What Makes Playing Sandwiches A Successful Example of Twentieth Century Drama?
There are a number of ways of finding out about a character. These are the facts, for example appearance, what they say about themselves, what they say about others, and what others say about them. In Playing Sandwiches exploring these techniques reveals the character of Wilfred. The pieces of information evident by looking at him give an overall impression of a man who can be trusted and generally liked. He talks in an informal tone, as if to a close friend in a low tone with a northern accent. When he first talks he is leaning on a shed, in a relaxed manner, which indicates someone at ease with himself. He is dressed in a uniform of a park attendant, which gives him a position of trust and power. He looks neat and tidy with a beard neatly combed. The changing of his clothes shows his gradual deterioration of control over himself. In the first scenes he is shown in a uniform, later in a suit and finally when in prison he is shown with bandages and black eyes.
What he says about himself gives small clues that at first are not incriminating, but at second viewing are obvious, although what goes unsaid often gives more of a clue to his nature. When he talks about children, he calls them ‘kiddies’ and the small details that he notices that seem innocent and friendly at first can afterwards be perceived as signs of his obsession. For example in Scene Two, when he is talking about the christening, he notices the movements of the small girl, Rosie, when she is playing with her ball. He notices how she lifts up her leg, which would allow him to see her knickers, and it is only on a second viewing that you might notice this. The liquorice allsorts that he buys are symbolic of his intent to commit a crime, but this is only realised when you think back over the story to when the liquorice allsort was ‘clawed’ out of Rosie’s mouth, and when he mentions that he ‘stopped by at the sweetshop on the way home’. This gradual revelation means that some facets of the audience may recognise quite quickly his intentions concerning Samantha, whereas others may not realise until the line ‘So I took her into the bushes’ and beyond then. His actual actions are left unsaid, although the more contemporary audience would probably realise more quickly than the intended audience for this monologue what happened. The sound tracking is used to aid the understanding, as throughout the story it becomes more sinister, setting an atmosphere. It also is part of the structure of the monologue, as at the end of each scene what at first sounded a harmless, quiet noise becomes loud, sinister and intruding.
During the play, Wilfred says many people ask him about his past jobs. The first time this does not seem incriminating, but when another person asks, it begins to sound suspicious. He denies it each time, as he denies anything that people ask about his past, but never says to you that it is not true, he only tells you what he said to that person. The jobs that people have asked him about seem to bring him into contact with children most of the time, for example, a lollipop man, a dinner supervisor, and in the Derby baths, which is a children’s swimming pool. Another job was a foreman, which gives Wilfred a position of power over others. To the audience this would be very disconcerting. They would be faced with the danger that people whom they trust with their children’s safety could actually be causing them more harm. It also forces the audience into considering how slack the authorities must be on hiring people, and how easy it was for Wilfred to start a new life, once again in such close contact with children. This may produce some positive action because parents would realise how they trust people that they know little about, maybe putting their children in serious danger.
On his first visit to the sweetshop Wilfred is questioned on the fact that he buys so many sweets, but in an indirect way. He gives a reason for him not getting fat by saying that he cycles. The language used reveals that he doesn’t have enough money for a car, but a bike is also an easy way to travel quietly and quickly. This seems sinister in retrospect, and adds to the gradual revelation. When he is in the sweetshop he mentions that ‘there are always men in there, looking at the magazines’ in a disapproving manner. He seems to think that although pornography involving grown women is something to see as disgusting, raping small children is something that to him comes naturally. He compares other crimes and makes them seen much worse. He says about his family that ‘their Martin’s been done for drunk driving twice’ as if he can project his own insufficiencies onto others that have committed crimes. He mentions how Martin was in a remand home when he was younger, as if his own crimes are nothing compared to Martins.
Wilfred seems to have trouble initiating adult relationships, because every adult immediately close to him knows of his past. This is shown when Debbie asks if it is her that he likes he avoids the question by asking if she will ever get Samantha tattooed. When he talks about people ‘doing it’ on the slide, he makes it sound dirty because that it where the children ‘slide over with their bottoms’. He is obsessed with the condoms he finds in the park, and mentions them whenever he talks about ‘filth’, as though sex is disgusting between adults, whereas raping small children is acceptable in comparison and to him seems right.
When Wilfred goes to the Christening, this is another example of his lack of ease and comfort when he is with other adults. He mentions how the men and women are in separate rooms, but when he is with the men snide jokes are made about him, and when he is with the women he causes ‘smutty laughter’. When he recounts how there are ‘children all over the place’ his face lights up, and he seems to become at ease when talking about Rosie. When Wilfred talks about the dog, he instantly worries about the children. He says ‘one snap and they are scarred for life’. He is constantly worried about the physical scars that could ruin the untouched, innocent look of children but never thinks about the mental scarring. He is only concerned of their outward appearance instead of their feelings. He seems to understand children at the beginning of the story, but as it progresses you realise how little he does know of children’s minds. He thinks and presumes he knows what is best for them, although in truth he interprets what he thinks of as obvious signs of ‘what they want’ in a way that would not cross anyone else’s thoughts.
