“The welfare have been on to me”.
Shows how she is having problems with keeping her children an how obviously she doesn’t want to lose them because, though she doesn’t really have sufficient money to keep them she knows she’s a good mother to them. It also seems to show how that it must be a reasonably normal thing for her as it is somewhat of an offhand comment as though it is a regular occurrence.
The play seems to portray her as possessing some sort of natural beauty but the weight of time has caught up with her and she no longer looks her real age but, in fact, much older.
“He told me I was sexier than Marilyn Monroe, my skin was soft as snow”.
She seems to contain contradicting qualities and despite looking older than her real age, is still somewhat appealing despite the ravages of time having affected her. Also the constant mention of dancing seems to suggest that Mrs Johnstone was once quite a dancer, and so can easily impress, and even seduce people around her with her talent.
In the Lyceum production of “Blood Brothers” in Sheffield it is interesting to note on the appearance of both Mrs Johnstone and Mrs Lyons. Mrs Lyons dresses very class
Mr Lyons is a rich woman who is married to a wealthy businessman. She is seen as being a woman who is married to a wealthy businessman and receives all that she desires.
“I need about 50 pounds”.
This point shows how she can just ask for what she wants and gets it without question and also how her husband is so rich that he has that sort of sum of money in his back pocket as change. Also in the play there is a rather in depth description of Mrs Johnstone’s appearance whereas it says nothing of what Mrs Lyons looks like. This seems to give the impression that Mrs Lyons is rather plain and normal looking and there is nothing distinctive about her to see. It is also hard to tell whether her love for children is a false pretence or whether she does genuinely love children in the way that Mrs Johnstone does. It is difficult to say whether she loves children for what they are or for how they can make her look and complete her chosen family based lifestyle. So when the opportunity of having a child presents itself in Mrs Johnstone she seems to strive harder and harder to get what she wants, in this case, one of the twins. This could be interpreted as determination, but I believe that it shows how obsessive and pushy she can be when trying to get what she wants and not receiving it immediately.
The contrasts between the actual personalities and characters of Miss Johnstone and Mrs. Lyons are also very clearly shown throughout the play but these characteristics are also mirrored within where each character resides. There is a clear and distinct line between the two social worlds and it is blatantly obvious as Miss Johnstone and Mrs. Lyons are shown to live at opposite ends of the social scale, Mrs. Lyons in a respectable area with everything money can buy, and Miss Johnstone in a rundown semi on a council estate. This becomes even clearer when Mickey says “up in the park” which seems to suggest that it is above the Johnstone’s status and that it is attractive and open in comparison to the estate.
It also seems that neither parent wanted their children mixing with each other and also seemingly, boys from a different social class. Mrs. Lyons states “You see why I don’t want you mixing with boys like that! You learn filth from them,” after Eddie swears at her. It seems to confirm her stereotypical views about the nature of people who were less well off than her, which obviously includes how she sees Mickey to be.
There is also a clear difference in the language and vocabulary that is used by both different sets of people. For example Eddie refers to his mother as “my mummy” which seems to be a rather mummy’s boy thing to say and a bit soppy and girly and also something a somewhat posh child would say. In comparison Mickey, who lives in a rougher environment, refers to his mother as “me mam” which is a rather typical thing for someone living as a child in working class Liverpool. He tends to be more colloquial and use more informal and slangy language and tends to abbreviate his words and pronounce them all in the proper way. Mickey doesn’t enunciate the ends of his word (for example he says “Yeh” instead of “Yes”) whereas Eddie has a much more formal way of pronunciation. Russell uses this well as their difference in language is a somewhat subtle indicator of the differences in their upbringing. It also seem to show how the Lyons have worked so hard to lose their accent that they have no real identification where as the Johnstones have retained their regional identification and so have more tight to be there then the middle class.
Another big part of language which is used by both boys, eventually, is the matter of swearing. When Edward meets Mickey he is very polite and rather innocent but upon being introduced to Mickey he begins to take on his habits. Mickey swears most regularly whereas Edward does not and Mickey even has to explain the meaning of one of his words to him, which shows little Edward knew of it. As they spend more and more time with each other Edward, inevitably, begins to swear just like Mickey, who had affected him so. As well as Mickey having to teach Eddie some of the words he knows, Eddie on the other hand has to tell Mickey what a dictionary is.
