The Container By Clare Bayley Analysis

This paper analyses a production of The Container by Clare Bayley. It addresses themes such as freedom. Every character on board the lorry has dreams for freedom in England. Whether it’s to teach girls or to be their children. It also addresses fear and courage. The fear of whether or not they will be able to get to England. The courage of putting themselves in this dangerous situation to make a better life for them and their children. The moment that made an impression for me was the solo interaction between Miriam and Asha towards the beginning of the play. In it, Mariam is explaining to Asha why she had to stop teaching in her home country and it is at this part that they both start to feel protective of one another. In this moment, you can see how much this affected Mariam and how bad she wanted to escape to England. At that same time, you can see that this affects Asha and she now wants Mariam to get England as much as she wants her aunt and her to. At the beginning of the play, the two did not know each other and were both cautious. However, at the end,
The line that stuck out to me was when she said, “ They kill teachers for teaching girls. That shows you how important it is to learn.” It stuck out to me because it defined who Mariam was in the play. Both her and her husband risked death to teach girls and only she got out alive. She uses her words and her sharp, urgent tone in this to get this through to Asha and to make it believable to the audience. Physically, she doesn't take up much space. She usually stays, nearly hidden, in a couple of places during the play. However, this changes in the middle of the play. After she realized she did not have the money to stay on the lorry, she takes up more room. She paces around the cabin several times and uses her hands more. She is pleading and this comes through the change in how she moves her