Summary: Two characters consider whether certain aspects of the world around us happened by chance. Keywords: Evolution, creation, science, universe, earth
Style: Lighthearted. Duration: 5min
Actors: 2M/F
Script
[# 1 is sitting down looking at a large encyclopaedia. Enter # 2 gasping for breath.]
2: Sorry about this. I’ve run all the way trying not to be late for this sketch.
1: That’s OK. Sit down, why don’t you, and get your breath back.
2: [sitting down] Thanks. That’s better.
1: I’ve found a lot of interesting things in this book.
2: Oh? Such as?
1: Well, take your breath; or lack of it. Did you know that we breathe IN oxygen and breathe OUT carbon dioxide?
2: No.
1: Well we do. And did you know ...
2: [interrupting] Hang on a minute. What did you say carbon died of?
1: It didn’t die of anything. It’s called carbon dioxide.
2: Oh. [pause] So we breathe oxygen IN, and carbon di-what’s it OUT then?
1: Yes. And that’s not all.
2: I didn’t think it would be.
1: Plants and vegetation breathe in carbon dioxide and breathe out oxygen.
2: Wait a minute. So you’re saying that plants and vege-thingies breathe IN what we breathe OUT, and we breathe IN what they breathe OUT?
1: Brilliantly put.
2: Thank you. [reflective pause] That’s a bit of luck.
1: What do you mean?
2: Well, it’s a good job everything doesn’t breathe in oxygen, because nobody would want the carbon di-oogie, would they?
1: I see what you mean.
2: A bit of luck, that, isn’t it: the way it fits together?
1: I suppose it is. And I’ve thought of some more bits of luck.
2: Oh yes?
1: You know how the Universe is supposed to have started with a Big Bang?
2: How did that happen, then?
1: Some people reckon that one minute there was nothing, and then suddenly there was a Big Bang.
2: What caused this Bang then?
1: Well, some gases did.
2: And where did THEY come from?
1: Nobody knows.
2: It was just a bit of luck then?
1: I suppose so. And then, planet Earth just happened to finish up in exactly the right orbit round the sun, which is exactly the right distance away. Any nearer and we’d fry up; any further away and we’d freeze up.
2: That’s a bit of luck.
1: And then there was even more luck.
2: How do you mean?
1: Well, Earth is just the right size with enough gravity to stop things drifting off into space.
2: That’s a bit of luck.
1: AND it’s spinning at just the right speed so all the parts of the planet get just the right amount of warmth and light.
2: That’s a bit of luck.
1: AND it’s the only planet with an ozone layer to protect it from the harmful radiation of the sun.
2: That’s a bit of luck.
1: AND, if Earth wasn’t tilted by 23 degrees, there’d be no seasons.
2: That’s a bit of luck.
1: And there’s lots more luck besides all that.
2: [reflective pause] That’s an awful lot of luck when you think about it.
1: Yes. Makes you wonder if it’s luck at all.
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© Copyright Ray Markham 1999, 2010, all rights reserved. The script may not be reproduced, translated or copied in any medium, including books, CDs and on the Internet, without written permission of the author.
This play may be performed free of charge, on the condition that copies are not sold for profit in any medium, nor any entrance fee charged. In exchange for free performance, the author would appreciate being notified of when and for what purpose the play is performed. He may be contacted at: