As Levorcham kneels, her cauldron bubbles.
LEVORCHAM
From the womb of creation …
Stepping from the cauldron, Conchobor appears.
CONCHOBOR
Old woman, still stirring up a pot of trouble, I see!
LEVORCHAM
Conchobor! My old adversary!
CONCHOBOR
Levorcham! My most worthy foe!
LEVORCHAM
You’re your own worst enemy.
CONCHOBOR
So, we meet again.
LEVORCHAM
In time and out of time.
CONCHOBOR (to audience)
This old witch has been going in circles for ages
LEVORCHAM
And this old carp has been caught in his own trap for ages.
Do you never tire of floundering in your own net?
CONCHOBOR
Do you never tire of hearing your own vinegar-tinged voice?
LEVORCHAM
I have a story to tell them, and I mean to tell it.
I’m here to tell them about Deirdre.
CONCHOBOR
And I’m the villain of that story, I suppose.
LEVORCHAM
My stories don’t have villains. If you’d ever listened to them, you’d know that.
CONCHOBOR
What’s a story without a villain?
LEVORCHAM
A tragedy. The characters repeat the same mistakes over and over– because they don’t learn.
CONCHOBOR
As if I could trust a witch to tell my story —