Mnday 20th April research into radio play
Task 1 – Radio play is presented through sound
alone, it needs a script, music and sound effects to keep the audience engaged.
These will help the listeners imagine where the story is set, what the play is
about and what the characters look like by the actor’s voices.
Task 2 – “I am Kanye West” is my first radio
play podcast. It was written by Darragh Mortell. The genre is comedy with a twist. The
podcast is about a man called Toby Daniels who thinks he is Kanye West. He has
been taken to a psychiatric hospital by police after a 999 call was made by his
wife. After being released from the hospital he is in a taxi listening to the
radio, it mentions Kanye West has been missing. The driver comments that Toby
looks like Kanye, the drama finishes with the line “wait, what did you just
say?”.
The story
starts with beeping sounds, nurses talking over each other to a patient who is
giving birth. The sounds change to a new scene, we hear cameras clicking and
paparazzi shouting “Kanye West!”. After hearing the introduction, I thought it
would be about his life. But then the sound of a female walking in high heels down
a corridor is heard, someone entering a room. This person is the doctor who is
trying to help Toby, our main character, who feels angry, aggressive and
confused because no one believes he is Kanye West. We feel sorry for him as no
one listens to him. When the doctor speaks, her voice is professional and calm,
this shows she is of higher statues than Toby.
The theme of
mental health is highlighted in this scene by Olivia, Toby’s wife when she tells
the police that Toby started acting like Kanye West after his mother died. The
way Olivia describes his abusive behaviour towards her helps us understand why she
called 999 for help and why he was taken to the hospital. Darragh Mortell
shows us how the loss of a loved one can change the way we feel and behave. But
there are funny moments in this scene when one of the police officers tries to
rap a Kanye West song, to the other officer thinking Toby is an illegal citizen
when we hear him say “hold on, hold on, what year did he migrate from Sierra
Leone?” Olivia’s character lacks confidence with her body, she loves her
husband and she is funny. Her accent is different from Toby’s because she is Welsh,
and he speaks with an American accent.
When Toby is
released from hospital he travels home in a cab, a Kanye West song is playing
on the radio. We then hear a reporter talking about the disappearance of Kanye
West after his concert. The Taxi driver thinks Toby looks like Kanye West, Toby
realises he is Kanye West and he was tricked. I thought the twist at the end
was unexpected and shocking because I believed the doctor and Olivia that Toby
was not Kanye West.
I thought the
drama was good but there were moments when I lost concentration because I need
visuals to help me understand a story. But the use of music and sound effects in
the scene with Toby and the doctor when he was swearing at the machines going
near him made it tense and on edge.
Thursday 23rd April
Our
Day Out by Willy
Russell
The plot of “Our Day Out” is set in a poor area
of Liverpool, a group of kids from the Progress Class are going on a school
trip to Conwy in Wales.
Themes:
Hope - When Carol is standing on the edge of
the cliff in scene thirty five THE CLIFF Mr Briggs states with the line “You sound
as though life for you is just ending, instead of beginning” This shows he has
hope for her future.
Trust - Mr Briggs is disappointed with the students
when he discovers from the zookeepers that some animals have been stolen from the
zoo. Briggs states in the line “I trusted you lot. I trusted you. And this, is
the was you repay me”
Mrs Kay and the
kids share a good relationship which involves trust. They think she is a caring
teacher; she understands and does not judge them. She knows they have no future
but still wants them to succeed and not make the rumours come true. She always
stands up for them.
Judgment - The coach driver judges the kids when he
meets them for the first time, he knows that they are trouble and will make a
mess on his coach with chocolate and lemonade. But this changes when Mrs Kay takes
him to one side and gives him a sob story. She wants him to be on their side
and tells him “Lemonade never touches their lips” and “these kids are left to wander
the cold cruel streets.” Mrs Kay has tricked him as we hear him say to one of the
kids “Here you are, son run over to the shops an’ get what sweets y’ can with
that” but he doesn’t know that the kids are already stuffing themselves with lemonade
and sweets.
Sadness – The lack of education, the kids not being
excepted by anyone even their parents. When Mrs Kay states “Most of them were
rejects on the day they were born”. This makes us feel sorry for them because we
know that their lives are not going to be good. Some might go to prison, get
pregnant at a young age, become homeless and become involved with alcohol and
drugs.
There is also a
sadness with Briggs. After his conversation with Carol on the cliff edge he starts
to lighten up and suggests before going back to school they go to the fair. At
the fair he is photographed having fun, on the coach home he sings, has loosened
his tie, is wearing a hat from the fair, is thanked by the kids. But once
everyone has gone home, he destroys the film from the camera which makes us
think he has not changed, and he is still the same judgmental teacher from the beginning.
I really enjoyed
the story and I thought the characters were funny. My favourite moment was in scene
thirty-two THE BEACH, when Mrs Kay holds Kevin upside down in the sea because he
kept on asking to go in the sea, but she would not let him because of safety reasons.
Another reason why I liked this scene is because every kid likes to tease adults
as it is a game to them. My favourite line from that scene is “Oh miss, miss.
Me ’air’s all wet.”