EDWARD: “When I get home I’ll look it up in the dictionary”.
MICKEY: “In the what?”
This shows how unrehearsed Mickey is in actually knowing about educational things, even something as simple as a dictionary. He doesn’t even know what it is and hasn’t seemed to have heard of one. This is probably owing to his working class upbringing where a dictionary is such an obsolete thing in their lives that no use could come of one if introduced to them, even if they knew what it was.
Another thing which highlights the differences in social worlds is that when both Mickey and Edward have their first meeting, Edwards seems more than happy to share his sweets with Mickey, who seems very surprised at this act of generosity.
“Round here if y’ask for a sweet, y’have to ask about, about twenty million times.”
This is because Edward is used to having sweets regularly as he is rich enough to afford such a commodity. But on the other hand, Mickey sees sweets as being a rare treat and something to be coveted and guarded closely and is obviously very surprised at being offered a sweet let alone given a handful of them.
In recreation both children have different ways of entertainment. For example, Mickey and his siblings are forced to create their own games using their creative imaginations to keep themselves occupied due to the distinct lack of any physical aids or toys to entertain themselves. In comparison to Eddie, who has various toys and books etc. to use in his own entertainment and enjoyment, but these don’t require any imagination and it seems that the absence of having anyone to share his enjoyment with turned Eddie into being rather shy and having, as a result, to stay in his garden in a sort of isolation.
Both children go to separate schools as well which each show a distinct difference in social classes. For example Eddie attends a private boarding school but Mickey goes to a state school.
This distinct difference in class is shown well in the production at Sheffield as the more outgoing character of Mickey is very rough looking, clothed in old and worn hand me downs which are over sized. In comparison to Eddie whose costume is very much exaggerated in that he always is in smart clothes and looks very formal even when playing.
Also with the class comes the different treatment, according to class, that is shown towards people by others. The policeman used by Russell to show this differentiating treatment in the play ‘Blood Brothers’ is a very interesting character because in the policeman is shown how people react differently to others just as a result of what social class they belong to. The policeman shows how clear the segregation of the different classes actually is, and seems to embody the generic views of people belonging to each class and how they should be treated.
“You don’t wana end up in court again do y?”
In this remark issued by the policeman to Miss Johnstone it can be seen that rather than asking a normal question it seems to be that he is rather threatening in his questioning of her addresses her in a blatantly rude manner which seems to show how little he thinks of her. It also seems to show how he holds a reasonable amount of contempt for her just owing to the fact of her social status and class.
“Keep them in order Missis or it’ll be the courts for you”.
This seems to show in his threatening tone that he is rather nasty to Miss Johnstone and seems to be addressing her in a very informal manner. The policeman seems to have the idea that he is above her and their talk is more of a confrontation than a meeting. He constantly seems to be trying to make an impression through scaring her and intimidation, despite rudely offending her with his manner rather, than trying to be friendly and nice and shows a blatant disdain for working class people for whatever reason.
But when the policeman is faced with a new type of person coming from a completely different social class his mannerisms involved in his approach dramatically change.
“Goodnight sir”.
This polite and respectful tone is how the policeman resolves to address Mr Lyons despite the fact that he is no more a sir than the policeman and even though Mr Lyons is of no superior rank to him per se. Despite this he still refers to him as this due to the fact that he is wealthy and thus belongs to a higher class than that of Miss Johnstone’s. Due to the difference in treatment which he uses he seems to be encouraging the social classes to continue in remaining separate and maintains the prejudice which is shown towards people who aren’t as well off as some. When the policeman arrives he seems to be subtly asking for permission from Mr Lyons allowing him to enter his house which shows how wary he is of offending him. As he enters he takes off his helmet and proceeds in accepting a glass of scotch from Mr Lyons. This seems to be an act of lowering his own status in courtesy of Mr Lyons to that of a more informal one and consequently relaxing the seriousness and formality of the visit. When the policeman proceeds to explain the situation he seems to be blaming the other kids involved rather than blame it on the Lyons’ son.
