I Love My Life

The Shoe-Horn Sonata written by John Misto creates images through distinctively visual elements. Through the use of projected images, carefully selected music and descriptive dialogue, challenging aspects of life can be represented. An image we see early on in the play is Singapore Harbour burning down in 1942 when the Japanese first invaded. This is shown as Bridie and Shelia are discussing their experiences on the boats. This shows the ignorance of the British as they did not evacuate the women and children sooner. Further pictures of the Japanese invading Singapore prove that the British were wrong and were now in full surrender as the Japanese were now in control, celebrating and in triumph. The photographs of the women in camps bowing to the Japanese, under their command, show the humiliation, challenges and hardships these women faced. The projected images of the starving male prisoners are shown as Bridie and Shelia compare stating “we were thinner than that”. This creates a sense of devastation of the state these people were in; they were the “living dead”. “Rule Britania” is a song about the greatness and high status of the British. This evokes images of British naval ships and triumph; however this creates irony as the British are falling to the Japanese. This song is used in contact to the dialogue spoken by Bridie describing what it was like when the Japanese invaded. The “Jerusalem Hymn” is about England being gods chosen land and is played as the women discuss clinging to the wreckage of their bombed ship. This is again ironic as the British Empire is collapsing. The lyrics of the song suggest England is God’s own pleasant land. The “Captives Hymn: is a song that is sung to God and is heard as the women discuss singing it every Sunday to help lift their spirits. This...
The distinctively visual quality lies in the capacity to ignite a powerful response. Through the use of distinctively visual languages and images, composers effectively