The set of ‘Billy Liar’ is in the living room of the Fisher household, which stays the same and is true to the time it was set in (1950s). As the set stays the same it can be very detailed with a lot of props such as pictures on top of the fireplace, a 1950s clock an old telephone, tea set, etc. The set reflects the personalities of the residents, for example the Fisher household would be neat and tidy with enough furniture and other items to portray that they are lower/middle class people and it would also reflect the character of Alice Fisher who is always busy cleaning and taking care of everything.
The set of ‘Blood Brothers’ changes to many locations such as Mrs Lyons house and the Mothers house. Therefore it cannot be too detailed and should be more of a representational set wherein props would be used in order to show the scene change, the actors themselves could do this quickly.
‘Billy Liar’ is set in the 1950s in Yorkshire. It focuses on a lower/middle class family. At this time coloured people were moving to the country and were beginning to be accepted, the play also shows how the older generation such as Florence still do not accept coloured people. It was also a new beginning for young adults who began to be called ‘teenagers’.
‘Blood Brothers’ starts in the late 1950s and moves through to the 1980s covering a period of 30 years hence there are many political and environmental changes during the course of the story. The musical shows a contrast of classes and how a well nurtured boy turns out successful and rich whereas an almost exact replica of that boy turns to drugs and is poor due to a less privileged upbringing. It also shows how times change, for example Mrs Johnston is a single mother who works in order to look after her children, whereas in ‘Billy Liar’ Alice is a housewife while Geoffrey brings in all the money.
The characters in ‘Billy Liar’ and ‘Blood Brothers’ are quite different but have some similarities like Alice cares about her son and is worried about where he will end up, similarly Mrs Johnston cares about her sons and wants at least one of them to have a better life. Alice tries to keep her family together by stopping arguments and helping them to get ready for work in the morning, in the same way Mrs Johnston keeps her family together by working to earn money to look after them. She represents many mothers and that is why she is not given a name and is instead referred to ‘The Mother’ when she speaks.
Both ‘Billy Liar’ and ‘Blood Brothers’ have the same theme of family. ‘Blood Brothers’ is about how the family is split and ‘Billy Liar’ is about a dysfunctional family and also shows how class affects everyone in society. Like Billy in ‘Billy Liar’ Mickey in ‘Blood Brothers’ is a disillusioned youth. ‘Blood Brothers’ shows how society moulds you. It shows how twins separated at birth follow two very different paths due to they different societies they grow up in.
When watching ‘Billy Liar’ an audience would feel empathy for the characters. They would feel emotionally involved and become involved with the characters. For example they would feel sympathy for Alice as she cares about her son but she doesn’t know how to help him. The audience would also recognise Billy’s failure. However, in ‘Blood Brothers’ the audience is left thinking about political issues and the society we live in. The storyline of ‘Blood Brothers’ is purposely predictable so that the audience can concentrate more on the message.