“It was more of a prank really”.
Shows how he is trying to play down the seriousness of the event so as to keep on their good side and to not upset them.
He also seems to be constantly looking for the permission to say, or ask something rather than say it, in fear of making an offence out of respect.
Russell seems to be using the policeman as a sort of device to comment on his society. He uses people as devices to great effect and the one who is implemented to the best effect is the Narrator
The main theme of Willy Russell’s play, “Blood Brothers” is whether fate is in control over what happens to the characters or whether each of their respective social classes are to blame for what happens to each of them. The narrator plays an important part in this decision throughout the play he is constantly raising the question in his narrative of whether superstition or class is to blame.
“There’s shoes upon the table an’ a joker in the pack”.
This is an extract from one of the narrator’s speeches where he uses old superstitious sayings to give somewhat of a hint as to what fate looms over the characters. All of his sayings are traditionally used to show bad luck and how something bad is going to happen.
“The salts been spilled and a looking glass cracked”.
Once again the narrator draws the attention towards superstition and is trying to create a sense of inevitability where the bad outcome he predicted for Mickey and Edward at the start of the play cannot be escaped and that their grisly ending, as foreseen, is slowly being draw closer by Russell. It seems that everything that goes on in the play is set in stone by the narrator and what he foresees cannot be averted and is bound to happen. The narrator could even be pictured as being someone like the devil, a dark figure who is always there, watching, waiting until the characters succumb to the predicted fate set by him for them.
The play also seems to be trying to find out whether there is a shred of truth in superstition and whether people are right to believe in it or if there is a more down to earth or reasonable reason for people’s lives going badly and what happens to them. He is the person who seems to know all about their dark destinies and is always there, just on the edge of the action presiding over the characters making sure that they follow the right path set for them. This is very much how the director at the Lyceum production showed the narrator. He made him seem like on an on stage Fate to give the audience something to see fate as being. It would also make it easier to believe that fate could have a part in what happens in the play as it is a presence that can be seen and is more realistic to the audience.
On the other hand the social class of the characters could be what affects whether they succeed or fail in life. Perhaps it is their upbringing and inherited attitudes towards life due to the conditions they were exposed to, which shaped their decisions for good or bad and so could have a say in how they make their decisions.
For example, Mickey only gets involved in crime because he has no money and needs it to support his new family. If he had been part of the upper class then he would be at no loss for money and wouldn’t be desperate to get what money he could and so wouldn’t be turned to crime. But it shows how in the working class he has developed a sense of pride and feels how he must keep his self respect whatever the consequences because sometimes ones self respect matters more to someone than money does and keeping it is essential.
Also when Mickey is made redundant form his factory job he is left with no work as a result of the recent recession and is jobless. This decision is made by Mr Lyons, the big man of the factory, and member of the upper class. But for some reason he, one man isn’t the one who is laid off but instead 20 ordinary workers lose their jobs so as he can keep his. This is an obvious show of how different social classes are treated very differently and how the treatment of someone can be blamed on where they come from. Russell effectively dramatizes this depiction by exaggerating working class suffering by having Mickey fired while, simultaneously being fired. He uses the narrator to juxtapose the articulated problem (fate) with the seen problem (class) by making him ask the question of whether it was class or superstition at the end. This poses the audience to think on what they thought the cause was.
Russell’s background has very much to do with his views expressed in and throughout the play. He obviously doesn’t like the kind of factory working way of life designated to his class. The life designated to “factory fodder” as he was at school. And how he was forced to struggle free from the cruel industrial system that he had been born into and society’s expectations, through hard work which he shouldn’t of had to do just because he was of a working class background. He
From this play it seems that Russell had intended to discuss class divisions through language, music and imagery to give it a more light-hearted feel to it. He also was making comments on the Recession of the 1980s and also an outcry against Thatcherism. Though, traditionally, comedies do not end in death, Russell blends both comedy and tragedy successfully.