Focussing on the scene where Mrs Johnson agrees to give one of her unborn babies away to Mrs Lyons, explain how you would direct this section of the play so that the major issues Willy Russell was concerned about are made obvious to the audience.

Blood Brothers by Willy Russell Focussing on the scene where Mrs Johnson agrees to give one of her unborn babies away to Mrs Lyons, explain how you would direct this section of the play so that the major issues Willy Russell was concerned about are made obvious to the audience. Blood Brothers is a Play that was commissioned by Paul Harman's Merseyside Young People's Theatre Company for Secondary school children. It was first performed at Fazakerley Comprehensive, Liverpool in November 1981. The play itself is set in Liverpool in the 1960's and it is intended to represent the class divide of the time, the division is portrayed through language, imagery and music. It was Willy Russell's way of commenting on Thatcherism. It is about an impoverished working class woman called Mrs Johnstone who is a single mother with many children and is now expecting twins. Because she is already in serious debt and social services are concerned about her children, she decides (with help!) the best option for one of the twins would be to give it up to her employer, an upper middle class lady called Mrs Lyons who is infertile and can't have children of her own. My task is to explain how I would direct the fateful scene of the play where the two women create the binding agreement that will change their lives. The distinction of Upper middle class and working is class is kept clear throughout

  • Word count: 3331
  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: English
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Educating Rita general overview. Russell depicts the initial struggles that people who have not had a private school start to the education system. He uses both stagecraft and dialogue to present the changes that a person such as he and Rita can face.

Educating Rita Coursework Liverpool, in the 1980's was hit by a financial low point; with high rates of unemployment and thousands fleeing the city for better job and life prospects elsewhere. This coupled with rising tuition fees for universities, made it harder for people in the city to try and better themselves, especially the younger generation. Open universities as opposed to the traditional redbrick's, offered a cheap course - that you could study in your free time, mostly from home but still get a degree at the end of studying. They did not discriminate class or grades, meaning that anyone can access the courses they have to offer, without taking the traditional route of an A-level. Assisting people to Strive towards a better career and future. The playwright, Willy Russell seems to be a part of this generation in Liverpool, wanting to get ahead but with financial times being hard, he felt the push. He was a hairdresser, and with one O-level he saw that with the financial crisis of the time, it would be hard to make ends meet, whilst he was still cutting hair. Whereas, if he took an Open University course, that did not care about his difficult start to life - he would be able to get his degree and hopefully better himself. Russell also saw, that in his traditional city, that women were not given the opportunities and equal rights, that most women in society have access

  • Word count: 3209
  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: English
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"And do we blame superstition for what has come to pass? Or is it what we, the English, have come to know as class?"

"And do we blame superstition for what has come to pass? Or is it what we, the English, have come to know as class?" 'Blood Brothers' is a musical based on superstition and class, and Willy Russell has used various techniques to make a point to the audience that social class makes a difference in our society. This is why he asks the question above. In this play some things occur because of superstition, but most are due to the social class of the characters. The first few lines have great significance to the rest of the play, as they create suspense and confusion towards the audience. First of all, Russell creates dramatic irony with the audience, as he explains the whole story in the form of a short poem. This is then repeated at the end of the play, just before the question above is asked. The quote "How one was kept and one given away" is very significant, as this is the main story of the play. The audience now know what is going to happen - "An' did never you hear how the Johnstones died," and they see "a re-enactment of the final moments of the play- the deaths of MICKEY and EDWARD", but they do not know how it happened. This leaves the audience in suspense, and confused as to why the twins died, "Never knowing that they shared one name". The first line the narrator speaks is "So did y' hear the story of the Johnstone twins?" and this rhetorical question is directed at

  • Word count: 3203
  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: English
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The women in Willy Russell's plays

