How Can We Tell That ?Our Day Out? Was Written For TV Essay, Research Paper

How can we tell that ?Our Day Out? ?was written for television rather than for

the stage? My essay is about ?Our

Day Out? which is a T.V play set in Liverpool in the 70?s, at a time of high

unemployment. A group of kids in the progress class go on a school trip to

Conway in Wales. This play was written especially for television, we

can tell this because of the in depth stage directions at the start of scene 1.

The directions explain that the scene takes place in a busy inner city street

in Liverpool at the start of a school day. It would be hard to show all the

activity of a Liverpool street in the theatre. The scene inside the coach would

be almost impossible to do on stage. Through out the play there are a variety of short,

quick changing scenes an example of this is inside the coach where the camera

can move from one group of people talking to another group. Other examples of

changing scenes are from inside the coach to a roadside cafÉ and back to the

coach again. At the start of the journey in the coach Briggs points out of the

window to the South Docks, this is something you could not do as well on stage. Even though life was very hard at this time the

people in Liverpool did not loose their sense of humour. This humour is very

important in the play because it makes the play more realistic and

entertaining. Here are some examples of humour from the play; one

of these is when ?Thousands of little fingers raise in a v-sign out of the

window?, when the coach leaves the school and just before Mr Briggs had told

them not to do this. Another example was previously in the play Mrs Kay

explained to Ronney the coach driver how the kids had never seen a bar of

chocolate and ?lemonade never touches their lips?. Then inside the coach the

kids are stuffing themselves with sweets a lemonade. The driver comes on board

and by the time he turns to face the kids there is not a bottle of lemonade or

chocolate bar in sight. There are a variety of characters in the play, Mrs

Kay and Mr Briggs are stereotypical of the strict school master and the caring

and easy going school mistress. However by the end of the play Mrs Briggs

loosens up and becomes more easy going. Mr Briggs seems to change after the

scare with Carol who tries to commit suicide because she is unhappy at home. Carol?s

character is very important as it adds excitement and tension to this T.V play.

Other main characters include the school pupils, Reilly and Linda. Reilly plays

the school ?bad boy? and fancies himself with the girls and likes Susan one of

the young teachers. Reilly?s purpose in the play is to annoy Mr Briggs which

brings out his strict side and quick temper. Linda another school pupil also

show the contrast between Mr Briggs?s strictness and Mrs Kay?s kindness. Linda

had come to school in non – school uniform, Mrs Kay had not mentioned this but

Mr Briggs seems to have a problem with this and asks her why she is not in

uniform. From the studio script of the play ?Our Day Out? it

is possible to tell that it was written for television rather than for the stage.

This is clear to us from the stage directions, locations, short quick changing

scenes and realistic characterisations.?????