Synopsis
Scattergood
Published by Dramatists Play Service
2 Male 1 Female
The teacher that changed your life
The one who brought those old dead words on the page suddenly to life
The charmer, the inspirer, the cajoler, the bearer of all wisdom
Professor John Scattergood is all these things
But most of all he's a liar
Scattergood's lectures
on the Medieval Romances are always oversubscribed
Rumors of a tragic affair in his youth only add to the man's mystique
A master of wit, king of the turn of phrase, fountain of timely quotes and pop references. All the time Scattergood's purpose is clear: "not the making of intellects, the shaping of men"
Brendan Hillard is the student teachers dream of. Chronically shy with a voracious appetite for knowledge, the brilliant boy has defied his working-class roots to end up at Dublin's prestigious Trinity College
At his very first lecture, with the famous Scattergood in full flight on the danger of love
Brendan encounters Miss Regan, a vivacious American student as sassy as he is shy
She invites him to her birthday party. She smiles. She touches his arm. What is that look in her eye?
The boy needs advice and courage
He goes to the expert
"Women are pamphlets, an easy read"
Scattergood becomes the boy's confidant and coach in a game of love and honor
A series of beautifully crafted letters reveal the depth of Miss Regan's attraction for Brendan
But there's a problem -"Lancelot's problem, Tristan's problem"
She has a boyfriend
What started out as a romantic comedy spirals to a tragic ending as Scattergood uses his own past as the spur to push the boy down a dark path of half-truth and self-delusion
In the end his ivory tower comes crumbling down under the weight of his own deceptions
REVIEWS
"This suspenseful drama features what might be the most provocative student-teacher relationship since David Mamet's Oleanna beautifully melds hardheaded cynicism with the fleeting thrill of a crush " ~ Time Out
"There is something warm and delighting in the relationship between the two men, as if Don Quixote were passing along his Quixoticness to the next generation" ~ NY Times