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Blood Brother GCSE Drama
Revision
Lucy Harman

MICKEY
QUOTES:
“Mam, This is my brother” A1
“My Blood Brother” A1
“I wish I was our Sammy” A1
“Cos I’m pissed off” A1
“Two of them wiggle and giggle with
glee” NARRATION A1
“I mean she would be me girlfriend,
she even says she loves me all over
the place, but its just like dead
difficult” A2
“Mam
...


• From a lower class working background with many
siblings
...

• At aged 14 him and Linda are very flirty
...

• He leaves school and gets a job working at a factory
...


• They discover that Linda is pregnant, They get married
...


• He then takes part in a robbery with Sammy, He is caught
and sent to prison
...

• He tries to stop taking the pills
...

• He goes and gets the gun from the house
...


COSTUME:
ACT 1- aged 7
...
(grubby, shoe laces
untied, clothes that aren’t his size)
to show his class and passed down
from siblings
...
Leather jacket to
show that he wants to impress
Linda
...

When mickey works at a factory he
will wear overalls
...


Vocal Skills for Mickey
ACT ONE

ACT TWO

Pitch: High to indicate his age and his excitement of
meeting Eddie
...

Pace: Fast to indicate his energetic characteristics,
young age
...

Pause: When Mickey tells Eddie the F word, before hey
start laughing
...

Accent: Liverpudlian accent, using incorrect language
or slang to indicate his background, Sammy's effect on
him and his class being lower working
...

Volume: Loud and very in your face to indicate his age
...
Voice breaks when crying about Linda
...
Fast when he begins to
understand what Linda has done and when he is in
trouble with the law as he is scared and angry
...

Tone: Raspy when is on the drugs to make him sound
like he is physical in pain and struggling
...

Emphasis: When he is addicted to the pills the stress
should be put on words such as need to indicate the
pain he is in and how much he relies on those drugs
and how he thinks that he cant cope without
...

Use Of Space: Uses the while stage moves around it a
lot to emphasis his excitement and his age
...

Rushing in to each scene and moving around the stage
at a fast pace
...

Demeanour: Very excited and confident when taking
to Eddie
...

Gait: Low to the ground and all over the place
...


Posture: Slouched at aged 14 to give the impression
that he doesn’t care about school and to impress
Linda as “A Bad Boy”
...

Movement: Frantic and shaky when he is on the drugs
to present the pain he is in and the effect I is having
on his life
...

Gesture: Role eyes to teacher to show that he is
impatient and immature
...

Demeanour: Aged 14- not bothered and trying to be
cool
...

Gait: Low down and shuffling feet
...
An’
you didn’t because you didn’t need to
...
” A2
“Its fantastic, I’ve never been to so many
parties in my life
...

• He meets Mickey in the street at aged seven
...

• He is told by his mum never to go and see Mickey again
...

• He is suspended from school aged 14 because he wouldn’t
take off the locket
...

• He persuades Mickey to tell Linda that he loves her
...

• He comes home from University at Christmas
...

• He becomes a councillor locally
...
ironed shirt with
buttons done up to show he takes
pride in his appearance, to
emphasise his class and how his
mother looks after him
...

ACT 2- aged 14
...
In school have a
posher uniform as a result of his
private school compared to
Mickeys state school
...
At the end he
will wear a posh suit as he has a
respected job of high status
...

Pace: Slow to indicate his maturity for his young age
...

Pause: Before saying what his mum doesn’t let him do
to try and impress Mickey
...

Accent: Received pronunciation and standard English in
a posh tone
...

Volume: Quieter than Mickey to portray his upbringing
but gets louder when he is excited
...

Pace: slower as he is older and takes longer to speak as
he is not as excitable
...

Pause: When he is confused about Mickey being angry
at him and when he wants Mickey to come out
partying instead of worried about not having a job
because Eddie does not have to worry about money
...
Generous tone towards
Mickey
...
However every so often he begins to
pick up Mickey’s accent and says “Mam”
Emphasis: On the word “always” when admitting to
Linda that he loves her and to the word “why” when
confused about Mickey being angry
...

Use Of Space: Uses the while stage moves around it a
lot to emphasis his excitement and his age
...
He does rush in to each scene and
moving around the stage at a fast pace to
demonstrate that he is excited about meeting Mickey
...

Demeanour: Very excited and frantic
Gait: Up right and slow in a straight line to portray his
class
...

Use Of Space: Tends to stay in one space to try and
put the focus on his words
...

