My Mother Said I Never Should " Directors notes for Act 1 Scene 10

My Mother Said I Never Should – Directors notes for Act 1 Scene 10

What is the scene doing?

It starts out as a normal eight year olds birthday, presents are given and the cake is cut. But really it’s a chance for Margaret to dig at Jackie for not being there to watch Rosie grow up, a competition - who can get Rosie and keep her. At the end of the scene Jackie knows that Rosie doesn’t need her anymore, Margaret makes sure she does and tells her outright. Jackie asks, “She doesn’t need me, does she?” to which Margaret replies simply “No” so Jackie cant say anything back and as if her in her place. Rosie is unaware of all that is going on underneath Margaret and Jackie's conversation, she just wants to have fun on her birthday, another year gone and she wants to move on. She wants to bury her past, and be more grown up.

Turning Points

The scene starts out with everyone happy, Jackie and Rosie are in the garden while Margaret is busy in the house. They are talking and Rosie just sees it as talking to her big sister whereas Jackie is trying to bond with her daughter. As soon as Margaret comes out though everything changes, Jackie is not able to get close to Rosie and this upsets her but Rosie knows nothings wrong. When the candles are lit everything changes again, Margaret and Jackie start to argue which upsets Rosie. She doesn’t want her ‘mum’ and ‘sister’ to argue and runs off. This leaves Margaret and Jackie on their own so they can show their real emotions but Jackie doesn’t, she talks and gives her a present even though she doesn’t get much thanks for it. When Rosie comes back in she seems to have cheered up but then when the subject turns to her painting she declares she ‘hates’ Jackie, which upsets Jackie even more, this is a chance for Margaret to step in and reveal to Jackie who’s boss, she tells Rosie to say sorry which she does, this shows that Margaret is in control of Rosie and Rosie obeys her ‘mother’. Jackie is left at the end of the scene feeling miserable and has no chance of clawing Rosie back, Rosie trusts her too much.

Dramatic Irony

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Dramatic Irony

This scene is basically all dramatic irony, as the whole time we know that is Jackie Rosie’s mother and Margaret is just looking after her for Jackie. Jackie and Margaret know this but pf course Rosie doesn’t and she carries on blissfully unaware of what’s really going on. When Rosie overhears Margaret saying “No” she automatically questions “No what?” but Jackie quickly covers it up with “No you don’t ride your bike on the main road”. Again Rosie doesn’t no what's going on between her ‘ mother’ and her ‘big sister’. The readers may start to feel sorry for Rosie as she has no idea of what's happening and the fact that she doesn’t know that her entire life is a lie. Through this we could also feel that Jackie and Margaret have been unfair to Rosie and themselves and should have told her a long time ago to save all the pain and the guilt that Jackie is going through. We also know how Jackie feels about the whole situation which maybe the other characters don’t pick up on especially not Rosie.

Scenery

This scene is set in the back garden of Ken and Margaret’s home, with a cherry tree and swing. Instead of all this scenery there could just be two pools of light in which the characters can move in and out between the scene. At the start of the scene it would just be Rosie but then as Jackie comes in they would share a spotlight. When Margaret comes in however Rosie joins her light. Jackie is left out and in her own pool of light just as she is left out in the text, this just emphasises the point.

Props

The spoon is a large deep tablespoon with crusted dirt on it, it is rather rusty as if it has been used for gardening before. The doll Suky is very old and looks it. The remains of her hair have been spiked to look ‘punk’. She is completely naked apart from one red sock and her body has been decorated with several safety pins. The cake is large and decorated with multicoloured icing and has ‘Happy Birthday Rosie’ written on it. It has candles arranged around the outside and is presented on a shiny silver board. The tray is flowery, plastic and looks quite old and worn and is holding two matching small crystal glasses for Margaret and Jackie, the third is a bright orange plastic cup for Rosie. The last of the props- the parcel- is small and wrapped in brown paper; it looks lumpy but is quite soft and squidgy to the touch. As Rosie is painting there will also be various painting equipment. A pot of dark murky water with a couple of paintbrushes in it, maybe a rather expensive looking paint set possibly from Jackie to Rosie - another example of Jackie trying to buy Rosie’s emotions.

Jackie

Jackie’s main motivation is to try and have a better relationship with her daughter Rosie. She tries to spoil her like any mother would by buying expensive presents- her ‘lavish’ birthday cake for example. This show of affections is more than a normal mother and definitely more than a normal sister but Rosie doesn’t seem to realise. Only Jackie and Margaret are aware of it. She feels guilty for not being there and seeing her grow up and tries to get closer to her but Margaret wont let her. When she offers her the cheque for Rosie’s bike Margaret throws it back in her face ‘ How dare you! This isn’t another one of your art deals.’ Throughout the whole scene she is fixated on Rosie and ‘watching intently’, she sees how close Rosie and Margaret are and regrets ever giving her away. She watches their routines and how they act together- like mother and daughter. Jackie feels quite upset during this scene and feels resentment towards Margaret for not letting her have the chance to be close to Rosie. Her emotions change throughout the scene, at the beginning she is happy with her ‘sister’ but at the end she is sad and upset.

Margaret

Margaret’s main motivation is to keep Rosie as her own daughter and make sure that Jackie knows that Rosie doesn’t need her, it is her one goal to get Rosie and she does, she’s the one at the end of the scene with Rosie, she wins. She wants to keep Rosie because previously she lost her baby and wants Rosie to fill the gap. Without Rosie she would be on her own, Jackie lives far away and she knows that her marriage isn’t going to last much longer. She really doesn’t want to lose Rosie so does all she can to keep her, she seems happy and is almost bitchy to Jackie in this scene, the way she tears up the cheque and takes control of Rosie just to show Jackie that she’s the one Rosie trusts and is closer to. She has been there all of Rosie’s life so Rosie automatically trusts her anyway. When Rosie is upset she offers motherly support and makes her feel better which is something that Jackie's doesn’t do.

Rosie

Rosie’s main motivation is to just have fun on her eighth birthday and be more grown up, her big sister Jackie is round and she hasn’t seen her for ages ‘ One … year… and four months.’ She wants to get rid of her child hood in order to be more like an adult and so buries her doll Suky, she wants alcohol and is obsessed with the sex pistols, basically she wants to be like her sister Jackie. She has painted a picture of the cherry tree in the garden but is too embarrassed to show Jackie, as she knows she’s so good at art she wants to live up to her reputation but thinks she cant. She only wants to show ‘mum’ and Margaret feels triumphant, she has the painting she has Rosie and she’s won. Rosie ends up saying she hates Jackie and clings to Margaret. After Jackie has been all over protective and upset her she doesn’t seem to be the cool older sister she was before.