Wardrobe Essay

The Wardrobe Essay:

The scene of Anne, Sarah and Mary, was set in the time of when The Great plague of London was at its height. The Plague impacted many lives and left many people dead, infected or without loved ones. The diseased was easily spread due to the breeding of rats after London had experience a very hot summer of which fleas carried around on other vermin and stray animals within the cities. Many people lived in poverty and small tight houses and therefore the disease was easily given round. Sources say that the rats first came from ships that have come over from France.

The popular nursery rhyme, describes the symptoms of the plague:

"Ring-a-ring of roses,

A pocketful of posies,

Attischo, Attischo,

We all fall down."

-found form historylearningsite.co.uk

The Plague had been around for centuries but in 1665 the so called Great Plague hit the country.  Stuart of London took the worst hit of the plague and the plague never really got under control until the Great Fire of London in 1666, wiped out most areas of the Plague. So the living conditions in London were like one big bin during this scene. The three girls were quite lucky to be more disclosed from the drama, as they were ladies maids in a big well-kept house. The chances of getting the plague were somewhat shorter than others who were living in poverty. The house owners 'the Barwicke Family’ had evacuated to Oxfordshire, during the outbreak of the plague and the girls have been left in a somewhat empty house under the keeping of servants.

King Charles the 2nd was on the thrown and baroque music was the fashion. The attire for woman included the wide, high-waisted look of the previous period was gradually superseded by a long vertical line, with horizontal emphasis at the shoulder. Full, loose sleeves ended just below the elbow at mid-century and became longer and tighter in keeping with the new trend. The body was tightly corseted, with a low, broad neckline and dropped shoulder. The attire for Ladies maids however was somewhat downgraded to latchet shoes or mules, with a cap, linen or lappet, and corset.

Dramatic event:

Juxtaposition, is used within our scene, as the three girls are making light of what is a very serious time. This is shown by Sarah and Mary joking around and being sarcastic with Mary in a light hearted way. The two girls mimic Anne’s actions and words, making the scene comforting and almost sweet to the audience. This sets a calmer atmosphere, so the audience gets the sudden change of atmosphere when the pre dramatic event happens. This is when Sarah coughs repeatedly between Anne’s speech, the third time coughing blood, which the other two girls take as an alert and immediately check for signs of the plague. This change in atmosphere is the build up to the dramatic event where Anne, suddenly collapses and the audience then realise that Anne is the one with the plague.

Characters:

Sarah: I play Sarah in this scene, and she gives the vibe of a bit of a mickey taker, someone that is light at heart and likes to joke around. Although she is still afraid of the consequences of the plague she still puts her friendship with Anne first when she realizes she has the plague. Sarah is good. She may come off as a bit sarcastic to the audience, but I believe she does this to hide her insecurities.

Anne: Anne, is a dreamer, throughout the scene she expresses her longing to be an actress, as the girls repeatedly mock her. Despite being a dreamer she knows the reality of which she has the plague. I think she uses the dream to help her to hide the reality of what will actually happen. I also think as the girls go along with it during the scene, this helps her to forget the realities of life for a second, and enjoys the fantasy.

Mary: Mary is someone that goes along with the flow, I believe she likes a good laugh but she can also be someone to recognize a more serious situation more quickly than Sarah. I feel like Mary is a bit in awe of Anne because a few times she seems more drawn in than Sarah, as Sarah is a little bit more reluctant.

The scene’s objective at first is to bunk off from doing their daily chores. Anne finds the wardrobe first to rehearse her audition piece, and Sarah and Mary are having a great time trying on the mistresses’ dresses pretending to be elegant ladies. Sarah and Mary decided to follow Anne into the wardrobe as an opportunity to have a good laugh, as in the scene they find it hysterically funny that Anne is being so ambitious. Anne, takes it on the chin and doesn't seem to really care about what the other girls say.  Together all the girls mention ‘Red-Faced Ramsey’ which is written in the script and could be a reference to a boss, and this is why we got the impression that they are bunking off from their chores.

The text is written, what seems normal when you read it, but it’s when you actually start to block it and lay it out that you start to see the emotions and situations that are hidden between the lines. This doesn't really start to become obvious until the pre scene event when Sarah is searched by the other girls, because they fear that she might have the plague after she coughs up blood. During this event, Sarah repeatedly says “Coughing, is not even a symptom”. “It’s just a cough, it’s just a cough”. Though it makes me think that if she didn't have the plague what did she have? Coughing up blood could be the sign of lung cancer, or it could be less serious and could just be a chest infection. Either way this is an example of something that is hidden between the lines of the story. 

We used a Brechtian moment when blocking the moment where I say I don't have the plague, as I make it completely obvious and I am telling the audience that I don't have the plague.