Discuss ways in which Playwrights use the possibility of theatre to convey the meaning of a story

This is only the first scene and already there are many disturbing aspects of the story and a theatre audience would probably not have expected to see these.

Jud drains all the tea from the pot, leaving none for Billy and puts Billy down by saying that he is destined to work down the pit. Billy then drinks from the bottle of milk. This is only a small detail but is equally horrific. Audiences who are going to see a play normally want to be lost in a fantasy world where everything is perfect and everyone is happy, but this play comes as a surprise to them. Jud then steals Billy's bike, which he well knows Billy needs for his paper round. It is in this first scene that we know that Billy has a harsh life if his own brother treats him like this.

There is a big use of bad language in this play. People don't usually expect to hear such foul language at the theatre especially off young children. So, this ultimately leads to more shocking feelings by the audience, which we know, were Hines' goal. The language used by Macdowall's mom when Billy calls for him to go bird watching is also very horrific. Billy's own mother, toward him and Jud, uses more bad language and this is quite unbelievable as this is the one person you expect to set an example to Billy.

The amount of people who are rude to Billy is quite vast. There doesn't seem a place for Billy to turn to where he can be treated equally and fairly. Not even his own mother, the one person you expect Billy to be able to turn to in a time of need, helps him. When Billy has discovered that Jud has killed the bird, he tries to hug his mother for affection. But, she pushes him away. Hines made it clear in his directions that when this part is to be performed, it is meant to be one of the most shocking parts of the play.

Everyone is rude to Billy: Jud, Mr. Porter, his mother, Mrs. Macdowall, the Farmer, The Librarian, Mr. Gryce, Mr. Crossly, Anderson, Mr.Sugden and the Youth Employment Officer. But there is a reprieve for Billy. Mr. Farthing and the Milkman are the only people who seem to talk to Billy instead of talking down to him. Mr. Farthing is the first person to actually show an interest in him. He encourages Billy to show off his potential and the scene where he tells the class about Kes is remarkable. Mr. Farthing actually calls round to where Billy keeps Kes and watches him training him. The stage directions are very clear to make it out, as this scene is where Billy gets a break from the world is against him, and this is where he is actually wanted. This scene would be very effective on stage, as the audience would have a closer feeling of this scene with Billy. He even encourages Billy to state his opinions in things by asking him questions. This gives a happy feeling for the audience as they have already experienced Billy's pain and now that he is actually happy, so are they.

Billy's mom's lack of interest in Billy is probably the most upsetting part of this play and would come across very dramatically in a theatre. When Billy has got the book on falconry, his mom asks him what it is but changes the subject when he starts to speak. This shows her lack of interest in him. Another quite horrifically unbelievable thing she does is asking him if he has a cigarette or not. This is disturbing as his mother doesn't seem to care if he is smoking or not, she shouldn't really be encouraging Billy to smoke. This would come across very shockingly in a play as the closeness between the audience and the actor would really be felt.

The scene where the messenger boy is caned for no reason whatsoever is the most shocking part of this play in my opinion. The boy is only in the Headmaster's office to pass on a message to him but ends up being caned with some other boys who were there to be caned for smoking. Hines makes his intentions clear in this scene. In italic writing it states

' It is important that this is done as realistically as possible and it should in certainly not be funny in any way at all'

This shows Hines intended use of this scene and how it would be portrayed in a theatre.

Another quite disturbing factor of this play is the levels of nudity. This would not be as bad in a film but in the theatre, where the audience can see the actors in the flesh before their very eyes, this would be quite awkward. The scene where Billy and Jud are in bed together and the shower scene where Mr. Sugden makes Billy go into the shower and deliberately turns the water cold, would put the audience at great unease, thus maximising its shocking potential. Hines uses his theatre directions clearly by making sure it is not portrayed in a comic way, but in a more shocking and disturbing manor.

With all these factors considered, it shows Billy as defenceless and vulnerable but, Billy, in his own little ways, manages to get revenge against the people who are so horrible to him. For example, when Billy is speaking to Mr. Porter about doing his papers, Mr. Porter puts Billy down with some insulting comments. At this time, Mr. Porter is standing on a ladder and Billy shakes the ladder but makes it out as an accident.

For the audience this is funny but we are also glad that Billy is getting some sort of revenge and not always getting downtrodden all the time.

When Jud returns from his night out and is drunk, Billy starts shouting, "Pig-Hog-Sow-Drunken-Bastard" at the top of his voice and then punches Jud. In some ways this is funny but we can see that Billy is a bit disturbed.

Finally, using theatre to convey the meaning of story is a very effective medium. But, there are some instances where it would be better to use film. However, with film, you don't get the close relationships and the powerful feeling of understanding that you would do in a theatre.

Michael Gaskin 11.12 English GCSE Coursework- KES