When Wilfred meets Samantha again, he seems to notice more details about her then before. She runs up to him, and raises her arms to be lifted. He watches her with very close attention, and narrates for us how she put her hand on his knee, but also tells how he moves away, which also gives a clue to his thoughts. When she offers him a daffodil he takes it from her and puts it in his buttonhole. He sees her wanting to be picked up and the daffodil as her offering herself, with signs that are, to him, very obvious. To ‘deflower’ her can mean for her to loose her virginity, another sign that he may see whereas viewers who are not necessarily aware of his intentions would not. This is a subtle device introduced by the author and those who are able would make the connection, and many people may in retrospect. Later in the story he tells of how Janet has had ‘all her daffodils uprooted’, symbolising the scarring that he has caused her as well as Samantha and to some extent himself.
During the next scene Wilfred is in a prison cell, sitting in the shadows. In the background, the shadow of the window makes a cross on the wall, as though he is making a confession. To tell the story he steps out into the light, as though he is relieved that he has admitted to his crimes.
When Debbie and Samantha are with him, he is trying to unblock a drain which has flooded the bandstand and when they leave he pulls out some condoms, and ‘all the dammed up water drains away’. The blockage in the drain symbolises Wilfred’s sexual repression. When he is describing the blockage he looks uncomfortable, but when he describes how all the water drained away his face softens, the tension is released, and the ‘problem is solved’. When the water drains away it seems as though he is giving in to his instincts and he settles with himself his intentions towards Samantha.
After this episode Wilfred is fired from his job. When he talks about leaving the park, he goes out of his way to go past the children’s playground. It is as though now he has decided what he wants to do he is released from any previous restraints, and can follow his instincts.
When he agrees to look after Samantha, he asks her if she wants to go on the slide. He sounds upset when she refuses to go on, because it is all wet. The slide was where Wilfred complained about people having sex, and how the ‘kiddies’ had to slide their bottoms over the same spot. This connects Samantha’s actions with his desire to rape her. He takes her into the bandstand where they sit and shelter from the rain. The bandstand is the place where he now gives into his desires towards Samantha, and where he makes his final decision to rape her. They play ‘sandwiches’ the game, and Wilfred pretends to sleep. Samantha tries to open his eyes, and hold his hand. His hand is a fist, he says ‘there’s nothing for you in there. My shop’s closed.’ This may show Wilfred trying to stop himself one final time, as previously the purchase of sweets has symbolised his intentions to rape a child. Samantha pushes her finger into his fist and ‘wiggles it about’. Wilfred sees this as a sign and once again interprets it in a way that suits him and his intentions. He says she ‘must have known what she was doing’, and that it is ‘what she wants.’
When Wilfred is tried in court he is asked to tell what he did, and he can’t put into words or sequence the events leading up to his rape of Samantha. During the trial Wilfred is still watching Samantha. He watches her walk up to the Judge and hold his hand, and thinks ‘that’s what I’m here for’. He doesn’t seem to be able to tell the difference between innocent contact and unnatural touching. This may be due to his past which is alluded to during the trial. Wilfred is asked if anyone ever touched him, and Wilfred says ‘if they did it’s done now’. When he was young maybe he was abused, and he has grown up with the impression that that is normal, and when he was young he never grew to know the difference.
He describes how Janet comes to visit him, and how she blames the mothers ‘as usual’, but Wilfred doesn’t want the same thing to happen again. When he is told he will have treatment, yet he doesn’t get it he sounds let down. Janet tells him of how her daffodils have been uprooted, and this extends the symbolism of the daffodils previously. The daffodils are an offering, and now Janet has had hers taken away from her because she has been forced to separate herself from Wilfred.
Wilfred talks of when he gets out of the prison, and how he wants to move to a moor, where no one will be able to find him. He says ‘that will be the place, no one there at all’ where there will be no one to tempt him. As he talks his voice softens, and he says ‘except for the kiddies’. He talks of a reservoir in the moor, which symbolises an oasis of relief for him. As he finishes talking the lights are turned off and you hear the banging of doors. It becomes silent, and Wilfred begins to cry, in a ‘long drawn howl’ like an animal. The cymbals then start, joined by other instruments causing a crescendo effect, building up and coming together, representing all of the children that he has abused coming together after a final judgement.
Playing Sandwiches is a successful example of Twentieth Century Drama, because of the devices that it used to provoke feeling in an audience, questioning their stereotypes and for some extent of the play the viewer may not even have been aware of this. If drama changes a person’s opinion, or makes them think about something they wouldn’t consider related to them, it has fulfilled its purpose. In this sense I would definitely consider Playing Sandwiches a very successful piece of drama to read as well as see performed.
