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Introduction

Read Act 1 of Kindertransport page 3 to page 6 - Discuss the effects of Samuels's imaginative use of dramatic techniques and stagecraft in this extract and in the play as a whole. Word Count - 1687 Based on the true events of the 1938 Kindertransport deportation of 10,000 Jewish German children to England, wearing identification tags around their necks, and were taken in by English families in the hope that they would be re-united with their own families as soon as possible. Very few of them ever were. Realising this is not simply a subject of historical interest. Even today, current "ethnic cleansing" as well as financial inequity has sent millions of refugee's and asylum seekers exiled, struggling to find homes and build new identities. Diane Samuels successfully explores not just the heart-wrenching horrors these children experienced throughout the event, but furthermore portrayed the many possible effects of the aftermath and the everlasting emotional scars these people possess. Throughout the play Samuels employs a variety of techniques to represent the important themes consisting mainly of how repressed memories and emotions can lead to the loss of identity. Through use of intellectual drama methods and stage crafts, Samuels communicates these themes to the audience. Samuels presents the entire play through the setting of a "dusty storage room" filled with boxes and various other items. ...read more.

Middle

Samuels maintains the sense of a mysterious tone in the first line of the play through Eva, when she asks, "What's an abyss Mutti?" Known as a dark, gigantic and possibly bottomless pit, the word instantly creates a depressing ambience, the departure family members, never to be seen again. The mother and daughter relationship between Eva and Helga seems tense, due to Helga's coldness and practicality. Throughout the first few lines of dialogue, Samuels presents the efficient, formal character in an obvious, yet subtle way, Helga seems to show little warmth towards her daughter and is more determined to teach her how to sew her own buttons on her coat. However throughout the course of the play, the reason this no-nonsense parenting method becomes obvious, particularly when, through naivety and confusion, Eva asks why she cannot continue sewing later and Helga replies abruptly with "There's no "later" left Eva". This hints to the audience the limited time the mother and daughter have left together as Eva is shortly due to leave on Kindertransport for her own safety and that Helga is simply trying to educate her daughter how to be independent without her mother, "See. You don't need me". Samuels clearly shows the motives for Helga's actions to be because this is what she believes to be the best chance of survival she can offer for her daughter. ...read more.

Conclusion

Neither children truly wish to leave their childhood homes and leave as many possible opportunities for their mothers to abandon all responsibility and efficiency, and want their daughters to stay with them. Much of Evelyn's characteristics can be revealed through Samuels use of props within stage directions. Throughout almost the entire play, Evelyn continuously polishes glasses, if not cleaning other things. Whenever faced with strong subjects with any relations to her past or emotions, she begins to polish a glass, for instance, as Faith becomes indecisive as to move out of the family home and clearly hints for her mother to ask her to stay, Evelyn disregards and ignores what she has to say, "Evelyn concentrates on polishing and replacing glasses." This can be seen as a symbol Samuels employs to show the basic survival methods of Evelyn, that her obsession with cleaning is a way of controlling her emotions and direct her energy into something else. Evelyn appears to unconsciously often compare her own personality with connotations of a glass, such as "A chipped glass is ruined forever" Here Samuels is suggesting that this new, reformed, diverse identity Evelyn has created for herself is delicate, and implies that it will be destroyed to be remained with her younger self, Eva. This is a terrible thing in the eyes of Evelyn, as her re-invented identity is a form of protection, a barrier against her emotional pains. Sam Whyte. ...read more.

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