four - father’s daydream

A musical, in theory... part 10 of 14

Jun 27, 2025

A musical called four is the work of theoretical theatre* I’m currently sharing. Click here for the start of the story.

Here is the father’s daydream.

Image shows bits of text printed, cut out, and stuck to the same piece of paper, with handwritten notes alongside. Some typed up quotes from The Poetics of Space read: As for the cellar, it is first and foremost the dark entity of the house, the one that partakes of subterranean forces. When we dream there, we are in harmony with the irrationality of the depths. Beside them, some old, printed notes read: I want less dust in the world. Then some new notes, handwritten: So I can breathe, see, smell, touch, physical. More old printed notes read: I want to finish. Then new notes, handwritten: I want to be finished. He is a finisher. Flying over the waves, wood shining in the sun, white sails, smooth sailing, everything done. My daydream is to finish things. To be patient, to fully finish. You also need to be brave to finish things... and maybe a little bit reckless.

The subterranean force of irrationality frees him to daydream about…

… less dust in the world, so he can breathe, see, smell, touch, physical.

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The senses that are not sound.
I hadn’t noticed that till now.

To daydream about…

… finishing. Being a finisher who is patient enough, and brave enough, and reckless enough to say that he is finished. That he is ready.

Ready to go. Out of the house.

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Earlier, my notes said of him:
raised the family
failed them
almost careless

It seems careless not to finish. An absence of care.

Ah, but to be finished…

Flying over the waves, wood shining in the sun, white sails, smooth sailing, everything done.

If I daydream my writing finished, I see it shining in the sun, flying over the waves.

And yet here I am, inviting you down to the cellar to see the dust and depths of it. Patient, brave, reckless? Maybe. Unfinished but nonetheless somehow ready. Now or never.

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Finishing…
In theory, what does the daydream of finishing do? How does it help us get through?

Click here to read the previous post: daydreaming

Click here to listen curiously to the mother in the next post

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*This may be theoretical theatre, but it’s still protected by Copyright © 2000-2025 by Jenifer Toksvig All Rights Reserved. Though I may be inspired by conversation and ideas, as long as you don’t infringe my copyright, anything you write in response to this belongs to you. Obviously. The Poetics of Space by Gaston Bachelard is translated into English by Maria Jolas, quoted here where referenced for the purposes of researching this work.

The Copenhagen Interpretation

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