1 As a director, outline and explain your vision for directing the actors in this extract to bring out the
playwright’s intentions. Annotate the script to show how you would do this. [30]
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1 As a director, outline and explain your vision for directing the actors in this extract to bring out the
playwright’s intentions. Annotate the script to show how you would do this. [30]
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Gerry: I don’t think I’d like living with
children. They make a lot of noise
don’t they?
Edward: I tell them to shut up and they
shut up. I wouldn’t want to leave them
at the moment.
Gerry: Look why don’t we go for a meal
some time?
Edward: Yes I’d like that. Where are you
living now?
Gerry: Same place.
Edward: I’ll come round for you tomorrow
night about 7.30.
Gerry: Great.
EDWARD goes. HARRY comes.
HARRY and GERRY pick each other up.
They go off. BETTY comes back.
Betty: No, the ice cream was my treat,
Martin. Off you go. I’m going to have
a quiet sit in the sun.
MAUD comes.
Maud: Let Mrs Saunders be a warning
to you, Betty. I know what it is to be
unprotected.
Betty: But Mother, I have a job. I earn
money.
Maud: I know we have our little
differences but I always want what is
best for you.
ELLEN comes.
Ellen: Betty, what happens with a man?
Betty: You just keep still.
Ellen: And is it enjoyable? Don’t forget
me, Betty.
MAUD and ELLEN go.
Betty: I used to think Clive was the
one who liked sex. But then I found
I missed it. I used to touch myself
when I was very little, I thought I’d
invented something wonderful. I
used to do it to go to sleep with or to
cheer myself up, and one day it was
raining and I was under the kitchen
table, and my mother saw me with
my hand under my dress rubbing
away, and she dragged me out so
quickly I hit my head and it bled and
I was sick, and nothing was said,
and I never did it again till this year.
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I thought if Clive wasn’t looking at
me there wasn’t a person there. And
one night in bed in my flat I was so
frightened I started touching myself.
I thought my hand might go through
into space. I touched my face, it was
there, my arm, my breast, and my
hand went down where I thought it
shouldn’t, and I thought well there is
somebody there. It felt very sweet, it
was a feeling from very long ago, it
was very soft, just barely touching,
and I felt myself gathering together
more and more and I felt angry with
Clive and angry with my mother and
I went on and on defying them, and
there was this vast feeling growing
in me and all round me and they
couldn’t stop me and no one could
stop me and I was there and coming
and coming. Afterwards I thought I’d
betrayed Clive. My mother would kill
me. But I felt triumphant because I
was a separate person from them.
And I cried because I didn’t want to
be. But I don’t cry about it any more.
Sometimes I do it three times in one
night and it really is great fun.
VICTORIA and LIN come in.
Victoria: So I said to the professor, I don’t
think this is an occasion for invoking
the concept of structural causality –
oh hello Mummy.
Betty: I’m going to ask you a question,
both of you. I have a little money from
your grandmother. And the three of
you are living in that tiny flat with two
children. I wonder if we could get a
house and all live in it together? It
would give you more room.
Victoria: But I’m going to Manchester
anyway.
Lin: We’d have a garden, Vicky.
Betty: You do seem to have such fun all
of you.
Victoria: I don’t want to.
Betty: I didn’t think you would.
Lin: Come on, Vicky, she knows we
sleep together, and Eddy.
Betty: I think I’ve known for quite a while
but I’m not sure. I don’t usually think
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about it, so I don’t know if I know
about it or not.
Victoria: I don’t want to live with my
mother.
Lin: Don’t think of her as your mother,
think of her as Betty.
Victoria: But she thinks of herself as my
mother.
Betty: I am your mother.
Victoria: But Mummy we don’t even like
each other.
Betty: We might begin to.
CATHY comes on howling with a
nosebleed.
Lin: Oh Cathy what happened?
Betty: She’s been assaulted.
Victoria: It’s a nosebleed.
Cathy: Took my ice cream.
Lin: Who did?
Cathy: Took my money.
MARTIN comes.
Martin: Is everything all right?
Lin: I thought you were looking after
her.
Cathy: They hit me. I can’t play. They
said I’m a girl.
Betty: Those dreadful boys, the gang,
the Dead Hand.
Martin: What do you mean you thought I
was looking after her?
Lin: Last I saw her she was with you
getting an ice cream. It’s your
afternoon.
