Two worlds, two times, one space. One, Ancient Greece where Phillip has a dye studio on the island of Tyre. The other 19th century London where William and his brother work and live. Phillip and Derya are young lovers of power; she a young queen, he a famous dye maker of the world’s most precious color, Tyrian purple. We find them on the night before and during Alexander the Great’s historical invasion of Tyre. Both lovers realize why they chose to find each other on this night, and what they would do to survive. In a fated moment of separation, Derya is killed while Phillip tries to use his power of purple to bargain for their lives.
In London, William has just discovered the first synthetic dye ever created. This new color, a light purple called mauve, goes about redefining the notion of chemistry and its applicability to industry and fashion. While riding the wave of success (partly instigated by Thomas’s savvy business mind) William welcomes home his true love, Juliana. As their relationship escalates Thomas realizes that William’s love may be just as unnatural and false as the color he created. Is living in reality worth living without true happiness? Can William craft a perfect life just as he crafted a perfect color?
Both worlds occupy each other’s sphere, even echo sentiment and circumstance, but rarely interact. In the end both worlds collide and mingle as we see the relatedness of these lives, and the tragedy surrounding them. Both dark love stories are based in history, grounded in science, and imagined in fantasy.
CHARACTERS: Phillip: a dye-maker of Tyre, 332 BC
Derya: Queen of Tyre
William: a young chemist of London 1856
Thomas: William’s brother
Juliana: William’s friend and cousin
All of them are around 25-30, but may be cast upwards of this if directed.
