The Touch Of Silk Play Analysis
By extension, the term melodrama has come to be applied to any play with romantic plot in which the author manipulates events to act on the emotions of the audience without regard for character development or logic.
Melodrama had very 'stock' characters, in other words they were very stereotypical characters, and all the action happened on stage. Melodramatic plays were also morality based - that is Right Vs. Wrong.
Before The Touch of Silk by Betty Roland was written in 1928, Australian drama was very melodramatic.
The Touch of Silk overtly draws on some of the dramatic conventions of 19th century melodrama, but Roland tried to steer away from melodrama and instead has based The Touch of Silk on naturalism.
Every act of melodrama concludes with a climax, leaving the audience, which was usually …show more content…
the illiterate commoners, hanging on for the resolution.
People were now smarter because Public Education has been introduced and schooling had become compulsory. People had become educated and so Roland decided to give them something that had more meaning.
The Touch of Silk is very important because it introduced realism onto the Australian stage, you could even say it was the "birth of Australian Drama."
Jeanne was the first female to be the main character in a play.
Before that they had males on stage and females had minor roles. Jeanne was the first female protagonist on the Australian stage.
Roland had introduced "feminine themes" such as relationships, in The Touch of Silk, and also "The Human Condition" theme. The "Human Condition" is reality. It is real life problems and relationships. These are things that her audience can relate to. In The Touch of Silk, there are "Human Condition" issues such as; the drought and the war that Jim was once in many years ago. Women especially relate to this play because of the issues Jeanne has. She doesn't get along with her mother-in-law and her husband is loosing his mind from the effects of the war.
The Australian theatre is no longer fantasy - it is reality.
The change from melodrama to realism was very different. Melodrama consisted of big sets, bright costumes, everything was over-the-top, "presentational" acting/styles were used, and the audience was directly
addressed.
Then when The Touch of Silk and realism came in the atmosphere created was completely different. The sets are very everyday and ordinary. Roland also explains the surroundings in great deal to give her audience a clear insight on what it looks like. For example: "the sweltering heat is beating through the iron roof into the Hessian-lined kitchen, in the two-roomed hut that serves JIM and JEANNE for home. The flat ugliness has been a little lessened by the gay print curtains the JEANNE has hung above the windows and the mantelpiece above the stove... The room is furnished with a meat safe, a dresser, a couple of Windsor chairs, a table, set well forward, a second table, so narrow as to be almost a bench, standing under the window at right, and a kerosene tin standing on the floor beside it doing duty as a water bucket..."
From this detailed description from the beginning of the opening scene of the play, you can see just how ordinary Jim and Jeanne's house is.
The characters also wear everyday clothing, nothing exceptionally out there, unless it fits in with the characters personality. For example: "she is small, chic and dainty, dressed in a neat black frock, plain almost to a point of severity..." - page 22. This is describing Jeanne as she walks onto the stage for the first time in the play.
Realism also involves a certain acting style, known as method acting. It is a "representational" style and it involves the actor becoming the character, not only within the play but also in everyday life. The actors must forget who they are as a person and see and do things how their character would do things. The idea of this is for the actor to get to know his character in every aspect possible so a true portrayal can be shown, therefore a good performance.
Realism has a lot of "Implied Action", that is when you hear about important events taking place but you never see them. They occur offstage. Some of these events include the dance, the Jim/Osbourne fight and also Osbournes death.
The Summer of The Seventeenth Doll, which was written in 1954 by Ray Lawler, was another play based on realism, and also naturalism.
The Summer of The Seventeenth Doll is all about growing up, mate ship, conflict between dreams and reality and the corroding effects of time.
The play completely changed the attitudes towards Australian playwrights and marked a turning point in Australian Drama.
It follows the lives of ordinary Australians, and they use typical "aussie" language (colloquial language) that labels it as being distinctly Australian, e.g: "... the regulars'd stand aside to let 'em through, just as if they was a - a coupla kings" - Olive about Roo and Barney.
It also portrays the Australian myth - the non-conforming attitude and disrespect for traditional values, the mate ship code and the rugged individuality of the men of the bush.
Throughout the play their worlds crumble and they are made to face the reality of growing older - no longer can everything be all fun and games and so carefree.
It is set in Melbourne, in the December of 1953, in the lounge room of an old scruffy house.
The play is very realistic because the events are real life issues and the audience can relate to this. The sets and costumes are once again very everyday, nothing spectacular.
From the quick analysis of these two plays, The Touch of Silk and The Summer of The Seventeenth Doll, we can see how they have both helped to shape Australian theatre. Australian theatre completely rid of the melodramatic plays of the past and moved onto something people could connect with - real life issues - realism.
