The Deranged Marriage Analysis

On the 1st of July I and my drama class went to see "The Deranged Marriage" by Pravesh Kumar in theatre royal, Stratford. The play was a satirical comedy portraying Asian life in the Asian community and the struggles and pressures of arranged marriages. The play was set in slough and was based on two Asian families preparing for their children to marry each other, using an arranged marriage.

I thought the play was written well, and portrayed Asian life and the Asian community very well using a range of characters. Throughout the play the set design was kept the same as it did not need to be changed, and there was only one scene as all the sections of the play flowed into each other.

Throughout the play there were a total of around eleven
characters. The main characters were the bride, groom, both the mothers in law, the bride's two best friends, and the bride's mother in law's friend, and her son.

I think one of the most developed characters in the whole of the play was Kiran one of the bride's best friend. I felt that she was most developed because she sustained her character throughout the play at times when some of the other characters lost their Asian accents and their concentration so therefore lost their eye contact and facial expressions like the bride's mother when she was talking to her love interest. I also felt that Kiran was also the best developed because I thought that her character and her character's actions could not have been more developed unlike some of the other characters who could have perhaps have had more movements and dialogue but I think this should have been done by the writer and not the actors.

Kiran's character was also important to the play because she was very desperate to get married and looked at every opportunity to find an Asian man, especially the bride's mother's love interest. Kiran's desperation showed the pressures of marriage because she mentioned that she was older than the bride showing that she was under a lot of pressure to get married.

Throughout the play the actors all had their posture very straight and upright which signified the fact that Asian people especially the parents are very proud, also shown by the fact that bride's mother's friend( the bride's cousin's mother) throughout the play said that her son was a doctor showing that success is expected of Asian families.

The relationship between the bride's cousin and his white, English wife( Jennie) is very strong and the fact that there is a lot of love between them is very obvious because she tries to get involved as much as she can .
The fact that she tries to be involved in the family shows that she really must love her husband to go to such lengths to impress her husband's family and be included creating a bond in their relationship. Jennie's efforts are shown by her spending a lot of time with her husband's family to get involved in their traditions and cultures even though they are very different to hers. This strengthens the bond which is shown later in the play towards the end when Jennie and her husband talk about their relationship, dance and have a kiss which shows and proves to the audience and his family that they love each other very
much.

In Asian families especially the women in the family it is seen that white women and other races are bad influences and "Trash", which is made obvious quite early in the play where Jennie's husband's mother asks why he married Jennie and that he should have married an Asian girl. She also says that he should have married an Asian girl because they do not smoke, drink alcohol etcetera because they are
"good" and are not "Cheap" like other raced girls (White) . Whilst they are talking Sonah the bride is standing on a sep behind her smoking, but then Jennie walks in and puts it out for her with her husband's help and tries to cover the smell, but as she is putting the cigarette her mother in law walks in an immediately assumes that Jennie was smoking because of her race. This again shows that the Asian community are very proud and religious-example no smoking or drinking.

The fact that Jennie's mother disapproves of her is shown at that moment by the mother in law's facial expressions of disappointment and superiority.

I felt that the play was directed very well because it showed the focus very well and entertained the audience however if I were to direct it I would have perhaps shown more of the surroundings that they live and their approach to their society to show the contrast between British and Asian communities.
The set at the beginning of the play really engaged me because it was different and I didn't know what it was making it unpredictable. The set at the start of the play was of many steps and stairs leading acroos the stage from the left to the right, at the top of the stairs there was a metal frame with muslin over it, as a bedroom. There was also a wardrobe on the right on the stage and ladders at the left of the stage. This set really interested me because I had no idea of what kind of introduction there would be, however I also expected lots of levels because of ladders and steps.

The play was not broken up into scenes so there was no set change apart from the fact that there was props like an ironing table and bottles which were brought on and taken off by the actors as they were in their characters so it all flowed into each other very comfortable preventing the audience waiting a long time, and also making it more realistic as in every day
life.

I also think that the audience used the set well because they travelled well up and down the stairs and entered and excited through curtains at the top of the stage and I think that this was used effectively acting as doors.

Throughout the play the lighting was used affectively because I could see all the actors at all time. I particularly liked the fairy lights which were used at the top of the stage and brought down at crucial points like when the bride's mother and her love interest get married the lights are brought down and lit up which created a cultural atmosphere and reminded me of diwalli and the Asian traditions and myths of the goddess of light. These were the only time the lights were used as special effects because the lights remained the same and covered all angles of the stage. The special effects were also used at other special points creating a very cultural atmosphere and kept me fascinated.

Another way that lighting was used effectively was when the groom's mother was waiting for him and a moving silhouette of him appeared on the back curtains whilst she was talking to him, I though this was very effective because it enabled us to see him but also keep the set and stage the same.

All the sound that was used I think was recorded and was very traditional Asian music which was mimed by a woman on stage. I think the music played a key part in the play because it again created a cultural and traditional atmosphere engaging the audience throughout the play because music is a big part in Asian life and this was shown as it was played very often.

The clothing worn in the play was again traditional and cultural. This helped me understand the richness of Asian cultures as the clothes were very detailed and looked expensive which also helped me understand the contrast between Asian and British communities.

Overall I thought that the best technical parts of the play was the lighting because it created a very bright and friendly atmosphere and also signified that something special was going to happen(Wedding).

I believe that the best part of the play was half way when the bride was smoking in the background whilst her cousin's mother was talking about how good Asian girls are and how they don't drink or smoke which is ironic because as we saw they do. I felt this was the best part because it summed up the focus that Asian parents are very proud and often naïve of their children.

I also felt that the most tension created was when The bride and groom both revealed to each other that they did not actually want to get married but agreed because of pressure, after this she revealed that she was pregnant and in love with somebody else he also revealed that he was gay. The tension here was created because it made the audience gasp and wonder what was going to happen next, and I personally could imagine the parent's shame and embarrassment creating tension and suspense.

Overall I think the quality of the play was very good and I would recommend it to somebody else because I thoroughly enjoyed it and made me understand other people's cultures and traditions.