As well as the theme of prejudice and discrimination the play deals with such other aspects such as school life and education. Throughout the play there is really not much teaching going on. The teachers are there to discipline and the children are there to be disciplined and enjoy their day. For example, Briggs constantly says things like, “Reilly, Dickson sit down!” to stamp down his authority.
We see the bright and kind Mrs Kay and the strict, cantankerous character of Mr Briggs continually contrasted in the play. For example:
Mrs Kay (brightly) ‘Morning, Mr Briggs
Briggs (grudgingly) ‘Morning.
This shows the difference between the two teachers. Mr Briggs only goes on the trip to ensure everything runs smoothly and to keep “that bunch”, as he calls them, in order. Mrs Kay goes out of the goodness of her heart. Mrs Kay tries to bring herself to the same way of thinking as the children, and gets along with them, whereas Mr Briggs just dismisses them as scum.
Another character, which only gets mentioned at the start, though I feel his contribution is significant, is the Principal. He says, referring to the Progress Class and Mrs Kay, “She keeps them well out of the way”. This shows that even the Principal has no respect for these children.
As well as the issues I have mentioned, there are a significant number of physical locations mentioned in the play. This is an important part of this play because without these different settings there would not be some of the serious themes that were dealt with.
As well as the issues I have mentioned, there are a significant number of physical locations mentioned in the play. This is an important part of this play because without these different settings there would not be depth in the play that there is. As the students get on the bus, we see a different side to Mrs Kay as she lies to the bus driver so that the kids can eat on the bus, saying such things, as “Lemonade never touches their lips”. This lying is not what we would usually associate with Mrs Kay.
The bus journey itself, is relatively normal for a group of schoolchildren. We see Briggs keeping them all well disciplined and quiet. This perhaps doesn’t help as when the kids are left without this supervision they run riot. There is humour, also, on the bus, when we see Reilly and Digga trying to light up a cigarette and escape Briggs:
Digga Reilly, light up
Reilly Where’s Briggsy?
Russell cleverly includes little bits like this throughout to keep the viewer entertained. This is quite effective and it makes the viewer feel as if they are in the same position as Digga and Reilly, trying to avoid Briggs.
Everyone but Briggs comes to the conclusion that they need to stop at the toilets so this is their first stop. After this the kids get off the bus and stop at the shop where they shoplift a load of sweets and Mrs Kay and Briggs go for a cup of coffee. This is an example of the kids indiscipline and maybe why they are stereotyped the way they are. After the shop Mrs Kay decides that it would maybe be a good idea to visit the zoo. They do so and again the kids go wild and actually try to steal some of the animals. Briggs uses this opportunity to say:
And that’s why you’re treated like animals, why you’ll always be treated like animals.
Briggs is perhaps trying to justify some of his actions towards the kids and relieve his conscience; I certainly don’t think he is saying this to tell the kids where they are going wrong.
The last stop of the play is at Wales. The two main incidents are the game of football and Carol getting lost. Carol is a poor little confused child. She continually expresses throughout that she does not want to go home. She is maybe the victim of abuse at home, or deprivation. She is a quiet pleasant child, who gets on well with Mrs Kay; their relationship is almost like a mother-daughter relationship. Carol goes walkabout. The group look for her and Mr Briggs finds her on the edge of a cliff. Briggs sees her on the edge of the cliff yet he still insists on bounding his authority upon her, “Now just you listen here, young lady…”. Carol says, “Try an’ get me an’ I’ll jump over.” Briggs, shouting now tells her to come down, yet he still cares only for himself, “Just what are you tryin’ to do to me?”. He shows no sign of care for Carol, just for himself. Eventually, he does persuade her to come down and the two, after this near death experience, seem to have bonded.
From what I have mentioned, it is clear to see that there are multiple settings, and that there are very serious aspects raised in the play. But what I feel is significant is that without all these settings this play would have no depth. The play would be a simple kids show with no real meaning at all. The different settings and the different ways the different characters respond to them is what makes the story so superior. For example, without the cliff we wouldn’t know that much without Carol, and without Carol we wouldn’t have her interesting background to look at, and without interesting pieces like this, the story would be quite two dimensional.
