Themes of The Play

Apathy

Apathy is the lack of enthusiasm or lack of emotion that the characters show. Due to Helena and Alison being brought up in a boarding school where they would have been taught to act and speak properly, they would have been taught to never 'make a scene' as this is considered to be ill-mannered. It is because of this that Jimmy acts the way he does. He performs in a certain way and says things he doesn't always mean to try and get a reaction or some form of emotion out of them.  One example of this is when jimmy says "How  I long for a little ordinary human enthusiasm. Just enthusiasm - That's all". 

Social Class

Jimmy is from a working class background and despises people from the upper class which is where Helena and Alison are from. This is why Jimmy does not get along with Helena in the beginning of the play as he refers to her as "his natural enemy". This refers to the fact that they were born into different classes and are therefore instantly enemies. Jimmy loves Alison but hates her upper class background. He is always complaining about "mummy and daddy" won't approve of Alison Marrying Jimmy.

Relationships

The relationship between Alison and Helena is a love/hate relationship. They really do love each other but Jimmy doesn't agree with her upbringing so is constantly 'at war' with her to try to get her to show emotion. The relationship between Alison and Cliff is very friendly but not considered to be love or passionate in any way; However, Jimmy and Helena consider their behaviour towards each other to be very unnatural. We can relate to this as relationships like this are still present today.

Backstory

Helena and Alison are very well educated and well mannered women which suggests that they have had a high education in the past. As they both have similar mannerisms, this also suggests that they were probably friends in at the same boarding school. They would have probably attended school during the 1940's where the wealthy families would send their children to expensive boarding schools to receive and education and learn how to behave properly; Their uniforms would have been similar to the image shown below.



Alison and Jimmy would have met after Helena and Alison left boarding school. Due to Jimmy's hatred towards higher class people, Helena and Alison would not have spoken or kept contact with each other as much. This is shown as Cliff has not met Helena before and is unaware of what Helena's behaviour is like.

The Angry Young Men

"The angry young men were a group of mostly working and middle class British playwrights and novelists who became prominent in the 1950s. The group's leading members included John Osborne and Kingsley Amis.

John Osborne’s play, Look Back in Anger, was the huge literary work that influenced the concept of the Angry Young Men. Osborne wrote the play to express what it felt like to live in England during the 1950s. The main issues that Angry Young Men had were "impatience with the status quo, refusal to be co-opted by a bankrupt society and an instinctive solidarity with the lower classes." Referred to as "kitchen sink realism," literary works began to deal with lower class themes. In the decades prior to Osborne and other authors, less attention had been given to literature that illuminated the treatment and living circumstances experienced by the lower classes. As the Angry Young Men movement began to articulate these themes, the acceptance of related issues was more widespread. Osborne depicted these issues within his play through the eyes of his protagonist, Jimmy. Throughout the play, Jimmy was seeing "the wrong people go hungry, the wrong people be loved, the wrong people dying".

In post-World War Britain, the quality of life for lower class citizens was very poor; Osborne used this theme to demonstrate how the state of Britain was guilty of neglect towards those that needed assistance the most. In the play there are comparisons of educated people with savages, illuminating the major difference between classes. Alison remarks on this issue while she, Jimmy and Cliff are sharing an apartment, stating how "she felt she had been placed into a jungle". Jimmy was represented as an embodiment of the young, rebellious post-war generation that questioned the state and its actions.

Stage Design and costume design

Set Design

Look Back in anger was set in the 1950's. For our set design we will need to ensure that the set is within the right context that the play is set in to make it seem real and believable.

In the 1950's, technology was very limited, televisions were very new and the radio was people's source of entertainment. Furniture in the 1950's included an old fashioned stove, outdated fabric patterns as well as clashing prints.

Below is a basic set layout of how I would have the stage set up if I was to produce this play in the theatre with a real budget.

Props

The props I would use for this production would be:

• Iron
• Ironing board
• Teapot
• Pipe
• Ashtray
• Cup and saucer
• Cutlery
• Couch cushions
• Vase with flowers on the coffee table
• Table cloth

Due to the location being in college and not having a budget to buy real furniture and all the props needed. I would just use key props that are needed for the scene I am doing such as a teapot, pipe, newspapers and a cup and saucer.

As I would not be able to use real furniture for the scene. I would use stage blocks and fold-away chairs to represent the main items of furniture in this scene.

Costume

Helena and Alison were both brought up at a strict boarding school were they were taught how to walk, talk and behave properly. Their costume in the 1950's would have been a skirt or dress below the knee with a blouse.I imagine that Helena would dress more like the two women on the right as she was considered to be a bit more free spirited and rebellious and Helena would dress more understated like the two women on the left. For my costume i would go to local charity shops to find a long patterned skirt and a blouse for Helena. I would not be able to wear jeans for this as Alison and Helena were brought up in a posh boarding school environment so are very unlikely to wear jeans. Jean were brought in by women in the late 1950's but were very 'hit and miss' and considered to be and outrageous wardrobe choice in that time period. I would also have a look for shoes with a small heel and skin coloured stockings

Hair

Women's hair in the 1950's was very neat and every curl in place. They usually had their hair tied back in a bun or very short curls with one pin curl at the front of the head. For my hair, i would try to achieve the style on the left as my hair is a lot longer than the first picture shown below. Also, Helena's character is considered to be a bit more free minded so i think that this look describes it best.

Deportment

In this session we looked at deportment. Deportment means the way you hold yourself as a character. We looked at various techniques to achieve  Our character's style of walk, talk and how they sit. Helena and Alison were brought up in a posh boarding school were they were taught how to behave properly. This included lessons such as walking with a book on their heads.

After this we focused on how a lady would sit. We discussed that they would not slouch and would always keep their knees together as they would usually be wearing skirts.

Women would also be told to hold their head up as a sense of confidence and pride as well as being lady like.

With my character Helena, i would show all these postures within my performance as this is what Helena would have been taught in school. I will practice this in rehearsals to ensure that i am comfortable sitting and standing like this.