Gesture: Shrugging shoulders and throwing arms in
the air when he argues with Mickey over when he
comes back from University about how he has grown
up and Mickey hasn’t
...
Older- life is sorted out and in
love with Linda
...


MRS JOHNSTONE

STORYLINE:
• Mrs Johnstone is the mother of Mickey and Edward
...


“I love the bone of every single one
of em’” A1
“Never put new shoes on a table” A1
“I’d spend it” A1
“I’d buy more junk and trash, that’s
all
...
Please, please
...
He’s gone up to heaven
love” A1
“The jury found him guilty, sent him
down for seven years” A2
“He couldn’t stop the tears” A2
“It’s just two fools who know all the
rules, but break them all from a
chance to a light romance”A2
“Mickey- don’t shoot Eddie
...
You had a twin
brother” A2

• She is a cleaner and works for Mrs Lyons
• She tells Mrs Lyons that she is pregnant and its
twins
• She is persuaded to give one twin up to Mrs Lyons
...

• She gives Edward a locket with Mickey’s face in it
when he moves away to the countryside
...

• Mrs Lyons breaks into her house and threatens her
with a knife
...

• She tells them that they are twins
...

Pace: Slow to indicate how much being a mother tires
her out
...
Faster also when dealing with
her children
...

Accent: Very strong Liverpudlian accent
...

Volume: Quieter than her children but still loud enough
to remind he audience of her class and background
...

Pace: slower as she now has a new house and feels
much more relaxed and calm
...
To
build tension in the audience and create a climax
...

Accent: Very strong Liverpudlian accent
...

Volume: Loud when trying to stop Mickey but then
gets quieter to calm him down and prevent any
concequences
...

Use Of Space: Uses the while stage moves around it a
lot to emphasis how frantic her life is
...
Slows down when the babies are born
because she doesn’t know what to do about it
...

Demeanour: Stressed and nervous, feels very
controlled and like she doesn’t have any voice because
of her class
...


Posture: Sad up straight to portray that her life has
improved now that she has moved house and started
all over again
...

Movement: Very frantic and fast when she tries to
stop Mickey from shooting Eddie
...

Demeanour: Stressed and nervous, feels very
controlled and like she doesn’t have any voice because
of her class
...

Gait: Up right as she feels like she has more purpose
...
” A1
“You’d be able to see him every
day” A1
“You said it yourself you said you
had too many children already”
A1
“I’m proud of Jenifer too” A1
“You learn from filth like them”
A1
“I’m frightened for Edward” A1
“I curse the day I met you” A2
“I never made him mine” A2
“She turns Mickey around and
points out Edward and Linda to
him” A2 DIRECTIONS!

STORYLINE:
• Mrs Lyons is Edwards adoptive mother

• She lives in a large house with her husband
• Lots of money but no other children
• She persuades her cleaner Mrs Johnstone to give up
one of her twin babies to her
...

• She is very upset when she finds out hat Edward
and Mickey have met and have been playing
together

• She makes her husband to move house with her
and they go to the countryside to escape Mrs
Johnstone
...

• She tries to attack Mrs Johnstone with a knife in her
own house
...


COSTUME:
Smart
Skirt and blouse
Elegant and done up, classy
Silk clothing
No stains, holes or burns
Golden jewellery
Flawless skin
Little heels
Lipstick
Tights

Vocal Skills for Mrs Lyons
ACT ONE

ACT TWO

Pitch: High to indicate her accent and her posh middle
class background
Pace: Slow to show how much she is trying to
manipulate Mrs Johnstone constantly
...

Pause: Before asking Mrs Johnstone to give her ne of
the babies to build tension
...

Volume: Quiet

Pitch: Higher as she becomes more anxious about the
threat of Mrs Johnstone
...
To
build tension in the audience and her own lies
...

Tone: Nervous and stressed
Accent: Received pronunciation and standard English
in a posh tone
Emphasis: specifically on the final scene when she tells
Mickey about Edward and Linda
...


Physical Skills for Mrs Lyons
ACT ONE

ACT TWO

Posture: Up right with a good posture to create a
contrast between her and Mrs Johnstone to portray
her class and her background upbringing
...

Movement: Slower and more controlled than Mrs
Johnstone to portray her characteristics of an a
mature middle class women
...

Demeanour: Very manipulative and jealous
Gait: Up right and slow in a straight line to portray her
class
...

Use Of Space: Much more staging would be used as
she is loosing control of herself and her thoughts
...

Gesture: Hits and pushes and big arm throws when
with Mrs Johnstone in the kitchen with a knife
...


