Set Design
There were houses on either side of the stage which also provided entrance’s and exits for the stage. On the one side there were terraced council houses that Mickey lived in, and on the other side there were more upmarket houses where Eddie lived.
On the more run-down side where Mickey lived, there were spray painted goals on the back wall and the two main football teams were spray painted on the back wall as well. The houses were very run down with broken windows and showed that their house was in working class surroundings.
On the more upmarket side where Eddie lived, everything was neat and tidy and the houses were in good order. This showed nicer surroundings and an upper-class way of life. This showed contrast between Mickey and Eddie throughout the performance.
Inside Mrs Johnstone’s house was lots of clutter showing she was a very hard working mother and doing the best for her children. There were drawings from a child on the wall which could show that the Johnstone family had a very strong relationship with one another and their life was very much built up around their family. The contrast between the two families continued on the inside of the house.
Inside Mrs Lyons house there were paintings, with a grand dining table. The house was tastefully upholstered with expensive looking carpet, wallpaper and curtains. There were no drawings from a child which could show that the Lyons household was a very formal one and the relations with one another may not have been as strong as the Johnstone’s.
There was a balcony at the back which the narrator used frequently. Because he was an eerie suspicious character anyway, walking along a balcony looking over everything enhanced this. He acted like dark memories that haunted the mother’s.
When Mickey lost his job placards fell and hung down. They read, “No jobs” or “No vacancies”. This pinpointed an issue in the 1980’s where there were very high levels of unemployment and not many jobs available.
Also the orchestra can be seen playing in the top windows of the houses.
Lighting Design
At the beginning of the performance there was red lighting to get the audience interested and create immediate atmospheric tension. There was lighting above some of the terraced housing and inside them when the doors opened giving the impression that they were actual houses.
There was also lighting above the actors and spotlights that were placed on characters at important parts of the performance to mark the moment.
At the happier moments of the play such as the beginning of the flash back and when children were playing, the lights were very bright symbolising enjoyment and fun. The spotlight was shone on Mickey and Eddie when they became blood brothers, this was to mark a key moment in the play and it symbolised the turning point of the story. The spotlight was also used to mark the moment when Mrs Lyons took one of the babies from Mrs Johnstone, this also enhanced the significance of the twin’s life about to dramatically change.
In act 2 I considered the play to be a lot more serious and emotional due to having Mickey and Eddie being with each other a lot. The narrator emphasised this and the lighting became much darker and red to fit with the build of dramatic tension, also symbolising danger was yet to come in Mickey and Eddies Lives.
In the final scene where Mickey and Eddie were shot, the lights were very dark proving it to be a very eerie and upsetting scene.
Costume Design
Mickey’s clothing was creased and torn with holes in them. They were far too big for him and they were dirty, this could show that the Johnstone’s were poor and might not have been able to afford nice clothing. Mrs Johnstone extended this thought as she wore tatty robes that looked very worn and dirty.
Whereas Eddie wore smart, pressed clothes that were clean. His shirt was tucked in and he had polished black shoes. Mrs Lyons wore very smart dresses and blouses that were very elegant with a pearl necklace.
This showed strongly as class division between the working class and the upper class. This also showed contrast between the two families and a difference in economy because I believed that the Johnstone’s were too poor to buy clothes so they relied on “hand me downs”.
Characterisation
Mickey and Eddie were two very different characters. Their personalities showed huge contrast and they elaborated on how they had been brought up differently. Mickey spoke using many slang words and abbreviations, aswell as swearing and rude words. This could show why growing up in a working class area would make you become rude and speak in a local accent for the area. He had a very strong “scouse” accent symbolising that he was common which could show his parents didn’t care about the way he speaks.
On the other hand Eddie spoke almost Queens English in a very proper and profound way. Eddie also stood up very straight with a grown up posture whereas Mickey’s shoulders were hunched and he slouched a lot.
Use of sound and Music
There was a lot of music in the performance; many different characters sung them. After the flash back to the start of the story the music was very upbeat and cheerful and at times made the audience laugh.
However as the play progressed the music began to reflect the mood of the play. Many of the songs were about class division and superstition. There was a constant reminder of the superstition from the narrator, this intensified the mood. There was much use of symbolism and contrast to communicate the class difference between rich and poor and to communicate superstition. The music of the 1980’s was mainly escapist type of music. In Blood Brothers there were also elements of escapism in the music for instance Mrs Johnstone escaping to a happier time and constantly referring to Marilyn Monroe. The final song “tell me it’s not true” was also a call for escapism and reassurance. The idea of singing about reassurance could have meant many things, such as reassurance for the character or reassurance for living through the political and economic class division troubles of the 1980’. Sound effects were used at times to make some scenes seem more realistic.
