Bird song Flashcards

1
Q

Where did we see birdsong

A

The everyman theatre, cheltenham on 19th february 2018

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2
Q

Brief over view of act 1 scene `1

A

Opens with rumblings of thunder, the sound of heavy rain music.
Shaw, Evans and Turner appear, laughing, smoking, chatting, Jack emerges from tunnel- exhausted.
One of the sappers begins to play a jig

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3
Q

In act 1 scene 1 what song does jack sing

A

Joins his friends and sings a traditional song; folk tunes and instruments (violin) are used throughout play to create atmosphere and communicate that soliders were missing home. Scene 1 ends with shell landing nearby sound effect- communicates to audience how close to death and danger the characters are.

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4
Q

Overview of act 1 scene 2 - jack sat down- paper

A

Jack- exhausted, sits and takes out paper and pencil- speaks aloud, the letter that he is writing to his wife at home =audience brought into a personal experience.

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5
Q

When are we first introduced to character of Stephen

A

Act 1 scene 2 as he comes across jack who has fallen asleep whilst on watch

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6
Q

What type of set is used in act 1 scene 2

A

Composite set- there are no major set changes. The main set remains exactly the same, with only the use of clever lighting and small pieces of set/props to change location. Lighting is also used to guide audience focus to particular areas of stage.

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7
Q

Giver overview of act 1 scene 3- tunnel first introduced

A

Tunnel created through lighting and use of actors movement. Jack, tipper, turner, shaw, stephen and evans crawl along holding lanterns to indicate tunnel as rest of stage is plunged into darkness. The stage directions then indicate ‘they come to the listening post where there is more room. stand and brush themselves down’

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8
Q

In act 1 scene 3 how is the tunnel indicated

A

a wooden frame
use of lighting and positioning of actors one behind other in a line which gives impression of characters making their way through narrow dark tunnel. A ‘special’ lantern in the wings is used to indicate light from german tunnel

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9
Q

How else is lighting used in act 1 scene 3

A

the cyclorama forms the back of the set and is lit with strong colours throughout production, to communicate time of day mood and atmosphere.

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10
Q

How does the character of Tipper act in act 1 scene 3

A

Afraid and claustrophobic in the tunnel, knowing that the germans are near by. In act 1 scene 3 his fears come true, just as the character of stephen is holding a gun to tippers head to try and stop him form crying. The stage directions state ‘an explosion. the men are thrown to the ground’

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11
Q

How does act 1 scene 3 end dramatically

A

Tipper takes out grenade. Germans appear. A german fires his fun, evans is hit. Stephan takes out one german and as he fire is hit. Tipper fumbles with grenade. Throws the grenade and germans fall to ground. Jack crawls in quickly Jack- ‘are there any more?’, Tipper- ‘I dont know. I dont know! I killed them. I killed them! Jack- “All right. calm down son. ere take this” Jack gives tipper a german pistol.
At the end of scene 3, stephen is unconscious and is taken to a ‘clearing station’ where the dead and wounded are dealt with.

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12
Q

Overview of act 1 scene 4 and 5 - starts with Clearing station

A

Set- clearing station ( thought to be dead after explosion, he moves and jack gets help)
W move from present to Stephen remembering back when he was with Isabelle.
Silence, sound of nightingale singing. Stephen allows himself to remember. Scene 5, begins immediately with a lighting change and is set in the past when stephen first meets Isabelle.

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13
Q

How are scene changes done throughout play

A

Only done through the change of lighting and minor props on and off, such as boxes, tables and chairs

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14
Q

give brief overview of set in act 1 scene 5

A

A warm summer’s evening, Amiens, 1910. The azaires garden. Wicker chairs, roses

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15
Q

Why in act 1 scene 5 does the time and location change multiple times

A

Stephen drifts between past and present. Jack enters to ask about leave so he can see sick son and captain grey enters to try and persuade stephen to return to england to recover…. Stephen wants to return to amiens to find Isabelle. Throughout act 1 scene 5 we go from present to past and sound is used to communicate Stephen and Isabelle falling in love.

