Our Day Out - By Willy Russell

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Year 10 Drama Workshop Exam

Exploration of Drama: Paper 1 Unit 2

Amy Sanders 10A

“Our Day Out”

by Willy Russell

  During GSCE drama at Wyedean we have covered a variety of drama techniques which are used to create more of an effect, represent reality in an abstract form or to provoke the audiences’ imagination. Some of these techniques are very simple such as freeze framing, a number are more common such as narration and others are particularly challenging for the actor such as hot-seating.  

About the play ‘Our Day Out’

  Over a few lessons we learnt about the play, “Our Day Out” by Willy Russell and the world he creates in Liverpool for a class of disadvantaged children. The play was set in the 1970’s but can easily fit in with today’s Britain. The story revolves around four teachers and ‘Mrs Kay’s progress class’ ; a class of children who are not seen as able to achieve much other than working in a factory when they finish school. Mrs Kay is a bubbly, warm-hearted and fun-loving teacher, it becomes clear immediately that she is very fond of the children and enjoys her job. Mr Briggs on-the-other-hand is a moody, strict and hot-headed teacher with a tendency to ruin the children’s fun. The progress class are very rowdy and misbehaving in the eyes of Mr Briggs, however Mrs Kay sees it as “just having a bit of fun”. Consequently, when Mrs Kay organises a school trip which would have been the first time for many of the children to go outside of Liverpool, the teacher’s contrasting perceptions clash and chaos erupts wherever the class go leaving a trail of destruction.

 What picture does Russell create of the children’s home life and how does he do this?

 It is clear from the beginning that the children are from disadvantaged backgrounds and are not particularly wealthy. Russell portrays this picture mainly through the dialogue that is spoken by the characters throughout the play. Mrs Kay and Mr Briggs talk one-to-one about the children’s difficult upbringing and how it has affected their education. The children speak about the animals as if they were themselves;  this gives clues to how the children feel about their lives in general by looking at it through the eyes of an animal. For example Ronson talks of a bear being kept in captivity, Mr Briggs replies saying that the animal knows no different and Ronson retaliates and talks about how the bear had never been given a chance to be free. This notion can be reflected as Ronson being the bear talking about how he was never given the chance of a proper education.

 

Why does Russell not include scenes of the children at home in his play?

  Willy Russell does not include scenes of the children at home with their families; this allows the audience to create their own perceptions of what the children’s home life may be like through - again – the dialogue and what we are shown of their school life. For example, Mrs Kay refers to the bus driver how they cannot afford sweets, this suggests they come from a poorer background, the audience are able to then make suitable assumptions from there. The play does not verify that the children are poor or undereducated, it simply gives suggestions, and therefore the play can focus around the trip rather than showing unneeded scenes regarding the student’s home life.  It is also more effective by using the animal’s to reflect their thoughts and feelings; it makes the audience think more about the children’s circumstances.

What is a freeze frame and what does it allow us to explore?

  During the workshop we used freeze frames to show different scenes and situations in the play. A freeze frame is a still image. Just like a photograph, a still image can be examined closely, and the audience can clearly see body language, facial expressions or the distance between two actors to give clues as to the situation or the people within the situation at that moment. It is as if the piece of action has been stopped at a particular moment, therefore allowing the audience to appreciate what is happening within the scene. The audience can make assumptions from referring to the image, the can be a simple image suggesting a simple situation, for example if someone was holding a microphone and had their mouths open it would be obvious that the character is singing. Or the image can possess more meanings; if the singer had a bored expression but was surrounded by screaming fans, it would show that they don’t perhaps enjoy be the centre of attention, that way you can begin to understand some the character’s mannerisms.

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What is thought-tapping and what does it allow us to explore?

  We also used another drama technique called thought-tapping which is the revealing of the characters thoughts; it allows us to explore the difference between the characters appearance and the reality of their true emotions. Character may hide their true feelings if they are ashamed, feel that it is too impolite, or just out of courtesy. Or simply, it gives the audience a better understanding of what is happening in the scene. It also enables the audience to know what someone thinks at important or insignificant moments. The audience ...

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