Some key themes to keep in mind are isolation, because Doris has no family or friends, basically no contact with the outside world except for her weekly visits from Zulema, she mentions, “I never get any bona fide callers.” Also Doris’s frustration with dirt, she has become over obsessed with cleaning, probably because when she was preparing for her baby she tried to make a clean and hygienic environment for the baby but unfortunately Doris miscarried her son John. She became frustrated with the nurses because they wanted to wrap him in newspaper, “as if he were dirty. He wasn’t dirty, little thing.” She also reflects on her past, “…and the streets were clean and it was all clean.” The world seems to overwhelm her and she seems unable to get a grip on her identity. The photo cracks, the gate bangs open, the sense of forces coming in is threatening to her, this is conveyed when she says “Bang bang bang all morning, it’ll be bang bang bang all afternoon” creating a situation where she is trapped and overpowered. Also you will need to convey Doris as quite house-proud and unpleasant at the beginning but as the plot unfolds she becomes calmer and more pleasant. The parts in the script to note, showing this 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.
Some key moments to think about are; Doris’s husband Wilfred, her accident cleaning the wedding photo and waiting for hep by the door. They will be directed as follows…
She climbs the buffet and inspects the wedding photo, tutting to herself she makes a remark, “Home help. Home hindrance.” She reaches over to wipe it with her hand when the buffet collapses and she falls down with the photo. The scene fades and she emerges after a pause leaning against the wall on the floor. She picks up the shattered photo and says, “Now, Wilfred” It’s as though Doris actually believes that Wilfred is still with her in that picture and that she believes that he can hear what she is saying. She then goes on to say that she can “nip” he leg and feel nothing. The camera shows her doing this and Doris’s facial expression is that of worry. She then pauses and looks up with a happy smirk on her face, she starts to remember things about Wilfred, his inventions etc. that never got past the thinking stage. She talks about them in a joking way, how Wilfred wanted a dog, but the didn’t because she didn’t want all the little hairs everywhere. She eventually agreed but goes on to say it never happened just like all Wilfred’s ideas, “Never materialised.” The camera suddenly zooms out to a shot of Doris, still leaning against the wall on the floor, she hears someone enter the garden. She begins to shout, “Hello. Somebody coming. Salvation.” She tries to lift herself up a bit so maybe they would see her, but it’s too hard. She begins to wave when she realises it’s a young boy. Suddenly she stops waving, the cameras zoom in then back out slowly and she looks away from the window in disbelief as she realises that he is urinating in her garden. She says in a disbelief manner, “The cheeky monkey. He’s spending a penny.” She starts to shout in a strained voice, “ Hey. Hey. Get out. Clear off. You little demon.” Doris is so shocked by this that she looks about in astonishment. She the slowly lifts her head, sad music begins playing, she realises that she just chased away her chance of help. She tries to make herself feel better by saying, “He wouldn’t have known what to do anyway.” A full camera shot of Doris shows he struggling to lift herself up so she can move to the front door, she then says, “This must be what they give them frame things for.” The music in this scene portrays a dramatic theme to the viewer. With the music still playing the lights fade, then come back to a dark hallway at the bottom of the stairs. The view is showing Doris slumped against the door with the letterbox above her head and some light shining in from a window on the door. The music gets quiet as she begins to talk, she looks over to where the pram used to be and remembers Wilfred’s thoughts on the baby, “Just a craze, like the fretwork and allotment.” She sighs and the scene fades.
The writer of this story is trying to show that society is increasingly isolating the elderly and this is showing that trend through the eyes of a victim. Also how little things like gates banging and photos smashing can create a threatening and trapped environment for an elderly person.
I hope this letter has helped you get a better understanding of your character; I look forward to seeing you on 25th April.
