There is only one stage setting throughout the onstage action: an open field somewhere behind a Circus. Far upstage stage-centre is a bus shelter at the side of a gravel road. The opening of the shelter faces the audience. The gravel road stretches across the stage from offstage right to offstage left. The official words “Bus Stop” are high up on the front panel of the shelter. On the panel, in front of the official words, are scrawled, unofficially, the words “Ye Olde.” And “pe” are added to the word “Stop.” There are indications that the bus stop is not in current use: weeds are growing around it; bush at the back are spilling over into view at the sides; the branches of a huge tree at the back are spilling over in contact with part of the roof of the bus shelter. Far downstage-left is a derelict bus shelter bench. Far downstage-right are partially visible two stems of massive trees. An adult Gorilla ambles onstage from upstage-left on the road. It pauses; inspects the shelter; goes behind the shelter; climbs up the tree, and is partially visible through the tree foliage, maneuvering to lay down to rest, and eventually laying still on the roof.

Character NON1 walks on, on the road, upstage-right, slowly pushing a wheelbarrow heavily loaded with stuff. Character NON2 enters, running on the road from upstage-left; sees NON1, and stops for seconds to scream to NON1.

NON2: Run for your life! The wild animals have escaped the Circus! Some are coming this way!

(NON2 exits upstage-right running on the road. The Gorilla on the roof stirs. Its face appears through the foliage as it looks about enquiringly at the road. It cranes slightly to stare at NON1 who is frantically struggling clumsily to turn the wheelbarrow around, to exit on the road, upstage-right. NON2 dashes back onstage from upstage-right on the road and helps NON1 to re-load the wheelbarrow. Eventually, the two of them exit upstage-right on the road. The Gorilla’s face withdraws. Seconds later the Gorilla re-appears from behind the bus stop shelter, upstage-left, and ambles downstage, to eventually exit downstage-right between the massive tree stems.

JACK and JANE, married, enter hurriedly upstage-left on the road. JACK is limping because of an ankle sprain, and is supported by JANE as they struggle along.)

JACK: Sorry. I have to rest. My foot’s killing me!

JANE: Let’s go to that bench.

(They hobble to the bench at downstage left, and sit, facing the auditorium. JANE sits at JACK’s left.)

JANE: Careful. It’s rickety. How’s the foot?

JACK: Not as painful when I keep my weight off it.

JANE: We are behind the Circus? Right?

JACK: Yes. We had no choice.

JANE: The escaped animals could come this way?

JACK: I don’t know. They could be anywhere. Help me take off my shoe.

JANE: Keep it on until it can stay off until the ankle heals. Otherwise, if you have to put it on again in a hurry, the pain will kill you. Oh-oh! (Staring wide-eyed stage-right beyond JACK.)

JACK: What?

JANE: Keep still. I think one of the Circus animals is here. Slowly, slide over to me.

(JACK begins a slide that is slow because of the ankle pain it triggers, and because of the rickettiness of the bench. JANE sees the Gorilla emerging from between the massive tree stems, downstage-right. The Gorilla stands still, observing the humans. JACK, directed by JANE’s wide-eyed stare, twists slightly while sliding, and sees the Gorilla. JACK and JANE proceed hastily to mutually and co-operatively and defensively and fearfully to squash into each other at the far end of the bench. The rickettiness of the bench undermines their movements, every time at every twist and turn. Except for occasional tiny instinctive wild-jungle movements, the Gorilla does not move until the humans are motionless on the bench, both staring wide-eyed in fright at the Gorilla. The Gorilla curtsies to them.)

JANE: (Whispering.) What now?

JACK: (Whispering.) I don’t know. Heyyyy!

JANE: (Whispering.) What? Your foot?

JACK: (Aloud excitedly.)It’s performing! It’s a Circus Gorilla! It’s performing! We must applaud! It needs us to applaud!

(Both clap and cheer. The Gorilla goes into its Circus routine, while they continue to clap and applaud, intermittently, so relieved. Unexpectedly, in the routine, the Gorilla stops abruptly. It turns slowly and stares upstage-left.)

JANE: Oh-oh. Now what?

(Upstage-left, on the road, another Gorilla enters. JACK sees the second Gorilla, and points to it.)

JACK: That’s what!

(The Gorillas see each other. They run to each other. They hug. Circus music comes up. The second Gorilla signs to the humans.)

JANE: (Surprised.) Is it signing us?

JACK: Great! You get to use those university courses. What’s it saying?

(JANE concentrates on the performing Gorilla. Hesitantly, she signs her reply to it.)

JANE: Jack! You are not going to believe this.

JACK: What? Try me! I will believe! We are married. I have to believe!

JANE: It wants us to sing to the Circus music and they will dance.

JACK: (Listening to the music.) I recognize that melody.

JANE: “There was a jolly miller.”

JACK: Yes. Sign it we are happy to oblige.

(JANE signs the Gorilla. Both Gorillas show joy. JANE and JACK listen to the jazzed circus music for a second-or-two, and then they sing to a jazzed up melody of “There was a jolly miller.” The Gorillas dance. Jane dances with them; Jack sings and claps.)