Martin: Then she went off to play. She
goes off to play. You don’t keep an
eye on her every minute.
Lin: She doesn’t get beaten up when I’m
looking after her.
Cathy: Took my money.
Martin: Why the hell should I look
after your child anyway? I just want
Tommy. Why should he live with you
and Vicky all week?
Lin: I don’t mind if you don’t want to look
after her but don’t say you will and
then this happens.
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Victoria: When I get to Manchester
everything’s going to be different
anyway, Lin’s staying here, and you’re
staying here, we’re all going to have
to sit down and talk it through.
Martin: I’d really enjoy that.
Cathy: Hit me on the face.
Lin: You were the one looking after her
and look at her now, that’s all.
Martin: I’ve had enough of you telling
me.
Lin: Yes you know it all.
Martin: Now stop it. I work very hard at
not being like this, I could do with
some credit.
Lin: OK you’re quite nice, try and enjoy it.
Don’t make me sorry for you, Martin,
it’s hard for me too. We’ve better
things to do than quarrel. I’ve got to
go and sort those little bastards out
for a start. Where are they, Cathy?
Cathy: Don’t kill them, Mum, hit them.
Give them a nosebleed, Mum.
LIN goes.
Victoria: Tommy’s asleep in the
pushchair. We’d better wake him up
or he won’t sleep tonight.
Martin: Sometimes I keep him up
watching television till he falls asleep
on the sofa so I can hold him. Come
on, Cathy, we’ll get another ice
cream.
Cathy: Chocolate sauce and nuts.
Victoria: Betty, would you like an ice
cream?
Betty: No thank you, the cold hurts my
teeth, but what a nice thought, Vicky,
thank you.
VICTORIA goes. BETTY alone.
GERRY comes.
I think you used to be Edward’s
flatmate.
Gerry: You’re his mother. He’s talked
about you.
Betty: Well never mind children are
always wrong about their parents. It’s
a great problem knowing where to live
and who to share with. I live by myself
just now.
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Gerry: Good, so do I. You can do what
you like.
Betty: I don’t really know what I like.
Gerry: You’ll soon find out.
Betty: What do you like?
Gerry: Waking up at four in the morning.
Betty: I like listening to music in bed and
sometimes for supper I just have a big
piece of bread and dip it in very hot
lime pickle. So you don’t get lonely
by yourself? Perhaps you have a lot
of visitors. I’ve been thinking I should
have some visitors, I could give a little
dinner party. Would you come? There
wouldn’t just be bread and lime pickle.
Gerry: Thank you very much.
Betty: Or don’t wait to be asked to
dinner. Just drop in informally. I’ll
give you the address shall I? I don’t
usually give strange men my address
but then you’re not a strange man,
you’re a friend of Edward’s. I suppose
I seem a different generation to you
but you are older than Edward. I was
married for so many years it’s quite
hard to know how to get acquainted.
But if there isn’t a right way to do
things you have to invent one. I
always thought my mother was far
too old to be attractive but when you
get to an age yourself it feels quite
different.
Gerry: I think you could be quite
attractive.
Betty: If what?
Gerry: If you stop worrying.
Betty: I think when I do more about
things I worry about them less. So
perhaps you could help me do more.
Gerry: I might be going to live with
Edward again.
Betty: That’s nice, but I’m rather
surprised if he wants to share a flat.
He’s rather involved with a young
woman he lives with, or two young
women, I don’t understand Edward
but never mind.
Gerry: I’m very involved with him.
Betty: I think Edward did try to tell me
once but I didn’t listen. So what I’m
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being told now is that Edward is ‘gay’
is that right? And you are too. And I’ve
been making rather a fool of myself.
But Edward does also sleep with
women.
Gerry: He does, yes, I don’t.
Betty: Well people always say it’s the
mother’s fault but I don’t intend to
start blaming myself. He seems
perfectly happy.
Gerry: I could still come and see you.
Betty: So you could, yes. I’d like that. I’ve
never tried to pick up a man before.
Gerry: Not everyone’s gay.
Betty: No, that’s lucky isn’t it.
GERRY goes. CLIVE comes.
Clive: You are not that sort of woman,
Betty. I can’t believe you are. I can’t
feel the same about you as I did. And
Africa is to be Communist I suppose.
I used to be proud to be British. There
was a high ideal. I came out onto the
verandah and looked at the stars.
CLIVE goes. BETTY from Act One
comes. BETTY and BETTY embrace
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