Berkoff's Theatrical Purpose
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'All Things Bright and Beautiful' - What makes this play an interesting drama?
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Introduction
English Coursework- 'All Things Bright and Beautiful' What makes this play an interesting drama? All Things Bright and Beautiful is a comedy with serious implications. The meaning of this play is far too strong to be ever sunk in comedy. Waterhouse and Hall have captured the audiences' attention well with the witty comedic side to this play, but have also introduced a very serious element, that is the destruction of all things bright and beautiful. The plight of the Hesseltine family is a very real one, and 'All Things Bright and Beautiful' is the story of a family faced with the indignities of having to depend on petty bureaucracy for happiness and even the essentials of life. In the introduction to this play, Waterhouse and Hall declare: " It is not a farce about a bunch of 'layabouts' who miraculously acquire a church lectern." The writers emphasize here that there is a serious, sometimes grave meaning to 'All Things Bright and Beautiful.' The use of irony makes the audience recognise some important messages in this play. The hymn 'All Things Bright and Beautiful' itself is a cheery tune often sung by children, most favoured by the younger generation of society. ...read more.
Middle
Old Jakie is stereotyped out to be very dependent on other people: "Old Jakie. (cheerfully) I've lost it again! Deanna. Oh you and that lavatory key, what would you do if we were out?" Old people are quite usually like this. Old Jakie is also stereotyped to be very forgetful, again, very much like a lot of old people are (when Deanna accuses him of forgetting to lock the lavatory door on page 17). Rory is a very important subject in the play. In the introduction to the play Waterhouse and Hall pronounce: "Perhaps the main difficulty of the production - certainly from the point of view of the actors - is that the two main characters in the story are an inanimate lectern and an invisible small boy." This is without doubt true, as Rory only says a few words in this play - usually singing, and the family don't really take much notice of him. Although he is sometimes beaten badly it is obvious that Queenie cares for him deeply. This is displayed when she stands up for him in front of Baloo and accused of stealing the Lectern from the church. ...read more.
Conclusion
"I will not cease from mental fight." The stage directions also show an essence that the family still cares about beautiful things to end on a positive note: "Queenie has crossed and picked up the severed head of the eagle. She is cradling it in her hands." The way in which Queenie still cares for beauty is shown in these lines. It is also written in the last couple of lines of the stage directions that Rory looks around at his family and gathers confidence in his voice to sing the last two lines with no mistakes at all. This shows that Rory feels that together the family can overcome any time of struggle. As well as this, if Rory can have confidence in this situation than the rest of the family will certainly still have some confidence. In conclusion of the end of this play, the audience can go away on a happier note, thinking that the Hesseltine's, however hard it has been for them, have become a better family from these experiences. From this play people may feel more confident about there own families and experiences, which would undoubtedly make the audience feel good about seeing or reading this play. ...read more.
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