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Scene Analysis Of The Play 'Burnt' By Stephen Davis

Decent Essays

Year 9 English - ‘The Incident’ Scene Analysis ‘The Incident’ was created to be an added scene at the end of the play ‘Burnt’, by Stephen Davis. It depicts an interview between Simon and a supplementary character, therapist Dr. Susan Anderson, and is set at a therapist’s office. Dr. Anderson is interviewing Simon to discover his motives for burning half of the school down and to find out if he has any deeper lying psychological problems such as depression. The interview is formal, but takes place in a comfortable looking room to make patients feel more at ease; the room is furnished with a chaise couch for patients, an office chair for Dr. Anderson, a coffee table decorated with a vase of flowers, and some motivational posters on the walls. Further props include a clipboard and pen for Dr. Anderson to take notes on about Simon, and a folder containing information about him. This scene sees Simon open up for the first time about his emotions and the events leading up to the incident. Despite knowing about him committing arson, this is the first time Dr. Anderson has heard of his background of being …show more content…

Susan Anderson’s character is persistent and strong, but also very understanding, sympathetic, and patient. She treats Simon with respect, making sure that he feels comfortable answering the questions after he reacted badly to inquisitions about his home life and if he was harming himself. Throughout the interview, she listens to his answers attentively and gives advice on how to overcome his fears, such as using candles to get used to fire again. Dr. Anderson plays a very important role in this scene, uncovering Simon’s true motives for committing arson and allowing us to see further into Simon’s head and how his actions deeply affected him. Her responses to Simon’s account of events prior to the incident imply that he would have had empathy and support from friends, family, principals, teacher, and other authority figures before the situation got out of

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