Year 10 First coursework unit: The women in Willy Russell's plays I have studied three of Willy Russell's plays these are Blood Brothers, Educating Rita and Shirley Valentine. The women in Willy Russell's plays are strong characters and they all know what they want in life. In the three plays I will be comparing and contrasting Mrs Lyons and Mrs Johnston from blood brothers, Rita from Educating Rita and Shirley from Shirley Valentine. The three plays are set in Liverpool this could be because Willy Russell is from Liverpool. The characters have high hopes and ambitions and want to achieve something in life. Mrs Lyons main ambition is to have a child of her own but unluckily, she and her husband are unable to have children. This leads her to become more and desperate to have a child. So when Mrs Johnston finds out that she is expecting twins she can't afford to look after two more children. Mrs Lyons persuades her to give one of the children to her. Eventually, when Mrs Lyons actually gets the child she becomes paranoid and overprotective because she is afraid that Eddie will find out that he is not her child. Or Mrs Johnston will tell Eddie that he is her child and belongs to her. Mrs Lyons becomes obsessed with the situation and moves away from Mrs Johnston. Unfortunately, for Mrs Lyons, Mrs Johnston wants a fresh start and is re-housed to the same place. Mrs Johnston's

  • Word count: 2182
  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: English
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Which of Billy’s three girlfriends is best suited to him?

Billy Liar Which of Billy's three girlfriends is best suited to him? The play 'Billy Liar' concerns a nineteen-year-old boy who has three girlfriends. The Fisher family live in a typical lower middle class house in an industrial town in the north of England. The furniture is quite new but of dreadful taste. The Fisher family is very dysfunctional. The family consists of: Billy, a compulsive liar, who uses sarcasm to try and show his intelligence. He seems to be confused about life in general and is also very lazy. Billy is very intelligent. We know this, as there is evidence of this throughout the play. Billy has three girlfriends, I think this a signs of irresponsibility and that he is not very mature. Billy's mother, Alice, is a housewife. She is constantly fussing over Billy and mothering him. An example of Alice mothering Billy is 'how do you mean? A job in London? What job in London?' questioning Billy because she worries about him. Maybe this is one of the causes of Billy's many dilemmas. Alice seems very easy going. Geoffrey, Billy's father, does not have a good word to say about Billy. He does not trust his son one bit and has no faith in him. Geoffrey has his own business and he also has an obsession to saying the word 'bloody'. Finally, there is Florence. This is Billy's Grandmother, Alice's mother. She is extremely racist and also forgetful. She is forgetful.

  • Word count: 1997
  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: English
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My Role ModelMy late friend Rita snapped her spine in an auto accident when she was eighteen, about to graduate

My Role Model My late friend Rita snapped her spine in an auto accident when she was eighteen, about to graduate from high school. Her graduation present was intended to be a trip to Hawaii with her younger sister. Instead, she spent the summer and most of another year after high school in hospitals and rehab centers learning to become a quadriplegic. When she finally got home the first thing she asked her parents was, "When can I go to Hawaii?" A few months later her sister wheeled her onto an airplane and they were off. The extended family was no doubt consumed by anxiety as they watched Rita's plane take off. The trip, they were sure, would be a disaster. As it happened, nothing in Rita's life after the accident was a disaster. Her quadriplegia eventually killed her, in her early forties, and she spent whole years of her life after the accident in hospitals. Rita didn't deny the importance of all she went through. She professed without hesitation that her quadriplegia was a "distinguishing part" of who she was (and who she was becoming). Rita was one of the most quick-witted and completely alive human beings I have known. Ostracized by her disability from the society she had belonged to, she set about "collecting" the subjects of her own society, and I was honored to become one of those subjects. For seven years Rita and I spent a few hours virtually every Sunday

  • Word count: 1562
  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: English
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How far do you consider Frank to be the comic focus of the play "Educating Rita"?