Melodrama had very 'stock' characters, in other words they were very stereotypical characters, and all the action happened on stage. Melodramatic plays were also morality based - that is Right Vs. Wrong.
Before The Touch of Silk by Betty Roland was written in 1928, Australian drama was very melodramatic.
The Touch of Silk overtly draws on some of the dramatic conventions of 19th century melodrama, but Roland tried to steer away from melodrama and instead has based The Touch of Silk on naturalism.
Every act of melodrama concludes with a climax, leaving the audience, which was usually …show more content…
the illiterate commoners, hanging on for the resolution.
People were now smarter because Public Education has been introduced and schooling had become compulsory. People had become educated and so Roland decided to give them something that had more meaning.
The Touch of Silk is very important because it introduced realism onto the Australian stage, you could even say it was the "birth of Australian Drama."
Jeanne was the first female to be the main character in a play.
Before that they had males on stage and females had minor roles. Jeanne was the first female protagonist on the Australian stage.
Roland had introduced "feminine themes" such as relationships, in The Touch of Silk, and also "The Human Condition" theme. The "Human Condition" is reality. It is real life problems and relationships. These are things that her audience can relate to. In The Touch of Silk, there are "Human Condition" issues such as; the drought and the war that Jim was once in many years ago. Women especially relate to this play because of the issues Jeanne has. She doesn't get along with her mother-in-law and her husband is loosing his mind from the effects of the war.
The Australian theatre is no longer fantasy - it is reality.
The change from melodrama to realism was very different. Melodrama consisted of big sets, bright costumes, everything was over-the-top, "presentational" acting/styles were used, and the audience was directly
addressed.
Then when The Touch of Silk and realism came in the atmosphere created was completely different. The sets are very everyday and ordinary. Roland also explains the surroundings in great deal to give her audience a clear insight on what it looks like. For example: "the sweltering heat is beating through the iron roof into the Hessian-lined kitchen, in the two-roomed hut that serves JIM and JEANNE for home. The flat ugliness has been a little lessened by the gay print curtains the JEANNE has hung above the windows and the mantelpiece above the stove... The room is furnished with a meat safe, a dresser, a couple of Windsor chairs, a table, set well forward, a second table, so narrow as to be almost a bench, standing under the window at right, and a kerosene tin standing on the floor beside it doing duty as a water bucket..."
From this detailed description from the beginning of the opening scene of the play, you can see just how ordinary Jim and Jeanne's house is.
The characters also wear everyday clothing, nothing exceptionally out there, unless it fits in with the characters personality. For example: "she is small, chic and dainty, dressed in a neat black frock, plain almost to a point of severity..." - page 22. This is describing Jeanne as she walks onto the stage for the first time in the play.
Realism also involves a certain acting style, known as method acting. It is a "representational" style and it involves the actor becoming the character, not only within the play but also in everyday life. The actors must forget who they are as a person and see and do things how their character would do things. The idea of this is for the actor to get to know his character in every aspect possible so a true portrayal can be shown, therefore a good performance.
Realism has a lot of "Implied Action", that is when you hear about important events taking place but you never see them. They occur offstage. Some of these events include the dance, the Jim/Osbourne fight and also Osbournes death.
The Summer of The Seventeenth Doll, which was written in 1954 by Ray Lawler, was another play based on realism, and also naturalism.
The Summer of The Seventeenth Doll is all about growing up, mate ship, conflict between dreams and reality and the corroding effects of time.
The play completely changed the attitudes towards Australian playwrights and marked a turning point in Australian Drama.
It follows the lives of ordinary Australians, and they use typical "aussie" language (colloquial language) that labels it as being distinctly Australian, e.g: "... the regulars'd stand aside to let 'em through, just as if they was a - a coupla kings" - Olive about Roo and Barney.
It also portrays the Australian myth - the non-conforming attitude and disrespect for traditional values, the mate ship code and the rugged individuality of the men of the bush.
Throughout the play their worlds crumble and they are made to face the reality of growing older - no longer can everything be all fun and games and so carefree.
It is set in Melbourne, in the December of 1953, in the lounge room of an old scruffy house.
The play is very realistic because the events are real life issues and the audience can relate to this. The sets and costumes are once again very everyday, nothing spectacular.
From the quick analysis of these two plays, The Touch of Silk and The Summer of The Seventeenth Doll, we can see how they have both helped to shape Australian theatre. Australian theatre completely rid of the melodramatic plays of the past and moved onto something people could connect with - real life issues - realism.