When it comes to modern theatre, stage directions (the descriptive text that appears usually within brackets in a script) are an important piece of the intricate puzzle. They speak for the playwright when he is not there. They provide details about how the playwright has imagined the environment and atmosphere. They describe critical physical aspects of the characters and settings. Stage directions can also be critical in dictating the intended tempo and rhythm of the piece. Whether they establish a production’s overall tone or elucidate particular actions of characters, stage directions help tell the complete story that is in the playwright’s mind. Stage directions accomplish all of this, using a simple convention that structurally separates them from the actual story. Richard bean, the playwright of ‘one man two guvnors’, strives to give a play “the spirit of life” through his stage directions.
As the audience take their seats the skiffle band plays. Lights down. 1963, April, mid-morning. A room in CHARLIE’S House in Brighton. A framed photo of Queen Elizabeth II at coronation upstage. CHARLIE, HARRY DANGLE, ALAN DANGLE, PAULINE, LLOYD, DOLLY and other friends and family. Hardly anything remains from a buffet of typically English party food. Maybe one lone cheese and pineapple on a stick, and some peanuts. A party can of beer. All very lively and jolly, with the skiffle band playing, laughter, drinks, dancing. The song finishes. PAULINE and ALLAN kiss. They toast ’Pauline & Alan’ Charlie taps a glass of quiet.
Beans’ opening stage directions paint lively a picture—a clear and articulate physical and emotional setting for his characters. Just from his stage directions, we already know quite a lot about Charlie, Pauline and Alan and the dynamics of their relationship. Before the play’s first word is even spoken, bean has vividly drawn the setting for us in the opening stage directions and introduced his story’s themes of love. If we were to the stage directions...