A Stinging Affair
By: Meet Emily and Jack.  They lie; they cheat and enjoy it. Until the end.
Publisher: Book Guild
Published: 2001
Place of publication: Lewes, East Sussex
Language: eng
Number of pages: 142
Subjects: Triangles (Interpersonal relations) -- Drama.
Genres: Drama.
First sentence: FIRST FEW LINES:
EMILY: (Starts with echoing, gradually becomes clear) I am never wrong. Never. I know what this is, you're treating me like shit so that you can sleep with some ugly brainless bitch. You're more of a twisted and horrid bastard than I thought!! Don't you dare cross me again. Who the bloody hell do you think you are? I don't know why we're together! What is the point of living like this? I was the stupid one to marry you. I should have known it was a mistake from the start. I'm so sick of this relationship. ......
Description: Michael cannot understand why Emily, his attractive wife, is so unhappy in their marriage.  His best friend Jack and his wife try to be helpful and supportive, but nothing seems to make a difference - perhaps because Jack is Emily's lover.  And in contrast to Michael's straightforward nature and honest career, Jack's affairs are as much tangled up with crime as they are with big business; even his sister-in-law has gone to prison on his instructions.  With added tension provided by Emily's parents, and a stranger who appears to have been living in Michael and Emily's attic for days, the scene is set for a showdown.  

From this combination of everyday life and the unexpected, and featuring a strong cast of characters and fast-moving scenes, Tasmin Jahan's debut play weaves a story of ruthlessness, revenge and emotion that culminates in a terrifying and shocking climax, with consequences that are all too deadly for the innocent and destructive for all.
Notes: Calling all drama students!  If you like MICHAEL you are unexciting, if you like JACK you are audacious, if you like EMILY you are hypocritical and if you like RENE you are compassionate.  Or maybe you do not agree?

Our first meeting is with EMILY.  She begins with a strong deliberation.  She demonstrates a powerful declaration of neglect and self-pity.  She, who wanted everything, ends up with everything that she did not expect.  As EMILY'S lover, JACK appears as the major player with all the characters' emotions until he discovers what it is to be wrong.  His actions show how immoral he is and inevitably the thick burden of remorse follows. Emotional turmoil sets in for a man who once was confident, gutsy and deceptively charming.  His ultimate victim is his long-suffering wife, MARISSA.

MICHAEL, on the other hand, has no idea about the truth.  We always see him embroiled with his own worries about his marriage and his feelings towards his wife, EMILY.  He is a man who suffers from mental entrapment and seeks solace from his best friend JACK. MICHAEL only believes in doing the respectable thing.  He wants to save his honour and salvage his marriage.  So it is no surprise that to MICHAEL, his friendship is valuable.  However to JACK, his friendship means just listening with an egotistical ear.  If it is not in his benefit then what exactly is the point?

JACK'S untouched manipulative and selfish aura falls under threat when RENE is released from jail.  A sudden blast from his gruesome past.  He decides to act very quickly before his fabricated persona, especially before his wife, crumbles horribly.  What better way to get rid of his sister-in-law than to hire an ingenious murderer?  Luckily RENE'S fate gives her a helping hand and the slayer achieves his first blunder.  But he still kills someone.  For JACK, the overdue punishment sets in with its dense layer of guilt.  The sordid affair that the reader learns of remains a secret and the only unhappy one who finds out, sadly, disappears.  The final scene reminds us that there is integrity within the play but the fact that some people don't change, namely, EMILY, is no surprise.  So who prospers in the end, well would you like to judge that for yourself?  Are you ready to confront the drama?  Then let's begin.