LINDA
QUOTES:
“When you die, you’ll meet your twinny again
won’t y’?” A1
“You better hadn’t done anything soft like him”
A1
“I’ll tell my mother why all the ciggies disappear
when you're in the house” A2
“I leave him alone y’ big worm” A2
“I need you, I love you” A2
“I suppose I always loved you, In a way” A2
“I get depressed but I don’t take those
...
Mickey” A2

VOCAL

PHYSICAL

Pitch: High (age)
Pace: Fast, slower
on “I love you”
Accent:
Liverpudlian
Tone: obsessive
and in love

Use Of Space: all
over Mickey
Gestures:
touching Mickeys
arms
...

• She asks Edward to help her get a new
house and a job for Mickey
...

AGED 14:
School uniform wouldn’t be
appropriate
...

OLDER:
Still quite slinky but now more
practical as she I becoming a
mother
...
What have y’
got? Nothing like me mam
...
” A2
VOCAL
Pitch: lower to
show his age
...

Accent:
Liverpudlian
Volume: Loud
because he’s rude
and forceful
...

Demeanour:
Aggressive and
disrespectful
...

• He shots someone in the robbery

COSTUME:
ACT ONE:
Very much like Mickeys
Clothes but they fit him
better and aren’t in as bad
condition
ACT TWO:
Black trench coat and a
balaclava
...


Themes
• Childhood
• Status
• Class
• Nature and nurture
• Growing up
• Friendship and brotherhood
• Faith
• Superstition

CHILDHOOD
The theme of how the upbringing you get as a child can effect how you are as an adult
...

• Physically he moves very franticly too
...

Hence the use of the word “Mummy” until
an older age
...

• Because he was surrounded by the same
things his whole childhood, meeting Mickey
had the same effect as Sammy had on
Mickey
...


STATUS AND CLASS
The theme of being treated different and getting different privileges from your class and status in
the social system is showed most in the policeman scene
...

• Trouble with money and paying bills
...

• Children have been in trouble with the
law before
...

• Good amount of money with good
jobs
...

• Posh house
...
Over exaggerating the
trouble he was in to scare Mrs
Johnstone
...


The policeman unprofessionally jokes
with Mr Lyons and dulls down the crime
that Edward committed
...
He also had an alcoholic drink
inside the house and takes his hat off
...

Making the assumption that
Mickey is like Sammy even
though it was Edward who was
in the wrong shows this
...
Simply because
Mr Lyons is of the middle class the policeman
immediately changes his vocal and physical skills
from intimidating to relaxed and jokey
...


Mickey= Nature
Edward= Nurture

DIFFERNECES

SIMILARITIES

Edward was brought up alone and was constantly looked
after by his mum and didn’t gain his independence
...

The opportunities handed to Edward seemed to overrule his
nature of characteristics he may have got from his biological
mother
...

For example whenever they wanted to buy something from
the catalogue
...

• They both swear
...

• They are both suspended from their schools at
aged 14
...


CHANGES GROWING UP
When the two boys are aged 7 they are inseparable, they create a deal to be blood
brothers
...
They both go to the cinema together to see rude movies, agonise over girls
and are rude to a policeman and run away after they are both suspended from school
...

However as the time goes on and we see the two brothers grow up we see differences in
the ways they act
...
After Edward comes home from university he acts very different and talks of being a
“Bohemian” and wanting to go out and “Party”
...

2
...
Which changes Edward because he really
loves her
...
Finally because Mickey gets in trouble with the law and goes to prison
...


FRIENDSHIP AND BROTHERHOOD
The friendship of the two boys Mickey and Edward aren’t just because
they are connected as friends but as brothers, but they do not realise
...
This is done through their
childhood as they both play with the guns and with Linda
...

• There is a moment of irony during the “Blood Brothers” pact as they
have no idea that they are making a deal to become something they
are unwarily already are
...
She makes up lies that she knows Mrs Johnstone will
believe as she is a superstitious women
...

The end scene also adds to the ironic element of the play as both twins end up dying as Mickey accidently
shoots Edward when he finds out that they are twins
...

The theme of faith also plays a part in the manipulation of Mrs Johnstone as she is a religious women, Mrs Lyons
tricks her into swear on the bible meaning that if she broke her promise she was being unlawful to God
...

These both show how Mrs Lyons used Mrs Johnston's beliefs and feelings against her to get what she wanted
...


Mrs Johnstone (Struggling Mother of 7) finds out that she is pregnant with twins
...

“You said it yourself, you said you had too many children already”
“You’d be able to see him everyday”
“She suddenly reaches for the bible”

2
...


Mrs Johnstone goes back to work and fuses over Edward
...

