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Year 11 Drama: Australian Gothic

The purpose of Hoods was to remind the audience that the overwhelming
and frightening consequences of poverty are largely societies fault and
responsibility, and that its cause is societies perception of it. The reason that
the topic of poverty was a significant subject was because a great amount of
the public does not understand the struggle, embarrassment, and difficulty
that comes with living a life in poverty, and this production served as a
reminder that this topic was not one that should be ignored.
Real TV is a theatre company that developed Hoods as a means of exploring
the themes of poverty and domestic violence. This was done through the use
of Political Theatre, and incorporated some aspects of Australian Gothic.
Hoods manipulated conventions such as set, clothing, lighting, roles, and
relationships, to make the audience think about their role in society, take
responsibility for those in poverty, and reflect on why they are in that
position.
During the production, a sense of deliberate separation and willful ignorance
towards the poverty stricken was created through the use of relationship,
voice, and staging. An example of this was during the scene when Jessie is
asking for a hug from her teacher. Sommers portrayal of awkwardness and
shock when Jessie asked for a hug defined the relationship between Mr.
Matheson and Jessie, and effectively delivered a sense of separation from
her. As well as this, Vescotes portrayal of Jessies innocence and
virtuousness exaggerated the distance and juxtaposed Mr. Mathesons cold
attitude towards her. After Vescote requested a hug, Sommers (as Jessie's
teacher) was aware that this kind of affection was something he could not
provide, and was not willing to provide, due to social norms and his own
personal comfort. This was an obvious form of symbolism that was used to
represents societies discomfort towards those living below the poverty line.
As well as this, his coldness and rigidness was a very obvious difference to
Jessies relaxation and innocence when she asked for a hug, and this made
Mr. Matheson seem selfish, because he was acting as if Jessie was a threat to
him. Their relationship became clearer when Vescote approached Sommers,
his posture stiffened, and he even stepped back slightly, to make it clearer to
Jessie that he did not want to hug her, and instead offered her a handshake.
This sense of separation from those in poverty was clearly portrayed through
Sommers' and Vescote's use of relationship. The isolation that was being
created through how Mr. Matheson treated Jessie strongly symbolized
societys unwillingness to help, and their constant need to look for an excuse
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as to why they could not help. This was evident in how Mr. Matheson
stumbled for a sort of compromise after Jessie requested a hug, settling on
something much less personal and interactive; a handshake. Sommers
portrayed a sense of separation from those in poverty through his use of
voice, particularly through tone and pace. When Jessie asked for a hug,
Vescote's voice was light and playful, because a hug wasnt a large favour to
her, whilst Sommers' voice hardened after he heard Jessie's request. The
pace of his voice slowed, so that he would appear more serious, and his tone
lowered when offering a handshake rather than a hug. When speaking to
Jessie, though his voice became more stiff and stern, it still had an
underlying soft note, so to make sure he would not upset Jessie with his
words. Through using these conventions of relationships, voice, and staging,
the production delivered the dramatic meaning of society knowingly
distancing themselves from those living below the poverty line, and
searching for excuses to be uninvolved with those of the lower classes.
Throughout the production, there was a strong sense of being trapped. This
not only referred to the idea that those in poverty were trapped in their
poverty, but that Jessie and Kyle's mother was trapped in an abusive
relationship. This message was delivered through the use of relationships,
tension, and lighting. This message was particularly prevalent within the
scene where the father is forcing their mother to stay with him, and to tell
the children everything is alright. Vescote and Sommer used relationships as
husband and wife to portray the entrapment that comes with being
impoverished. During this scene, Sommers played the role of a mentally and
physically abusive husband forcing his wife, Vescote, to stay with him, with
Vescote portraying a victim. The relationship between Sommers and Vescote
was clear, even though both of the actors' backs were to the audience.