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16
Q

Give a quotation example of Stephen falling back into past with thoughts of Isabelle

A

‘And stephen slips towards another memory. The sound of shelling turns into the sound of the factory. The lights grown warmer and sounds even louder until stephen can bear it no longer”
“Stephen breaks away from the memory of the factory, puts his notebook away. The sound of birdsong, the river flowing by

17
Q

What happens just before act 1 scene 5 finishes

A

There is one more flashback to Stephens time at isabelles home, before the scene ends with a conversation in the present between stephen and gray

18
Q

What song plays during flashback of Isabelle walking by with her basket, wearing a headscarf in ACT 1 SCENE 5

A

Mendelssohn ‘Lied ohne worte opus 19, no.6’

19
Q

Overview of act 1 scene 6

A

Stephen still floats between past and present- he and Isabelle have fallen in love and we see the affair begin in the ‘red room’. The lighting of the cyclorama is a warm orange and violin playing to set mood and atmosphere

20
Q

what is act 1 scene 7

A

extremely long, which changes time and place seamlessly throughout, from trenches to Azaires house and back again

21
Q

List key aspects to act 1 scene 7

A

Includes scene with ‘the prostitute’ multi-rolled by Lisette Isabelles step daughter, in this scene was very weak! Not a believable role switch.
Lisette confesses to Stephen in this scene that she has a crush on him but also later finds out the affair between stephen and isabelle
Moving between azaires house and trenches, the scene ends with soliders going ‘over the top’

22
Q

In act 1 scene 7 just before battle give some quotation and stage direction examples

A

Stephen- ‘One more minute’, silence, ‘wait for the whistle’ the sound of mines exploding. Smoke and dust fly up. silence. Looks at his watch ‘not yet… twenty seconds’.

23
Q

What quotation shows the sense of team work and friendship in battle act 1 scene 7

A

Gray; ‘Goodluck, boys. I’ll see you on the other side’.

24
Q

Quote stage directions for tippers suicide

A

Tipper takes out his german pistol. He raises it to his temple. He shoots himself. No one dares react.
Stephen- (Voice cracking) ‘Ten seconds’

25
Q

Explain sound effects and actions right at the end of act 1 scene 7
STAGE DIRECTIONS

A

The sound of skylarks. Then Stephen blows his whistle. The men climb the ladders. Deafening machine gunfire, louder and louder.

26
Q

describe lighting and action in act 1 scene 7 battle

A

Strong lighting on cyclorama, creating strong silhouettes of the characters as they go ‘over the top’
Slow-motion was used in a very controlled way by the actors, to create tension and a sense of a dis-jointed reality.

27
Q

Describe what happens in act 2 scene 1 - overview

A

Nearing end of 1917. Amiens. A smokey bar, full of British soliders. Jack sings still trying. Just.
Time has moved on again at the beginning of act 2 and stephen has come looking for the Azaire family. Stephen runs into Isabelle’s sister, Jeanne

28
Q

describe what happens in act 2 scene 2- overview- Jack and Shaw

A

Jack and Shaw are curled up together.
This is the scene in which Shaw has some kind of premonition- he begs jack to draw him, shortly before he goes into the tunnel and is killed afterwards by an explosion

29
Q

Explain what happens in act 2 scene 3- Stephen and Isabelle reunite

A

Stephen meets up once again with isabelle. Stephen finds out that isabelle has become involved with a german officer called max who helped the family.
As common to the structure and form of the play, this scene changes seamlessly to another of Jack, Evans and the chaplain and arthurs body.

30
Q

Describe the lighting in act 2 scene 3

A

Cyclorama is lit with a sunset purple and pink, it helps communicate atmosphere and create silhouettes of the barbed-wire and wood from the trenches

31
Q

What happens in act 2 scene 5 - ending

A

In this scene, ghosts from stephens past appear and sing together.
stage directions- lights change. ghosts disappear. the sound of a river;birdsong the laughter of children

32
Q

Give lines from act 2 scene 5

A

Jeanne- Can you hear the birds?

Stephen- My men talk about skylarks. How even when we blow eachother to pieces, the birds keep on singing.

33
Q

Describe the very simple set pieces and give examples - whole play

A

Very simple set pieces such as Stephens bed, which change location easily, relying on the audience to ‘suspend their disbelief’.
Old battered wood is used to give the whole set a feeling of the decay of war and life in the trenches