Blood Brother

A particularly effective element of the production was the use of costume. The costumes exposed the time period, transporting the audience back to 1981, immediately involving me in the story. Costume represented the social class the characters belonged to. Mr and Mrs Lyons were rich and had a high social status, their costume established their character; Mr. Lyons was wearing a suit and Mrs. Lyons wore tights and uniform. In contrast, the Johnson family were living in poverty, and this is also shown through the usage of costume. I as audience felt empathy for Mrs Johnson as through costume I could see her financial struggle.

This trend is Liu’s opportunity to get rid of either sexploitation or a dragon lady. Elementary is for her transformation of media. She chose to play Joan Watson who is more than a sexploitation or action, but a classic adapted character. As Richard Dyer suggests, ‘that stars are representations of persons which reinforce, legitimate or occasionally alter the prevalent conceptions of what it is to be a human being in this society’ (1979b: 31). Thus far I have discussed the role of such personae in films. However, major sites for elaborating star personae exist outside films in studio promotion departments, publicity agencies, newspaper and broadcast journalism, TV chat shows, film criticism, fan magazines and so on. The circulation of subsidiary star texts provides opportunity for gossip and speculation, serving, in John Ellis’ words, as a kind of ‘moral barometer’. Generally, ‘the way you progress in your life is how you progress artistically – especially as an actor, where you bring such complicated and personal experiences into what you do everyday’ (Tseng

Ellis claims that in order to understand the true significance of the duel, one must first consider the characters of the assailants, and the argument that brought them there. The Founding Fathers feared that if the federal government collapsed then it would result in war. Hamilton and Burr’s confrontation is a manifestation of this fear of collapse.

I will show understanding of the plot, character and themes and Shakesperes use of language and dramatic devices within the play.

‘Women’s roles are often tokenistic in dramatic comedy.’ To what extent do you believe this to be the case in relation to the play you are studying?

He has picked up this bad language from his new friends and it sounds totally out of place with his surroundings, which is what makes the audience laugh, as it is completely unexpected. However, "Blood Brothers" is not a straightforward comedy. There are elements of sadness, happiness, frustration and pain in the play. We experience conflict which balances the humour. There are examples of physical, verbal, overt and covert conflict throughout the play.

In I Henry IV and II Henry IV, William Shakespeare brings together drama and comedy to create two of the most compelling history plays ever written. Many of Shakespeare's other works are nearly absolute in their adherence to either the comic or tragic traditions, but in the two Henry IV plays Shakespeare combines comedy and drama in ways that seem to bring a certain realism to his characters, and thus the plays. The present essay is an examination of the various and significant effects that Shakespeare's comedic scenes have on I Henry IV and II Henry IV. The Diversity of Society

‘Through the actor’s performance skills, not only his or her role, but the roles of other characters with whom the protagonist interacts must be brought to life by the audience’ (Mackenzie, D., 1996:47). which has been established through the distinct style of each monodrama. Leah Purcell in Box the Pony performs a range of individual characters, switching from one character to the other giving the audience a deeper insight of the key people in Leah Purcell’s life. In the field of monodramas, no other genre depends so much on a single actor wherein ‘Monodramas can easily suffer from a narrowing of focus and a lack of variety in the range of experience which they portray.’ (Mackenzie, D., 1996:47).

Willy Russell uses the contrast of characters to show the major difference in social class in the play Blood Brothers. Mrs Johnstone was the first character introduced to us in the play. In 'Blood Brothers ' Mrs Johnstone lives in a poor end of Liverpool, struggling to bring up eight children on her own and is forced to give one away to keep the others clothed and fed well enough, whereas Mrs Lyons, whom she works for, lives in a large house, very comfortably in a nice part of Liverpool, she wants children but is unable to have any, even though she is rich, unlike Mrs Johnstone. Mrs Johnstone is portrayed as a stereotypical working class mother. In the introductory song, Russell uses Mrs Johnstone to create this stereotype. "We got

Booker T Washington, photo retrieved from the image archives, index04B4RVIR from the New York Public Library. Booker T. Washington in Public Domain (Free Copy Right Use).

With reference to the ways Russell presents the theme of social class in the extract and elsewhere in the novel in act one, show how far you agree that there is no escape from the effects of social class for the characters in the play.

In the society of the 1920s when the play was written, the confinement of women was at an all-time high, however the breakout of women’s rights was just starting. The tone of this play helps show just this view, by promoting a character such as Mrs. Peters, who is stuck on whose side be on in the mystery of the murder. As they uncover the motive of Mrs. Wright, Mrs. Peters character begins to understand her, although the deceased husband was murdered in such a gruesome way, and know there should be a punishment for the crime for the crime because of her background with her husband as sheriff, who said she is “married to the law”, she comprehends the “stillness” that Mrs. Wright must have felt, with the house being as gloomy as it was on a bright character such as she before she was married. Such as

Sandra’s way of telling her story was very intriguing and relatable. She spoke in a very fluid

The oppression by Hollywood norms is clearly seen and the disagreement with them makes her a more realistic character who is aware of the underlying patterns of required behaviour rather than unconsciously follows them.

The setting of the play which takes place in the early twentieth century has established the theme that women have been looking down by men. ‘Trifles’ that is used as the title of the play has further foreshadowed the theme of the play in which discrimination of women will happen in the play. During the investigation of Mr Wright’s death, the men that involved in finding out the murderer have despised