Contemporary Australian Theatre playwrights use their plays as a way of exploring the social concerns within society using various techniques and conventions. These dramatic techniques and conventions used alongside the elements of drama help to convey ideas that not only entertain but also engage the audience by evoking their emotions as they find themselves dragged into the characters worlds. The two contemporary Australian plays we had studied in class ‘Fearless’ by Mirra Todd and ‘Neighbourhood Watch’ by Lally Katz, provided us with examples of how the directional choices within this theatre style can create an engaging experience for Australian audiences, but universal audiences. By exploring social concerns in these plays such as mental
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An example of physical and verbal abuse in this play is in scene five when drug dealer Chika comes across Mut-Dog who is sitting in the street eating pizza and speaking to an unseen dog. Chika hassles him for a slice and becomes agitated and threatens him when Mut-Dog doesn’t seem to acknowledge his presence. ‘Chika – “I’m warning you boy don’t get on the wrong side of me”’ This verbal abuse from Chika results in Mut-Dog resorting to physical abuse portrayed in the stage direction ‘Mut-Dog lets out a primal scream and jumps on top of Chika and begins beating him up’. The audience become shocked here as they are presented with this man suffering from Asperger’s Syndrome brutally attacks this man that is meant to be seen as intimidating. In a class workshop, two students acted out this scene and used their costumes as a way to show the difference in characters. Chika was dressed in rough clothing that made him look edgy and someone you would avoid confrontation with while Mut-Dog wore clothing that resembled what a child would wear indicating a man who never grew up. Dressing the characters like this displayed to the audience that even a man that may seem harmless can be affected by inner demons resulting in taking aggressive behaviours on board.
Lally Katz’s eclectic play ‘Neighbourhood Watch’ draws on elements from theatrical …show more content…
Eighty year old Ana acts angry and hostile towards others due to the hard life she has experienced making herself isolated from other. One character Ana particularly pushes away is elderly Serbian woman Jovanka who continually tries to build a friendship with Ana. ‘Jovanka – “You want to have one coffee?” Ana – “No, no coffee”’. This type of conversation is had numerous times where Ana refuses to spend time with Jovanka. Ana’s use of truncated sentences and short dialogue displays to the audience how Ana isolates herself from making friends. The audience may feel sympathetic towards Jovanka here as she is continuously pushed away by Ana. Humour can also be evident here, as Jovanka’s persistent attitude never seems to stop despite Ana’s continuous
An example of physical and verbal abuse in this play is in scene five when drug dealer Chika comes across Mut-Dog who is sitting in the street eating pizza and speaking to an unseen dog. Chika hassles him for a slice and becomes agitated and threatens him when Mut-Dog doesn’t seem to acknowledge his presence. ‘Chika – “I’m warning you boy don’t get on the wrong side of me”’ This verbal abuse from Chika results in Mut-Dog resorting to physical abuse portrayed in the stage direction ‘Mut-Dog lets out a primal scream and jumps on top of Chika and begins beating him up’. The audience become shocked here as they are presented with this man suffering from Asperger’s Syndrome brutally attacks this man that is meant to be seen as intimidating. In a class workshop, two students acted out this scene and used their costumes as a way to show the difference in characters. Chika was dressed in rough clothing that made him look edgy and someone you would avoid confrontation with while Mut-Dog wore clothing that resembled what a child would wear indicating a man who never grew up. Dressing the characters like this displayed to the audience that even a man that may seem harmless can be affected by inner demons resulting in taking aggressive behaviours on board.
Lally Katz’s eclectic play ‘Neighbourhood Watch’ draws on elements from theatrical …show more content…
Eighty year old Ana acts angry and hostile towards others due to the hard life she has experienced making herself isolated from other. One character Ana particularly pushes away is elderly Serbian woman Jovanka who continually tries to build a friendship with Ana. ‘Jovanka – “You want to have one coffee?” Ana – “No, no coffee”’. This type of conversation is had numerous times where Ana refuses to spend time with Jovanka. Ana’s use of truncated sentences and short dialogue displays to the audience how Ana isolates herself from making friends. The audience may feel sympathetic towards Jovanka here as she is continuously pushed away by Ana. Humour can also be evident here, as Jovanka’s persistent attitude never seems to stop despite Ana’s continuous