The Trials of Bill and Monica
A Historico-Tragi-Comedy
by
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Monica: Whom would you then prefer, if choice were yours ? Janet: Must needs pass out these cramping White House walls Monica: Lik’st not the President, do you not dream......? Janet: It’s best to fish where you can land the catch Monica: In me he yet inspires a fearful awe. Whenever he passes, a shiver runs Right down my spine. I ask, what would I do If were to stop and speak sweet nothings or Caress my hair. I do believe I’d faint. Janet: Ha! It seems your mind is not so fully set On labors as I’d thought. But must be off, I have a formal banquet to prepare. (Exit)
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About the Book
“The Trials of Bill and Monica” is centered on the affair that rocked the White House during Bill Clinton’s second term of office. It is dubbed a “historico-tragi-comedy” and contains elements of all three genres. It is written in Shakespearean verse and has many playful allusions to Shakespeare plays. The play roughly follows the main events in the scandal, though certainly in no slavish manner. The sequence and timing of events are at times compressed or altered, and the characters are a mixture of history and invention. The clearest departure from history lies in the fate of Monica, which is allegorical. Several characters, including Bemona, the mother of Monica, are entirely fictional. The events that form the basis of play are part of recent American history. They led to a debate in Congress on impeachment of the president and were subjected to the tasteless microscope of the Starr Report. They form a fitting subject for dramatic treatment; especially, “The Trials of Bill and Monica” will appeal to those who combine some acquaintance with Shakespeare, those with an interest in contemporary American politics, and those who love a bit of wordplay.
About the Author
John Gordon Gray was born in 1950 and grew up in an academic family in Oxford, England. He obtained a first class degree in Classics (Latin, Greek, Ancient History and Philosophy) at Oxford University in 1973 and then an MPhil in Economics, also at Oxford. He has spent the past 40 years working in the developing world as a consultant economist and adviser on public financial management. His other publications include a dictionary of an African language, Dholuo, (President Obama’s paternal mother-tongue) and numerous technical works on economic development. When not travelling, he lives in a small town in Western Kenya, overlooking Lake Victoria.