This performance consisted of absolutely no facial expressions whatsoever. This meant that the actors had to make the most of their body movements and they did this well by making very precise movements with their heads. For example, they were either looking at the audience, at the floor or at the other character, they never looked somewhere in between otherwise the audience wouldn’t understand what they were supposed to be doing. They used particular movements to show their emotions. When they were happy they would dance, when they were angry they would use offensive hand gestures and when they were sad they would usually lower their heads.
Another aspect that was used to help the audience understand the plot of the story was music. The music that was used usually represented what was happening at that moment either with the words that were being sung or the style of the music. When the teenagers came, they put on heavy rock music. After the old woman’s brother died in her arms, the music played was soft R&B.
Other sounds were used to represent other moments. Air raid sirens were used to represent the war times when her parents died. The sound of the sea created a memory of when she was on the sea with her whole family. There were also gunshots and other war sounds used when the war was going on. Just before her parents died the audience heard a gunshot and the parents froze in a position that looked as if they were about to hug each other for about five seconds then they slowly walked behind the screen. This also happened when the old woman’s husband died in the war. This is proof that the play is not very naturalistic because they used sound and still image to show that they were dead rather than acting out the actual process of them dying.
The main forms of lighting used were when people died. When the old woman’s husband and parents died the lighting that was used was a dark red light that could have represented the blood that was shed in the death or the colour of the explosion of a bomb. When her brother died of old age, a brighter white light was used. This might have represented the heavenly light and then his parents appeared to take him away. There were small bright lights used to create the city in the distance.
This performance consisted of many aspects that contribute to a person’s life. It had moments of humour, sorrow, irritation, happiness and love. There were small symbolic objects that meant more to the old woman than they did to anyone else. There was the blanket and watch that were passed down to them by their parents creating a bond between the parents and their children. The children then swapped their items creating a bond between themselves. To the teenagers who broke into the old woman’s house at the end the watch and blanket meant nothing but to the woman it was a family bond.
There was a very clever performance skill to emphasise the importance of a particular item. Three actors would come on stage and do exactly the same thing for example read a letter simultaneously. The actors would be the young, middle-aged and old version of the character and this would show the audience that the letter created specific memory to the character and that memory has been with them throughout their life.
The husband of the old woman had a best friend with whom he did everything evenly. These two men ensured that everything was even between them by tossing a coin. This coin determined what would happen in life. This coin could be a symbol of God because it has the same job as God to guide the way of life for the characters. It was this coin that made the man and old woman get married and it was the same coin that killed the old woman’s husband.
In conclusion I feel that this play was effective. It left the audience questioning the meaning of life and how quickly it can pass you by or be taken away from you. This shows that the play does have a strong effect on the audience and is worth seeing. The performance skills help the audience understand it and create the correct atmosphere that is needed to have this effect on the audience.