In the scene that I have chosen, the differences between the two social classes are clearly identified. Mrs Lyons is a middle class character whereas Mrs Johnstone is a working class character. Mrs Johnstone works for Mrs Lyons in a low paid job, resulting in small, cramped living conditions for her family and herself. Mrs Lyons, however, lives in a much larger house. The two characters speak very differently as well. Mrs Lyons speaks standard English with no swearing and no slang words, but Mrs Johnstone has a strong Liverpudlian accent and would most probably use a lot of swearing and slang words when she speaks. Mrs Lyons would be very smartly dressed with lots of expensive jewellery, but Mrs Johnstone would be poorly dressed, most probably wearing a cleaning apron while she is working. The only jewellery she would be wearing would be something like a cross to symbolise her religion and her superstition. These differences all show the differences between the two social classes. Mrs Johnstone and Mrs Lyons play very different roles in the play. Mrs Johnstone plays the role of a single mother with six or seven children. She is struggling to pay off her debts with people such as the catalogue man due to her low paid job. She is a poor woman and probably lives in an unfriendly environment. Her children will not have been brought up very well due to lack of money and possible lack of education. Mrs Lyons, however, is a very different character. She has no children due to never being able to have them. She is a very lonely character as she spends most of her life alone because her husband is never home due to working all of the time. Although she has a lot of money, a large spacious home, a pleasant environment, lots of expensive furniture, clothes and jewellery, Mrs Lyons is still a very lonely character. She has always longed for a child of her own and when she finds out that Mrs Johnstone is pregnant, she takes the opportunity to fulfil her dream of having a child. There are some important lines within my chosen scene that are spoken differently. One of these is when Mrs Lyons says: “Give one of them to me.” This line is said with excitement, determination and anticipation. Mrs Lyons is so desperate for a child that she begs Mrs Johnstone to give her one of hers when they are born. This line is very important in the play because Mrs Lyons would say it like she was desperate for a child. Another line that is spoken differently is when Mrs Johnstone says: “Give one to you?” This line is said with slight shock because Mrs Johnstone wasn’t expecting Mrs Lyons to say anything like that. Mrs Johnstone wants to give one of her children away, but in another way she doesn’t because it is her child and she wants to keep it, yet she knows the child will be better off with Mrs Lyons because Mrs Lyons will be able to care for the child and give him/her whatever he/she needs. Mrs Johnstone knows she cannot afford to keep the child, but is unsure whether she wants to give one away. There are various stage directions within the play as well. I would stick to using most of the stage directions already put in, in my scene. When the stage directions indicate for Mrs Lyons to grab a pillow and start to arrange it beneath her dress, then I would change it slightly so that she would still grab the cushion, then Mrs Johnstone would grab it from her and refuse to give her the child. Then I would make Mrs Lyons grab the pillow back off her and talk Mrs Johnstone into giving her the child. Then Mrs Lyons would continue with the pillow. A final stage direction that I may change slightly would be when it indicates for Mrs Johnstone to nod but still be uncomfortable. I would change this and indicate for a long pause at first, where Mrs Johnstone thinks for a while. Then, Mrs Johnstone would finally nod, still looking and feeling uncomfortable. Sound effects that could be used could include a jukebox, which would be part of Mrs Lyons’ home, playing classical music really quietly in the background, but not too loud so that it overpowers the characters. Gestures characters would use could include Mrs. Lyons face ‘lighting up’ when Mrs Johnstone tells her that she is having twins. A special effect I would use would be that when Mrs Johnstone is singing about how she can’t cope with two extra children. I would darken everything else out and just have the spotlight on Mrs Johnstone. Props I would use would be cleaning equipment that Mrs Johnstone would be holding (maybe a bucket and a mop). I would use a freeze frame when Mrs Lyons says: “Twins? You’re expecting twins?” Everything would freeze after she had said this and then the narrator would come on stage and say his bit, and then when finished, everything would remain normal. When characters are singing, I would put the spotlight on them. While Mrs Johnstone is singing, she is also still frantically cleaning in order to please Mrs Lyons. However, Mrs Lyons is following her, ribbing her fingers across furniture that Mrs Johnstone has just cleaned, eager to find dust.
In my scene that I have chosen, there are two characters present – Mrs Johnstone and Mrs Lyons. I have chosen Mrs Lyons to focus on. The role of Mrs Lyons in the scene is very important. She has to play the part of a wealthy woman that has everything she wants apart from one thing that she longs for…a child of her own. In this scene, when she discovers that Mrs Johnstone is pregnant, she takes the opportunity while she can and uses it to get sympathy from Mrs Johnstone in order to talk Mrs Johnstone into giving her one of her twins when they are born. Mrs Lyons knows that Mrs Johnstone will struggle when the two children are born and so she twists it around, saying that Mrs Johnstone’s child would benefit from being brought up with her because she could give him/her everything he/she needed. This is made quite clear when Mrs Lyons sings: “I’d keep him warm in the winter” and “And he’d sleep every night in a bed of his own” and finally “I’d always be there if his dream was a nightmare.” Mrs Lyons uses all of this to persuade Mrs Johnstone into giving her child away. Mrs Lyons is obviously very desperate to have a child, as in my chosen scene she states: “Please, Mrs Johnstone, please.” Mrs Lyons is obviously so desperate to have a child that she begs and begs Mrs Johnstone. Mrs Lyons sings to get sympathy about how: “Every day I look out from this window… etc,” until Mrs Johnstone finally gives in.
To conclude this, I can say that both characters play a very important part in my chosen scene. My chosen character, Mrs Lyons, plays an important part because she has to persuade Mrs Johnstone to give her one of her children when they are born, using mainly the sympathy vote. There are many significant events used in my scene. The main event is Mrs Lyons persuading Mrs Johnstone and Mrs Johnstone finally giving in. All in all, this scene is, in my opinion, the most important in the play because this is what the whole play is about – twins being separated at birth.
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