For the set, the colours and lighting would be quite dark. Browns and greys would be used for the furniture and wallpaper. On the wallpaper I would have a traditional pattern, possibly a simple square or striped pattern. For the lighting I would choose a brownish colour so it wouldn’t illuminate the whole room. Brown would give an old feel to the set.
I have made these decisions based on the script and the character of Doris. I believe that the choices I have made are justified in Doris character, old and simple.
The time of year I would choose for this play is autumn/winter. This is because when Doris says, “The gate’s open again. I thought it had blown shut, only now it’s blown open”, this shows that it is quite windy. Also the time of year is indicated when Doris says, “Some leaves coming down now”. By saying this Doris implies that the leaves from trees are falling down. This would only happen in autumn. Also Doris’ age indicates what time of year it is. She is nearing the end of her life, just as the plants and trees are.
The different times of day the play involves are morning, afternoon, evening and night. The part of the script that indicates that it is morning/afternoon is when Doris says, “Broad daylight”. She says this when she sees a boy urinating in her garden. The subscript in the play has written, “It is getting dark”. This shows that it is early evening. Also further on in the play Doris speaks, “I wish I was ready for bed”. This implies that it has got late. I would say that the character of Doris would probably go to bed at about 9 or 10pm so nighttime is also involved in the play.
I would tell the actor playing Doris to wear a dull old dress. This is because in the script Doris says, “I’ve had this frock for years”. I would also tell the actor to act quite house proud and unpleasant at the beginning of the play, but as the play grows the character gets a bit calmer and more pleasant. This is because of what Doris says in the play. The parts of the script that show that Doris’ character is getting more pleasant are when she says, “He wouldn’t have known what to do anyway. Only a kiddy”, and also when she says, “Thank you” to the police officer.
The other characters mentioned in the play are Wilfred (Doris’ late husband), Zulema (Doris’ helper) and the Marsden’s.
Doris speaks of Wilfred as a nice and friendly man. In the script she speaks about Wilfred and her having discussions. They were about having a bush in the garden, getting a dog and normal things that married couples discuss.
Zulema is shown as a lazy helper because she doesn’t clean properly. This is shown when Doris says, “But Zulema doesn’t dust. She half-dusts.” Zulema also seems like a calm person when she replies to Doris, “Let the dirt wait. It won’t kill you. I’m here every week”. The name Zulema suggests that she is foreign.
Doris only speaks of the Marsden’s once. Specifically she speaks of Yvonne Marsden who was the daughter. Doris says, “Smartish woman after them.” This suggests that Yvonne was a sensible and cleaver woman.
The key moments of this play for me are when Doris first realizes what she has said to the boy who is urinating in her garden. This is the first time that Doris character has a change in her. Also when Doris says, “I wanted to call him John”, she is talking about the miscarriage she had. This is a key moment for me because this is when the audience would feel really sympathetic for her.
The pauses in the play are for when Doris is thinking. She talks about one thing, has a pause and goes on to talk about another subject. With the pause she links one subject with the next. In the script, when it says, “go to black” in the subscript, this is when the lights go down. This shows a period of time has passed.
Doris tries to clean because she feels that Zulema hasn’t done a proper job of it. She says, “Well, Zulema, I bet you haven’t dusted the top of that.” This is when Doris looks up at the picture of her and Wilfred. She is determined to clean it because it is a picture of her and Wilfred.
At the end of the play I would have Doris die. This is because she has thought about her life and summed it all up. She has put her soul to rest and justified the decisions she’s made in life. For her to die peacefully would be the perfect ending.
At the end of the play I want the viewers to have mixed reactions. I want them to feel happy that Doris has changed her character and become nicer but I also want them to feel upset that she has died especially just when her life took a new turn. I want the viewers to think about their lives and hopefully make some change. I want this play to be a learning experience as well as entertainment.