Act 1, Scene 5 Summary

In England in 1951, on the banks of a river, Susan waits for a fireworks display to begin. She is joined by Mick, a young man who talks about a street deal he's making for several hundred cheese graters and then about Susan's barrage balloon. Mick asks what it says, and Susan tells him about advertising "Bovril," a dried soup product. They talk about a festival that Susan organized and that she's thinking of going into advertising.

Susan suddenly announces that she wants to have a child, explaining that she doesn't want to get married, but just wants the experience of having a baby. She doesn't want to compromise her strong-minded personality so she wants to have a quiet marriage just to become pregnant. Susan adds that she thought asking someone she barely knew to be the father would be just the...