Kitchen sink realism (or kitchen sink drama) is a term coined to describe a British cultural movement which developed in the late 1950s and early 1960s in theatre, art, novels, film and television plays. It used a style of social realism, and is usually is placed in an ordinary domestic setting and typically tells a relatively mundane family story. The plays are socially and politically motivated, seeking to focus attention on the destruction of moral values caused by consumerism and the break down of community.
A Taste of Honey is the first play by the British dramatist Shelagh Delaney, written when she was 18. It was initially intended as a novel, but she turned it into a play because she hoped to revitalize British theatre and to address social issues that she felt were not being presented.
A Taste of Honey tells the story of Jo, a seventeen-year-old working class girl, and her mother, Helen, who is presented as crude and sexually indiscriminate. Helen leaves Jo alone in their new flat after she begins a relationship with Peter, a rich lover who is younger than her. At the same time Jo begins a romantic relationship with Jimmy, a black sailor. He proposes marriage but then goes to sea, leaving Jo pregnant and alone. She finds lodgings with a homosexual acquaintance, Geoffrey, who assumes the role of surrogate father. Helen returns after leaving her lover and the future of Jo's new home is put into question.
A Taste of Honey comments on, and puts into question, class, race, gender and sexual orientation in mid-twentieth century Britain. It became known as a "kitchen sink" play, part of a genre revolutionizing British theatre at the time.
Although I grew up in close contact with people who suffered of Alzheimer, in order to be able to explain the behaviour of Edward, I had to research a lot, so that I can easily transmit to my actor what exactly I want from him. Still, I realize how this personification is going to be difficult and in somehow risky.
The behaviour | The signs | |
Wandering | Ÿ Not able to follow a conversation for too long. Ÿ Look and walk away while interacting with somebody. Ÿ Inability to acquire new memories; difficulty in recalling observed evens. Ÿ Confusion (people with dementia may become anxious about future events such as a visitor arriving, which can lead to repeated questioning). | |
Restlessness | · Paces nervously, drums fingers, etc. for long periods of time. · Pacing up and down · Some people with dementia may undress in public, having forgotten when and where it is appropriate to remove their clothes. | |
Repeated actions | Ÿ Repeats words or actions over and over and over again. Ÿ Repeatedly asking to go home. Ÿ Multiple phone calls. Ÿ The person may continually call out for someone, shout the same word, or scream or wail over and over again. | |
Suspicion | Ÿ Thinks others are trying to hurt them. | |
Aggression | Ÿ Physical and emotional outbursts (i.e., shouting, hitting). Ÿ Irritability and aggression. Ÿ Mood swings. | |
Nessun commento:
Posta un commento