Analyse the atmosphere at the start of Act three (too page 55 CONNOR: "yeah"). A close study of Trevor Griffiths' comedians.

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Analyse the atmosphere at the start of Act three (too page 55 CONNOR: “yeah”). A close study of Trevor Griffiths’ comedians.

At the beginning of Act three the comedians return from their show to discuss their performances. There is a “low, tense, anxious, angry, baffled mood”. Trevor Griffiths creates this atmosphere through the use of language, form and structure.

There is a feeling of defeat at the start of Act 3. The comics who remained loyal to Waters have failed in their aspirations to become comedians; those who pandered to Challenor’s view of comedy have betrayed their teacher and the values they aspire to. Griffiths creates the sense of their failure through stage directions. The comics sit “glum, drained and separate” with “simple exhaustion underpinning the low” atmosphere. Price’s mock funeral service for the comedians is symbolic of this failure “we are gathered here today to mourn the passing of several promising careers in the comedic arts”.

Waters is also defeated by the previous scene’s performances, he’s “white, tired, drained and old”. In contrast to act one where he was described as ”quick” and “purposeful”. Water’s theory of comedy is “comedy is medicine. Not coloured sweeties to rot their teeth with”, and his attempt to teach this to some of his pupils has failed. Those who abided by his philosophies will not be signed by Challenor from the board of agents, and he has hindered their chances of becoming  successful comedians, making his work seem futile. He seems to have  lost his sense of purpose.  Griffiths conveys this when Waters begrudgingly “relinquishes” his desk to Challenor.  The  desk can be understood as a metaphor for the  power he had over the comedians in his class.  After Challenor takes over his desk and class Waters is referred to as a mere “onlooker”.

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Waters is often portrayed as a socialist reformer in the play.  He suggests to his pupils that “most comics feed prejudice and fear and blinkered vision, but the best ones…illuminate them, to make them clearer to see, easier to deal with”. I believe that this was conveying the sense that comedians had the power to tackle problems of social inequality and stereotyping. In contrast Challenor can be seen to represent capitalism through his statement “they demand, we supply” . This refers both to Challenor’s political standpoint and his view that comics should support the status quo by feeding the ...

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