Little Old Lady
Explain how Arnold Wesker shows the way an everyday situation can turn into a very tense and dramatic one full of conflict in the play ‘Little Old Lady’.
The play ‘Little Old Lady’ is set on a train; the play is about no smoking in underground station because of the fire at king’s crosses station in 1980 also the play is about how people were treated in the 1980s. Arnold Wesker wrote this play to show people how people were treated in 1980s. The main characters of the play are Sam and Tracy, they are both 15 years old, Jason is 17 years old, the others in the play, don’t have a real name. The writer called them by the way they are for example; little old lady, she is 65 years old and she’s called little old lady because she’s little and old. The other characters are Harassed Women. She is 45 years old and she’s called harassed women because she worries too much. The Unpleasant man, he is 50 years old and he is called unpleasant man because he’s not a nice person. The play is set in 1980s because at that time society was changing and people were begging to care less about others. Also ,young people respected old people at that time .Arnold Wesker wanted to show people how society was in the 1980 and how it changed so he wrote a play about how people’s views and values were .
The stage directions and the dialogue show that it is everyday situation because the way people are talking to each other. Tracey says “capital of New Zealand” to Sam. Sam says “you’re getting really difficult, aren’t you? Then little old lady says “you don’t know the capital of new Zealand? This shows that it is just normal day because the way there are talking is normal and also they are playing a game and that’s normal. Also the place that is happing is in a train and this shows that it’s a normal day and people are acting normal. The setting of the play is good because it shows that it is a normal day and it’s a good place to show people how people are treated in the 1980s and how things are different now than before. The lighting goes on the person to show that he / she is speaking and it is good because u will know who is speaking. The sound that is used in the play shows that it is a normal day. “Sound of an underground train hurtling through its tube”. This shows that it’s a normal everyday situation. The way the characters are acting shows that it is an ordinary day for example what they are talking about. The stage direction shows what is going to happen and how people are reacting to the situation. There is something that is not everyday situation and that is the smoke sign.