The difference in the amount of time each play takes also affects how each production it staged. As Blue Remembered Hills is only in one afternoon this means that there is only three different locations – however as this script was originally written for television the sets are quite complicated consisting of a wood, a field and a barn which makes it harder to stage compared to Blood Brothers which although has a number of different locations all can be symbolised by simple objects. The fact that Blood Brothers takes place over a long period of time could also very simply be shown by the way the character behave and costume.
The costume in both plays is quite simple. In Blue Remembered Hills the children remain in the same costume through-out. This would be costume that was common of working-class children at the time. For example I would dress all the boys very similarily in short trousers with braces, white shirts, sweaters, longs socks, with shoes. The girls would be in dresses perhaps with a cardigan however Angelas would be pretty whilst Audreys quite plain. Costume is also used to show this social difference between Donald and the rest of the children. I would dress him in a tatty jumper, shorts and plimpsoles and whilst all costumes would have the odd dirt mark to show that they are children, Donald would be noticeably more dirty.
However Blood Brothers has considerably more costume changes as it is over such a longer period of time and would so also need to show the different fashions. As time passes costume would be used to show the characters all maturing, but through out it is also used to show the difference in social class between Eddie and Mickey and characters roles. For example when we performed an extract we dressed Mr Johnstone in a large jumper and skirt with an apron and flat shoes to show her being lower class but also to show her role as a mother. Mrs Lyons on the other hand wore a fitted skirt with a smart shirt and heels to show her more upper class status.
The major similarity between these plays is that both feature working class children around the age of 7 but all the parts are played by adults. I think both writers decided to do this because children generally do not make as good actors. Also it emphasises the characters personalities rather than you focusing on what they look like. This means that the actors have to use emphasised body language in both and adapt child like features to make the characters really believeable. Games are a major part of both to show their child like qualities – e.g “Kids game” in blood brothers and at start of blue remembered hills when they play mummys and daddys.
Both plays are face paced and quite fun and lively. This is helped in Blood Brothers with the aid of music. I feel the fact that Blood Brothers is a musical and BRH is not adds a significant difference to the two plays as music can change the whole atmosphere. This is shown because “The whole thing’s just a game” and “The devil’s got your number” have exactly the same tune but create very different moods. However despite their lively atmosphere throughout another similarity is that both end in tragedy. Both plays have been quite fun and lively up to this point however I feel that both have had the death building throughout. In BRH it is Donald Duck who is killed. He dies in a fire in the barn: this would be very hard to show and so would be a lot more challenging from a directors point of view, as appose to Blood Brothers which ends with both brothers getting shot. I also feel that, although they have been quite lively and fun through out, both have a serious message in them.
I myself prefer Blood Brothers because I feel it is more interesting from both a audience perspective and as an actor. This is because I enjoy the music and the range of sets add interest to it. It is also better as an actor because you get too grow with the character as they change of time and so is more interesting to play.
I like Blue Remembered Hills for the fact of its realism and it is very emotional, it shows the interaction between children well and you genuinely can feel for the characters.
