Sound creates atmosphere. When Caroline and Jake talk, soft music plays creating a romantic atmosphere. This helped the audience as two men were playing everybody. As the set was minimal, it changed the mood and made you forget they were both men. Lighting was used similarly. The lighting was red and dimmed to add romance. In church the lighting was lowered,, giving a dull, sad atmosphere. A gobo (cross) was projected showing this was a church. The lighting changed when they were shooting the film, so you knew when they were filming and when it was “real time”.
The use of spoken language was good i.e. Simon swearing created his character. During the flashback the teacher used authentic Irish words appropriate to the character. This made us believe the character and clarified who it was, as they changed so often. Voice was essential in identifying characters. Caroline and Ashley were played with distinctive, high, feminine voices. Body language was important. Each character had a unique way of moving. Mickey walked bent over, depicting an old person. This is stereotypical. As there are 2 actors, stereotypes are important to recognise characters and gain information about them. Caroline’s movements were slow and sensual. They switched characters by stepping behind each other, being masked, and appearing the other side someone else. Sometimes they walked off then back on and also froze the action. This kept the fast pace. Mime and gesture is important. The only prop was the box, used symbolically representing different objects from a coffin to a bus. They showed other items using mime so the action didn’t stop while props were brought on and the audience stayed focused. The costumes were simple as there is no changing time, because they switch characters quickly. They wore trousers and jacket throughout. They created the illusion of different costumes through gestures; Caroline kept on wrapping an imaginary gown around her.
The story was told in chronological order but there were flashbacks. It didn’t really skip forward in time. They used conventions like talking to the audience, looking right at us. This made us feel more involved. At certain points they established one part of the stage as a certain place e.g. one bit as the canteen, helping us know where the scene takes place as the set doesn’t give much information.
Contrasts between comedy and tragedy were effective. The mood is happy, then you’re hit with tragedy, heightening the shock, showing how suddenly tragedy strikes. The tragic moment followed the comic high point, so everybody was laughing and the effect was lost. I’ve learnt if you’re going to do that, you need to leave a longer gap so people stop laughing. The pace was fast due to the constant switching. You had to concentrate to keep up. The pace slightly slowed in the church creating a sad atmosphere showing the audience something tragic has happened.
The actors portray the characters extremely well. They used key gestures/phrases for each so we know who they are e.g. Ashley clapped and said “settle” while Caroline tucked her hair behind her ear. They used stereotypes for comedy. The bouncer had a deep voice, walking with a swagger.
The title is misleading and symbolic as it’s a comic title about a tragic point in the play. I didn’t know what to expect and it only became clear just before the interval.
The play raises social and cultural issues. It’s about the loss of a way of life. Sean thought he’d be a farmer but now the film industry has taken over and things won’t be the same, because someone has died and the farming way of life is disappearing. Sean committed suicide because he lost face in front of the whole pub when he was thrown out and there everyone is related or knows each other. He lost his sense of value.
Caroline got a front row seat at Sean’s funeral and she didn’t even know him. Hollywood made it a superficial, shallow, publicity stunt. Charlie tried to commit suicide because he lost his livelihood of running a video store when the Blockbuster chains invaded. He lost his way of life and felt worthless. Multinational things take over having the power to make people feel like nothing/extras in their community. This raises what and who is real and what isn’t.
After seeing it we saw the script in class and it didn’t mention there were only two actors, you’d have thought there were lots more. I thought there’d be direction on where to switch but there isn’t, which creates respect for the ability of the actors.
By Dawn Grant 11S