Vescote, during the scene, had a hunched over and shrunken down posture,
whilst Sommers was holding firmly onto her arm and was a much larger
figure than her. When Sommers spoke, his words were loud, powerful, and
almost derogatory, as if he was speaking to someone much lower than him,
again reinforcing the sense of power he had over Vescote's character. As
Sommers grew against Vescote's small frame, and as his voice hardened,
Vescote's character hunched and shrunk away from him, making it very clear
that she had much less power than Sommer's character, and that in this
scenario, she was the victim. Within this scene, the mother was portrayed as
a victim, which was done so strategically, so that the audience was
prevented from blaming her for the impoverished situation she was in. Being
unable to blame her for the situation she was in caused the audience to think
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more about who was at fault for her unfortunate circumstances, and that it
was, altogether, the fault of society. This relates back to the concept that not
only is the mother trapped within an abusive relationship in which she has no
control or power, but that those who live in poverty are also trapped. As well
as this, the convention of performance technologies were used when a
thumping beat could be noticed in the background, that grew louder as the
scene progressed, which increased the tension within the scene for the
audience subconsciously, as the beat grew louder and the pace sped up.
When combined, all of the dramatic languages used throughout this scene
deliver the dramatic meaning that those in poverty are trapped in their
scenario; they have been put there by society, and society treats them as
less because of it.
Within the production, there was a strong sense of embarrassment and
shame that was associated with those living in poverty. This specifically
stems from societies harsh judgment of those living in poverty, to the point
where the impoverished are constantly living in shame of their circumstance.
This was delivered primarily through the use of movement, voice, and
blocking. This was most evident in the scene where Jessie, Kyle, and their
mother are in the shops and her card gets declined. Vescote used movement
in her performance to amplify the desperation of their predicament,
especially during the transitions between her character as Jessie and the
mother. When the mother would be trying to purchase the shoes for Kyle, she
was still and was trying to keep her composure, and make it seem unobvious
that they were lower class. Vescote would then transition to Jessie, who
completely juxtaposed the mothers stillness as Jessie kicked and flaired
because she wanted a candy at the counter. As the mother was trying to
control Jessie, her voice slowly rose in pitch, and increased in pace. The
mothers voice began as calm, and so did Jessie's. Jessie's voice began to
grow, as she urged her mother for the candy, her voice become increasingly
louder and higher pitched. The only way to match Jessie's screaming was to
respond in a similar way; the mothers voice became louder, and her pace
increased quickly to overtake Jessie's desperate screaming. As Vescote
transitioned to and from the mother and Jessie, Jessie's movements became
larger and more frantic, and the mother became jittery and irritated, as
Jessie refused to calm down. Finally, the mother exploded, yelling at Jessie to
be quiet, finally breaking the sense of calmness that the mother had
maintained. Through these movements between the characters, the
mothers embarrassment became evident after she had yelled at Jessie; she
could not control her child, she could not afford the shoes, it was as if she
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had no power within her life. After her card had been declined, the mother
began to panic, and started yelling at the audience. As she questioned what
they were all looking at, her voice took on a threatening and questioning
tone, but still had a tone of disgrace and embarrassment to it. This clearly
demonstrated her shame of being impoverished within the scene. Vescote
was placed in center stage, facing outwards, and yelling towards the
audience. This impacted greatly to how the audience interpreted the
message of the production, because after having the mother scream directly
into the audience to stop looking at her, the pain and humiliation in her voice
and face and she fled the scene became far more obvious. It positioned the
audience as the cause of her frustration and embarrassment. Through the
conventions used throughout this scene, the dramatic meaning was
delivered that those living in poverty are living through humiliation and
shame due to how society perceives them and judges them so regularly.
Hoods used a range of dramatic languages and conventions, and themes of
Political Theatre to separate the audience from the performance, and make
the audience think about societys role in the class system, specifically those
living in lower class. Hoods was a production that positioned the audience to
think about how society is continually distancing themselves from those in
poverty, and making excuses as to why they refuse to accept responsibility
for the impoverished. It puts into perspective the circumstances of those
living in poverty; how society has placed them where they are, and how they
have become trapped by this; those living in poverty are victims of societys
judgment and criticism. Hoods positioned the audience as those witnessing
the embarrassment that comes with living in poverty, and forced to audience
to think about the cause of the poverty stricken shame. All of these things
relate back to the concept that Hoods successfully delivered throughout the
production; each thing that occurs within the lives of these children can be
prevented and stopped, but it is due to society as a whole almost disowning
those living in poverty, and that if the public noticed and cared more than
they do, it wouldn't exist as it does today.

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