The story is made to seem more realistic using the set. The first one is made to show a typical area of Liverpool with tall buildings in the background. One side represents the poor side of Liverpool where mickey lives and the other represents the rich side where eddie lives. The rich side has much grander buildings than the poor side showing the social inequality of the two families. The second set arrives when the Johnstone family get a new house in the country side. This scene is brighter which shows a happy point in the Johnstone family.
The two characters I liked best were the narrator and Mickey. I liked the narrator because he is there though out the play and is telling the story all the way though. He is also consistently on stage watching as though he were a member of the audience. He also blends in with the set as you barley notice him when he’s not singing or talking. His actions and words also have a affect on the character as he also acts as their consciences continuously reminding them of the bad deeds which they had committed.
I liked Mickey because he suited his age groups very well. He was easily able to change from 7 to 14 to mid twenties. This showed lot of skill as he acted those ages to perfection. Mickey was also very involved in the play as it was about his and Eddie’s lives and how they came to a dramatic end.
The actor who played the narrator was very good as he was able to blend in with the set and wander around it without drawing the audience’s attention to him. He also had a good tone of voice which was calm and emotionless allowing the audience to decide for themselves how they felt. This was shown in the beginning of the play when the narrator introduces it.
The actor who played Mickey was good because he was very good at changing from one age to another. He did this by using different body language, movement and tone of voice e.g. when he was 7 he was running about always but when he was 20+ he was more calm and collected.
The use of sound was very good as the music displayed the mood of the characters and parts of the story e.g. when the Johnstone’s are moving to the countryside the music is very upbeat. The lighting also was part of the set as it separated the two sides of town and it showed the mood e.g. in the beginning when the lights are dark showing that people are sad. The clothing also displayed the difference between the Lion’s and the Johnstone’s as one family was wearing smart clothes and the other scruffy clothes.
My favourite bit of the play was the time when Eddie, Linda, Mickey and Sammy are playing together as it is very fast paced and show how children play very well. The end when the Mickey shoots Eddie is well done as the audience are not expecting it and they all get a shock. The techniques I might use are the use of clothing and prop’s to become a different character such as Mr Lion’s was also the milk man. The play made me think about how music and lighting could have a big impact on improving a play and making it more entertaining.
By Hadi Choudhury
