, but somewhat miffed.
HIGHWAYMAN
Master thief, maybe. Master negotiator, definitely not.
ROBBER
You’re not really progressing this discussion towards a “not murdering you” compromise.
(THIEVES seize VARVARA in as friendly a manner as they are capable)
VARVARA
Now, let’s not be hasty! I wager that I’ve stolen something even greater tonight, without even being there personally to steal it.
(THIEVES pause)
BANDIT
That seems entirely unlikely.
HIGHWAYMAN
It would take a particularly talented thief to perform such an act of banditry.
ROBBER
I must say, my curiosity is piqued. Where is this great treasure?
VARVARA
If you only come with me, I can show it to you. I wager your sacks of gold it’s a fairer prize than what you have there.
BANDIT
I’m game.
HIGHWAYMAN
I don’t see the harm in it.
ROBBER
My greed overrides my better sense.
(THIEVES release VARVARA)
VARVARA
Then come with me!
(VARVARA EXITS. THIEVES delay)
BANDIT
We do intend to kill this “master thief” for the treasure, right?
HIGHWAYMAN
Oh, most certainly.
ROBBER
I assumed that was a given.
(THIEVES EXIT, LIGHTS DOWN)
SCENE 3
(OXEN and VILLAGERS ENTER, STAGE RIGHT, LIGHTS UP)
VARVARA
(from offstage) It’s right this way, my friends!
THIEVES
Slow down! Stop running so far ahead! (etc)
(ENTER VARVARA, a little breathless)
HERDSMAN
Varvara returns! You saved our oxen!
TEAMSTER
Joy of joys! We are not ruined!
DROVER
We owe you our lives!
Ox 1
These apples are a delight, I must say.
Ox 2
This wine! I detect a faint raspberry flavor.
Ox 3
Dude, so toasty right now.
VARVARA
Then I come to collect on that debt and offer you a prize. Those very thieves that stole your oxen come this way now!
HERDSMAN
No! Our precious oxen!
TEAMSTER
They’ll not take what’s ours again!
DROVER
Clubs! The clubs!
(The VILLAGERS brandish clubs. The OXEN preen. The THIEVES rush in)
BANDIT
What’s this? The village?
HIGHWAYMAN
We’ve already robbed this place blind!
ROBBER
I am starting to think we’ve won this wager.
(VILLAGERS howl and club the THIEVES to death. This should take some time. While the CLUBBING occurs, VARVARA speaks)
VARVARA
That’s where you are wrong, my friends. You’ve lost your wager, and not just because of the vicious clubbing you are currently undergoing. For, in fact, there is a great treasure here, one I stole with only the most miniscule of efforts.
(The CLUBBING ends. The THIEVES are dead. The VILLAGERS go through the THIEVES loot sacks)
HERDSMAN
So much gold! Our village is wealthy!
TEAMSTER
Varvara has saved us all!
DROVER
Varvara for mayor! Who votes yey?
HERDSMAN
Yey!
TEAMSTER
Yey!
DROVER
Yey!
Ox 1
Yey!
Ox 2
Yey!
Ox 3
Yey!
HERDSMAN
That’s three “Yeys” and three “moos.”
TEAMSTER
A unanimous decision!
DROVER
Varvara, will you take the now-wealthy town of Kanash as your home?
VARVARA
Of course.
(The VILLAGERS and OXEN cheer and parade about in joy. VARVARA steps forward to address the audience)
VARVARA
You may have thought I intended to rob the lot of them, but you would have been wrong. The treasure I stole was the hearts of these simple people, a treasure lost on more common thieves. It takes a cunning eye to find the truest prize, and to gain it with as little work as possible. Such a treasure was not lost to me, for I am Varvara, the master thief, and mayor of Kanash.