The actors were waiting in each corner of the aisles that had been set up and sat on chairs as we entered the performance space. Loud house music played as we came in and everyone was chatty and in quite good spirits. We didn't know what to expect, but some people thought it would be a boring play because they don't take drama, but I was very excited to see what it would be about. Miss Frith had told us that she saw this play when she was at school and that she still remembered moments of it because it was very powerfully presented, so I knew that it would be good.
The lights went down and the music stopped. The four actors came running into the centre of the stage and the play began with a punch. The actors described scenes of teenagers getting ready for a night out of getting drunk and going "on the pull". They interacted with the audience and even picked on certain people, I thought this was hilarious because they embarrassed the kind of people who think they are hard and they were made to look silly. This was a great idea because as a young audience, we could very easily get bored and having interaction with us kept our interest and attention. I like the way that the lines were delivered directly to the audience and shouted in an excitable and enthusiastic way, they also rhymed which I thought was clever script-writing. It was slightly different to the text and brought more up to date with references to modern groups and using words that were used today rather than in the 1990's when the play was first written and performed.
This powerful and fun opening was deliberate, because when they built up to getting into the car - which was just 2 chairs - we would not expect what we were about to see. The use of contrast was excellent because one minute we were enjoying the events of a girl's night out for 2 sisters Judy and Jane, with them having had a great night out and then watching them make a decision whether to drive home or take a cab. We learnt from the monologues that were presented that Jane had already been done for drink driving and that Judy felt like she was loved less by her parents. Therefore, the decision that was made was to change their lives forever. The keys were thrown between them and the action froze as the decision was made - Judy would drive Jane's car because she didn't feel too drunk. The freeze was a good idea because the silent pause symbolised that moment where you get the chance to think and make a decision.
Music was used brilliantly to enhance the crash scene, The Carpenters song "We've only just begun…" played softly and as they girls sat on the chairs, representing the car. The 2 male actors stepped in to the scene wearing bright yellow jackets, like traffic police wear, and they held 2 metal poles and were hitting them against their hands. They put on "bully boy" voices and were mocking the girl's decision to drive home and moved closer and closer to them. I understood that the way that the space was used was very important because it built up to the moment when the crash took place. This lovely, sweet song was playing in the background (on the car radio) and the girls mimed chatting and driving and there was a build up of the men's voices getting more and more violent. The music was turned up to full volume as the metal poles were used to represent the railings of the bridge that the car swerved and ran into. They choreographed this brilliantly and the girls flung forwards and backwards and the men shoved the poles at them and back, it was extremely powerful and I knew that this was the moment that my teacher had said stuck with her. This was such a powerful image and when the description of what the impact had done to Jane was given - the full effect of the crash was made clear - it was horrible!
The projection screen was used to show photographs of the car crash and further description given to illuminate what had happened - it was sickening - but the fact that it was real made me realise just how this could happen to anyone. The fact that we got to see actual images of the car made it only feel more real and had more impact on us. Unfortunately the lighting was not used for effect and needed to be turned off so that we could see the screen - it was turned on again when it was meant to be daylight - but this was not a deliberate decision of the group - just when my teacher decided was a good time to do it.
Costumes were used just to suggest who each of the roles were and were just everyday casual clothes that teenagers might wear, plus jackets etc were put over the top for when multi-role was used.
The girl who played Jane also played the mother and I though that she was amazing. She put on a cardigan and kind of wrapped it around herself to show how we comfort ourselves and when she delivered her monologue about when she heard about what happened to her daughter and how she felt towards Judy it was chilling. She caught eye contact with people in the audience, which almost make you feel that you are to blame. She was crying and was shaking and her voice and facial expression communicated brilliantly how this mother felt at the loss of her daughter and the anger and bitterness and relief that she felt that her other daughter was okay, but it was her who had caused the accident. It showed just how much their lives were torn apart because of the split decision that was made to drive home instead of getting a cab.
I really thought this play was powerful and although it made me cry and many other people felt sick and were taken out to make sure that they were ok, I thought that it gave an important message. It was very brave of the family involved to allow their story to be used in this way - yet I understand that they know that it can help others to not make silly decisions like this. I think that it showed the realities of how making a stupid decision could break a family apart, wreck, and take lives. It is not just drink that people need to be aware of when driving, more and more people drive when stoned or having taken other drugs and this also needs to be thought of because it's just as dangerous.
I thought that the non-naturalistic dramatic techniques used in this production were good because if we had watched a naturalistic performance where the stage looked like real life we wouldn’t think about the issues as much as it would have been difficult to reinforce them. By being able to talk directly to the audience and use freezes the audience becomes an important part of the performance and can’t help feel involved – rather than just watching and saying “oh that was sad wasn’t it?” This style of performance encourages you to sit up and take notice and even take action. It was an excellent piece of theatre.