“The bus stops here not anymore.
The bus stops here no more.
Not anymore the bus stops here.
No more the bus stops here.

Ye olde bus stop’s a dinosaur.
Obsolete, extinct, defunct.
Even when it ran,
Most times ran late.
Most utterly out of date.”

(The might sing the lyrics more than once. The Gorillas dance towards upstage-right. When they reach the far end of the road, they stop. The first Gorilla hurries back to the humans, and bows before presenting them with a huge colourful Circus pen. One of the humans accepts the pen while the other claps. The Gorilla returns to the other, and both exit, dancing, on the road upstage-right. The music fades out.)

JANE: (Happily.)That was so good! I needed that!

JACK: Yes. Exceptionally good. But---.

JANE: But what? Don’t be a killjoy. We needed that.

JACK: Exceptionally good because it was Circus Gorillas; not Circus lions or tigers. (They look at each other in despair.)

JANE: (Calling out in sudden realization.) Phone 911! Really? Why didn’t we think of that earlier on?

(Both retrieve cell phones from their pockets, and dial feverishly. Connections fail. They look at each other in utter incredulity.)

JACK: (Dejectedly. Softly.) Makes sense.

JANE: What? What makes sense?

JACK: Travelling Circuses prefer to pitch far away from built up centres.

JANE: You stay here. I’ll move around. If you’re not here when I return, I will see you at home.

JACK: Not if a Circus lion gets here before you, and eats me. How will you know?

JANE: I will know because you will fight that beast. Even if it wins, there will be bloody pieces of you scattered all over this bench that you did not go quietly, my husband. I love you.

JACK: Thank you. I will think the same wonderful thoughts about you if a lion eats you out there. Now, go.

(JANE exits upstage-left on the road. JACK settles down on the bench uneasily, and warily looking out for wild Circus animals. He hears gunshots coming from offstage upstage-right. He sees two Gorillas enter upstage-right, running and vocalizing in terror. They exit behind the bus stop shelter, one at each end. JACK is alarmed. Seconds later, JACK sees a MAN, wearing a wide-brimmed hat, and brandishing a handgun, enter upstage-right on the road. He waves to JACK, and calls out.)

MAN: Hey, there!

JACK: (Unhappily waving back.) Hi.

MAN: Seen any wild animals run this way?

JACK: Yes. They ran down this way, passed me, out that way. (He indicates downstage-left.)

MAN: Thanks! I’ll get ‘em! Stay alert, buddy! They are everywhere!

(The MAN heads for downstage-left.)

JACK: Do you work for the circus?

MAN: Heck, no. Had I been working for the Circus those animals would never had escaped off the grounds because I would have killed all of them. I’m handy with this. I was a sharpshooter in the army. Catch you later, buddy.

(The MAN exits downstage-left.
JACK is depressed. He is joyously distracted when he sees a few herbivore Circus animals enter at various places stage-left and amble across to exit stage-right, variously. A BEAR enters stage-left a step-or-two upstage of the bench. It is wearing the MAN’s hat, and has his handgun in its hand. JACK sees the BEAR and is petrified. The BEAR pauses briefly to look at JACK. It sniffs the air. It heads straight for the massive tree stems downstage-right, and exits between them. JACK turns slowly to look upstage-right where there are sounds of movements. Two ambulance nurses enter upstage-right on the road. They carry a stretcher. JACK sees them and calls out.)

JACK: Here! Here!

(The nurses see him, and come down to him. The following conversation takes place while the nurses help Jack onto the stretcher, and remove his shoe. Eventually, all exit upstage-right, on the road.)

NURSE: You are Jack?

JACK: Yes. Jane got through? My wife.

NURSE: Yes. We must hurry. We are in the path of wild Circus animals.

JACK: Have you seen a man shooting the animals?

NURSE: Wearing a wide-brimmed hat?

JACK: Yes.

NURSE: Everybody in this neighbourhood knows him. He’s been shooting things and at things from before the Circus came to town.

JACK: Has he harmed anyone?

NURSE: Not yet. The police are forever taking him in for questioning.

JACK: Do you have some notepaper? I should leave my wife a note if she returns here.

(One of the NURSES hands JACK a small notepad. JACK uses the coloured Circus pen to write to JANE. He detaches the page, and sticks it somewhere in full view on the bench. He sticks the pen next to the note. All exit, upstage-right. The Circus music is heard. A BEAR enters from between the massive tree stems downstage-right. It dances about to the music. It sees the pen and note on the bench. It approaches the bench. The music fades out. The BEAR concentrates reading the note. It carefully retrieves a similar pen, different coloured, from somewhere on itself and appears to be writing something on the note. It kisses the pen, and sticks it next to the other pen. The music comes up; the BEAR dances, exiting stage-left somewhere downstage of the end of the road. The music gets louder. JANE enters upstage left on the road. She hurries downstage to the bench. She stops when she does not see JACK. She sees the pens and the note. She takes them. She pauses to read the note. She smiles and exits upstage-right. The music gets louder.

The end.