Synopsis
The play opens with the sea in the distance and the sound of footsteps on shingle. Henry has been walking along the strand close to where he has lived his whole life, at one time or other on either side of “a bay or estuary”.
Henry starts to talk, a single word, “on,” followed by the sea again, followed by the voice – louder and more insistent this time, repeating the same word, as it will say, then repeat as a command, the words “stop” and “down.” Each time, Henry obediently yet reluctantly does what his voice first says, then tells him to do, he stops and sits down on the shingle. Throughout the play the sea acts like a character in its own right (much as the light in Play does).
Read more about this topic: Embers