Social, Historical and Cultural Elements
The play Blood Brothers was based in 1980s Britain when the country’s Prime Minister was Margaret Thatcher. A key event that happened in the 1980s was the minors strike when Thatcher annoyed trade unions by taking away many rights.
In 1984 were a Miners strike, however the government were determined not to give in and the miners returned back to work. Another key event that happened at the time was Privatisation when the Government sold off all Nationalised industries of Transport and Power like British Rail, Gas, and Telecom. The public were encouraged to buy shares. In 1987 the stock market crashed and lots of money was lost. As you can imagine this hit the working class people very hard with job losses, this added importance to the meaning of the performance because it meant that the audience could relate to how the Johnstone family were coping because they were a typical family of that time. Knowing this would also enhance the part in the play where Mickey looked for a job but couldn’t find one due to the high levels of unemployment through the 1980’s.
Use of explorative strategies and drama Techniques
In blood brothers there was a lot of use of dramatic elements and explorative strategies. There was a lot of use of sound effects to highlight the tension. The lighting was darkened when the atmosphere became more tense and the use of slow motion to emphasise the moment that Mickey and Eddie became blood brothers.
There was also use of flashbacks and one word drama. Some more examples of how they used explorative strategies was cross cutting between scenes which made the piece keep the audiences attention, audience involvement, levels to show the status of the characters (Eddie was higher up than Mickey), scene change, still images to emphasise certain moments in the play and narration to keep constant the idea of superstition and also to give the play the sense that tragedy was lurking over their shoulder and would occur at any moment.
I think the most effective use was when the smoke flooded the stage at the end, which gave the audience the impression that something bad was going to happen. Smoke also made it seem mysterious and could make the audience confused. This built dramatic tension and when then the gunshot made a climax in all the build up of dramatic tension. This made it a very effective sequence.
Key moments
I think one of the most important key moments in the play was when Mickey and Eddie became blood brothers, because as an audience member it made us think what would happen next because they do not know that they are brothers. This started the cycle of tragedy. It seemed a very happy moment at the time, however we became to discover that it was actually an awful moment because after that they became inseparable and best friends which lead us to believe that something bad would happen, knowing that there was a superstition constantly being reminded to us from the narrator.
When they became blood brothers the spotlight appeared above them and the music became very bold and distinctive. They moved their hands together in slow motion to mark the moment and make it much more effective. This was shown as a very happy moment in the play by Mickey and Eddie but the narrator lurks on the balcony and the music became more tense hinting at the signs of things to come.
The other key moment in the play was the climax when Mickey killed Eddie and then Mickey is shot by the police in the audience. This was made very dramatic because all of the characters came onto the stage and the music became very sad, very tragic and became very slow and the tension. Another thing they did was use smoke, this made the audience feel uneasy, and the shouting police officers running down both sides of the audience with guns made the experience very tense for the audience.
The audience were made very uneasy because they knew that a gunshot was soon going to occur, but it was prolonged for a few moments to build the tension before the twins were eventually killed and then the atmosphere became very quiet and indistinctive and the narrator repeated the opening song, this was very effective.
Improvements
The only improvement I would have made is that some of the unnamed characters multi-role played and it was not completely clear when they changed roles, so maybe they could have made different costumes to make them bespoke to that character so it would have made it clear who is who.
Conclusion
I think that the play was very good and felt very real. Some parts were very tragic and some very happy which was clear to the audience through use of lighting, music and explorative strategies.
Much of the play was clearly about two main themes, superstition and class divisions. There was much debate at who was to blame for the tragedy.
Another big thing that people put the blame on was class division that shaped both of the boys lives, they both lived almost in opposite houses, areas and lived oppsite ways of life. What Mickey had, freedom, Linda and a close relationship with his mother this is what Eddie wanted. And what Eddie had, riches and prosperity this is what Mickey wanted. I think it was good how they showed that when Mickey and Eddie were younger, they were oblivious to their different classes, but as they grew older and the story progressed they realized the class divide between them. However I don’t think that superstition was the reason for the two brothers dying. I believe that Mickey realised how important Linda was to his life because he had nothing apart from her, whereas Eddie seemed to have everything.
I think even if these two boys weren’t brothers they would have died in the same way due to Mickey not taking his anti-depressant drugs. Mickey did not want Linda to be taken away from him which made him angry and confused, which is why he shot Eddie.