As a child Mickey is disobedient, as well as being a typical child of high hyper activeness and imagination. This is shown when he rushes around the stage on his imaginary horse whooping and yelling playing `Cowboys and Indians', and playing with toy guns, usual of young boys. His disobedient nature is shown when he runs off to Eddies house having already been told by his mother not to ever go there.
The actors voice was generally loud and well projected especially as a child and being lower class his voice was not well controlled and he laughed loudly, he did not speak proper English and swore. He also talked quite quickly sometimes which gave the impression he was an over-excited hyperactive young boy.
He had a clear Liverpudlian accent. We can tell the accent is Liverpudlian by the frequent change in pitch, with the end of each sentence high. The vowels are harsh and the actor makes glut oral sounds. The end letter of each word is also clearly pronounced for example `right' as opposed to a London accent where the `t' would almost be missed out sounding like `righ'. Often he says `ya' instead of `you', and `mam' instead of `mum' making the accent stronger.
The actor also created different tones to his voice. When he was sad he spoke quietly and murmured, when he was angry he would shout. His body would tense and his facial expression would change for example his eyebrows would draw together. When he walked out of jail as an adult, he had a blank expression on his face as if in shock.
He also used emphasis in his voice, such as when he says `I'm not seven, I'm nearly eight.' He stresses different parts of the sentence to get his point across - `I'm not seven, I'm nearly eight.'
As a child the actor moved around the stage a lot, running and galloping.
A common mannerism he had was to wipe his nose on the back of his sleeve, not something a posh, well brought-up person would do. His posture also suggests he is working class, he slouches sometimes with his neck out, and almost bent, floppy knees and his back is not straight and upright when he stands or walks. As an adult he has a lot of problems, which are shown in his aggressive movements - his body moves sharply when he was angry or annoyed.
When Mickey was onstage with Sammy, Sammy towered over him which shoed his influence and power over his younger brother. Mickey generally did what Sammy told him to do. With Eddie however, they were both of about equal height, showing that both admired each other and were of equal status though at first Mickey seemed to be higher because Eddie copied his mannerisms. Equal status was also portrayed as when both were on stage both tended to be in the centre. They interacted together a lot, a key point in the play was when they linked hands and swore to be blood brothers. This showed and marked their bond, and how important they were to each other.
Mickey bonds also wit his mother, she hugs him close to her which shows she loves and cares about him, she wants him near her.
The character that Daniel Fine played again started in the beginning of the play aged seven and at the end of the play was also about twenty-five.
Culturally, Eddie had a high status, his family was well off and he lives in a nice area. We know this because his foster mother has a well- spoken voice, with no accent when compared to Eddie's real mother's voice. They also live in a separate area to the working class area where Mickey lives as Eddie's mother often tells him not to play there. We also know they are well off because they can afford to have a cleaner. Edward also wears clean, smart clothes that only the upper class would wear in those times.
Socially Eddie does not have a particularly high status, as he does not have any friends except Mickey. At first his status may appear lower than Mickey's, as Eddie tends to copy Mickey, such as his swear words, and mannerisms. However later they appear to have an equal status, neither takes centre stage over each other and both are of equal height. Both seem to admire each other as both refer to each other as their `blood brother'. Eddie is easily encouraged by Linda and Mickey to do things he thinks are wrong, such as throwing stones and sneaking out.
It is clear Eddie has lead a sheltered and protected life, as he does no know certain swear words Mickey knows and the idea of him disobeying his mother is quite unthinkable to him at first until he is persuaded by Mickey.
The actors voice was clear and well projected, and also well spoken; he had a southern accent, which was easy to understand. Every letter was pronounced clearly and properly (queen's English). He would use posh words such as `smashing' and `wonderful'. He also uses emphasis in his voice, when he describes the swear words he says they are `smashing', emphasizing the word to show his admiration.
Eddie would always stand upright, his neck straight and shoulders back, a posture a well brought up boy would hold. He is much more reserved and restrained than Mickey and this is evident in the way he moves, not rushing around madly - but always walking calmly, even as a child. He used many facial expressions to portray his character. One in particular when Mickey whispers to him a rude word he knows, Eddie's eyebrows shoot up in surprise, and his mouth drops down in amazement at the word.
I was impressed with both performances because both adult actors truly managed to portray young children in two totally different ways but still succeeding in making them entirely believable. Eddie's facial expression was humorous when he learnt the swear words, as he seemed so impressed (just as a child would) at something older persons would find silly, rude or just take for granted. I liked Mickey's facial expressions because as a child they were always very excited and exaggereated making his performance generally more interesting and funny to watch. I liked Mickey's movements because the way he galloped around the stage was just as you would imagine a hyperactive child to be, playing the same games and doing the same things all children did when they were young, which was very entertaining. Eddie's movements contrasted to Mickey's as they were more restricted, which was not so interesting to watch, but it helped the audience form an idea of his character, so it was helpful in this way. One of my favourite scenes was when Mickey played with the children with the dustbin lids and pretend guns, as they all seemed to be having so much fun I almost felt I would have liked to join in. Their amusement and happiness seemed real. I also enjoyed the last scene when Mickey is about to shoot Eddie, it was very dramatic and powerful, the scared look on Eddie's face, and Mickey's shaking hand and desperate voice. I enjoyed the way both actors used their voices as they were both so contrasting it made the scenes more interesting and lively and sometimes humorous.
The techniques they used were for example freeze frames sometimes when the narrator was talking, and lighting. The whole play stared at the end of the story and therefore the bulk of the play was a flashback. The main characters sometimes had a monologue, for example Mickey, when he was a child talking of how Sammy treats him and how he is the youngest in their family. Music and lights help to convey people's emotions, for example when Mickey is very angry as an adult, a red light comes on, red representing anger,