How far do you consider Frank to be the comic focus of the play? To a substantial degree Frank is the comic focus of the play, Willy Russell presents him at the start with a fundamental sense of humour essential to the comic themes of the play, his character is reinforced throughout the play and the contrast between Frank and Rita exploits a class difference which shows the real purpose of the humour. He is then denoted as an allegorical function to expose the class system, Russell’s true comic focus. The play opens with a comical monologue from Frank; he is on the phone with Julia, an ex-student with whom he lives, and although there is an underlying sense of despondency in this scene when looking further into his character, the comedy is obvious and conceals the truth of Frank’s tragic life. This is portrayed through his sarcasm in his dispute over the ‘ratatouille’, and the way in which he comments on his own drinking problem after Julia’s remark. This is comical due to the reality that they’re arguing over something so insignificant and yet become so aggravated. This ‘sugarcoating’ holds true comic applicability as comedy can be strongly linked with tragedy as the credibility of the characters holds true purpose to the audience and therefore feel an affinity to such characters which may be of great importance to Russell when choosing and depicting a

  • Word count: 1493
  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: English
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To What Extent do you agree with Rita that Frank is A good Teacher

To what extent do you agree with Rita that Frank is 'a good teacher'? In the play "Educating Rita", Rita a working class uneducated 26 year old girl who works as a hairdresser signs up for a course at an open university. After being accepted she finds herself in the stale and dusty aired study of Frank, one of the many University lecturers working at the school. The play's story unfolds the relationships between Frank and Rita and how each character changes throughout the play. This essay argues that Frank overall, is an excellent teacher, however some flaws are found within the boundaries of his teaching. Backed up by many pieces of evidence such as quotes directly from the book, this essay will enhance the understanding of the extent to which Frank is 'a good teacher'. Points that will be covered within the essay include the enjoyment that Rita has by attending Frank's lessons, Frank's attitudes towards teaching which will feature both the beginning and the end, and the fact that Rita has passed her exams with a high mark and her language has become more sophisticated. Toward the beginning of the play Rita enjoys learning within Frank's classroom and is tremendously enthusiastic towards the learning process. The enthusiasm that is described here can be clearly seen in several parts of the play. A first example is seen by her clear desire to learn which is portrayed

  • Word count: 1228
  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: English
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How liberal was Russell's administration of 1846-152?

How liberal was Russell's administration of 1846-152? The liberals believed that change was essential to preserve the importance of the political system. This showed they were accepted reform, a lot more than the conservatives. This however was slightly limited to the beliefs of the Whigs. The liberals also believed in free trade, as did the Whigs and therefore were in favor of disposing of the Corn Laws. They had open attitudes to the allowing the middle class into the framework, and hence worked on the franchise. The middle class was the liberals target vote and so they were also in favor of a cheap government, remaining keen on low taxes due to their economic policies. They had a respect for the rights of the ordinary Englishman. Also taking into account their laissez-faire approach, less emphasis on the role of the government. The liberals saw the political system superior to those of the European countries and the democratic excess of USA. In addition they wanted a restriction on the monarchs use of power and similarly they put less emphasis on the importance of the Church of England, and felt that religion did not matter; they had sympathy towards the nonconformist denominations, valuing equality. The Whigs passed the Great Reform Act in 1832; It extended franchise and in the process removed a large amount of the rotten boroughs, making the political system slightly

  • Word count: 1028
  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: English
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Educating Rita

Educating Rita by Willy Russell "In Educating Rita by Willy Russell neither Frank nor Rita gains anything from their relationships". How far do you agree with this statement? The play follows just over a year in Rita's life and shows her gradual progress in an English Literature course. At first Rita knows she wants to do the course but not how to do well in it. It seems that she would rather do anything but talk about literature in the early lessons but she gradually gains confidence and skill in her speech and writing. A good example of her progress is her response to Macbeth. Initially she does not understand how to write about it and produces a 'crap' essay. Frank explains that the essay is not bad in terms of a personal response to the play but it does not fulfill the criteria of the course she is doing. Rita accepts this and resolves to write the essay again. Rita's education goes far beyond just reading and responding to books however, when she first comes to the university she is impressed and even a little intimidated by the intelligent people she sees around her, "I was dead surprise when they took me". By the end of the play she is able to tell them when they are speaking nonsense and join in their conversations as an equal. Success in her literature course has thus given her greater confidence in the wider world. Willy Russell shows that for Rita, education

  • Word count: 1003
  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: English
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