“She is about to cry”

4
...
Mickey and Edward meet and become best friends
...

“Mam this is my brother”
“Blood Brothers”

5
...


6
...
MRs
Johnstone gives Edward a locket with a picture of Mickey in
...

“You learn from filth like them”
“Mrs Lyons hits Edward hard and instinctively”
“I’m frightened for Edward”

IMPORTANT MOMETS OF THE PLAY
ACT TWO
1
...
Mickey and Edward meet again in the countryside
...
”

2
...

“I mean she would be me girlfriend, she even says she loves me all over the place, but its just like dead
difficult”

3
...

“I won’t be back until Christmas”

4
...

“Mam, Linda’s pregnant”

5
...

“It disappeared”

6
...
He goes to prison
...
Mickey becomes depressed and takes pills to cope until he is released from prison
...

“I’m taking me tablet”
“I need to take them”
“I’m not well”
“Leave me alone”
8
...

“Now it’s a job and a house”
9
...
Mickey finds out because Mrs Lyons points it out
...

“Suddenly they kiss”
“They walk together, hand in hand”
“It’s just two fools, who know the rules but break them all”
“Mickey is hammering on his own door”
“She turns Mickey round and points out Edward and Linda to him”
10
...

“Looking, searching, desperate”
“There’s a man gone mad in the town hall tonight, He’s gonna shoot somebody down”
11
...

“Mickey don’t shoot Eddie, he’s your brother
...
Then the police open fire on
Mickey and he then dies too
...


“Mickey waves at Edward
with his gun”
- Directions

“They open fire and four guns
explode, blowing Mickey
away
...
”
- Directions

It’s all over”
- Policeman

“Mickey turns to the
Policeman, Screaming NO”
- Directions
Mrs Johnstone and all cast singing
final sing as the two brothers lie dead,
Centre stage, hands touching
...
As Mrs Lyons is one
to show off her money, it
is likely she would have
this
...
It also shows that she often has guests at her
home
...
Not
only does it show off her
wealth, it indicates how
much time she has on
her hands that she can
take the time to sit down
and do her hair and
makeup
...


The one piece of nice, better quality furniture that
Mrs Johnstone would have saved up along time for,
would be a leather sofa
...


A much smaller set of
cabinets with thin legs and
broken corners and lots of
things on top that aren’t for
show, more like a duster and
a children book
...


PREVIOUS PRODUCTIONS SET
Mrs Johnstone House

Mr Lyons inside of house

“we went dancing”

In act one, you only see the
outside of Mrs Johnstone's
house, we can already assume
what the inside would look like
...
Graphitti on
the wall creates a contrast
between the two different areas
...


In act one, we do see the inside
of Mrs Lyons house, and in this
production its clear that the set
is very grand and much posher
than Mrs Johnstone
...


The scenes in which Mrs Johnstone
reminisces on the days her and Mr
Johnstone used to go out and go
dancing an the way people used to
admire her legs and call her Marylin
Monroe
...


“Blood Brothers”

The biggest moment to
be marked in act one is
when the two brothers
declare themselves to
be blood brothers
...
A
simple backdrop of the
factories reminds us of
where they are
...

There is also a chalk
bored with stains on it
...
Therefore
the set has to work with the acting done, a backdrop
on a kitchen would have been appropriate, with
cutlery and dishes
...
There would also have been a table
down there with them
...
This
keeps the focus on them
...
The audience faces one side of the stage directly, and normally sits at a lower
height
...
This type of stage creates quite an intimate atmosphere, and is good for drama that
needs audience involvement
...
Again, this type of stage is
good for creating an intimate atmosphere
...
The Fourth side serves as the background
...
Other shapes are possible; Shakespeare's Globe Theatre was a
five-sided thrust stage
...
The stage area is often raised to improve
sightlines
...


VOCAL SKILLS
NAME

DEFINITION

Pitch

Speaking in a high or low or natural voice
...


Gesture

Non-verbal forms of communications

Demeanour

The way you behave towards your other characters

Gait

The way you walk and move your body

Stance

The way a person stand or the pose they adapt
...


Question three:
• 12 marks
• 12 minutes
• On one part of an extract
• The extract is given
• State your intention
• Reasons
• Key words

Question two:
• 8 marks
• 8 minutes
• How would you perform a line
• Physical and vocal skills
• 1st person
• Give examples and reasons
• Use key words
Question four/five:
• Choose the characterisation question!
• 20 marks
• 20 minutes
• Looking at the play as a whole
• How you would play a character
• Physical skills
• Vocal skills
• Use of space



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