Evaluation- Beautiful Thing

 

The play 'Beautiful Thing' told the story of two young teenagers, Jamie and Ste, who fall in love. They are next door neighbours, and when Ste’s alcoholic father starts to get too much for Ste, Jamie’s mum lets him sleep over. When the two boys find themselves sleeping in one single bed together, a beautiful friendship and loves develops between the two boys. With both boys struggling with their sexuality, we see the journey they go on throughout the play, to find acceptance with themselves, each other and everyone else around them.

 There are five characters in the play: Sandra who is Jamie’s  mum, Leah who is Jamie’s friend and next door neighbour, tony who is Sandra's boyfriend, Ste and Jamie. Sandra is a working class, single mum, trying to support her and Jamie, whilst juggling her new boyfriend and looking out for Ste. Leah has been kicked out of school and is trying to work out who she is. She is full of confidence and attitude, and although she comes across as a tough young woman, underneath she is sensitive and protective of Jamie and Ste. Tony is often a nuisance to Sandra, however he brings her an escape from her hectic and stressful life. He is kind and well-meaning and  try's to help all characters at some point throughout the play.

  The play is set in a rundown estate in Thamesmead. The stage had a door on the left, which was Leah's flat, a door in the middle, which was Jamie and Sandra's flat and a door on the right, which was Ste's flat. The stage was bought to life with small details, such as flower boxes, patio chairs and washing lines. When a character needed a prop, they would bring it into the large performing space in the middle of the stage; the actors did this in a naturalistic and subtle way, so that when they had to move a prop there wasn't a lul in the play. I think that the stage and props where very effective, because they were natural and didn't deflect from the actors, but at the same time added to the drama and excitement of the play.

 The lighting wasn't dramatic or theatrical, but very plain and simple. The main, front part of the stage was lit up in a bright, but natural light and the edges of the stage were dim. When a scene changed the lighting would briefly turn blue. I think the lighting was so simple so that the story didn't become too glorified and dramatic. The lighting kept the play raw and realistic. Having the sides of the stage dim, suggested to the audience that the estate may be hiding unpleasant things behind its walls and that there was always lurking danger.

 The costume added depth to the characters. Both Jamie and Ste wore their school uniform at different points in the play, which reminded the audience that they were still young boys, with vulnerabilities and insecurities. Leah didn't wear school uniform because she had been kicked out of school, so when the boys wore their uniform and she didn't, it exaggerated the fact that she didn't belong to anything and was on her own.

 At the beginning of the play Lean sung a song she liked to another Jamie. The song was happy and hopeful, which uplifted the atmosphere. It immediately changed the atmosphere in the play to one of hope and not one of sadness, but the atmosphere was bought back done again when Sandra came out so the house to insult Leah about her singing.

 The scene that really stood out for me was the one where Ste first stayed over and Jamie's house. The two boys are in the bedroom and Jamie is rubbing foot lotion into the Ste's wounds on his back. They then agree that neither of them are wimps, more to convince themselves than anyone else! At this point you can really see and feel them connecting. Jamie asks the Ste if he's ever kissed anyone and he says that he's too ugly to have been kissed. The Jamie replies and says that he doesn't think Ste's ugly and rests his head on the Ste's back. They then get into bed and the Ste reluctantly comes up the bed instead of sleeping 'top to tail'. They begin to hug and kiss. I think the reason I felt this scene was so heart-warming and beautiful, is because the actors create this really effective and believable relationship, which is so realistic and relatable. The actors and director found a way to make this scene develop at the right rate, so that the audience didn't feel like their love and friendship started to quickly or that it was dragged out for too long. The way that the characters relate to each other and their body language, creates this atmosphere that everyone watching can feel.

 All the actors were believable. They all had a similar accent, which was very natural and was never dropped. The actors had totally immersed themselves in their characters, even when you looked in their eyes, you could only see the character not the actor.

 The director has done a very good job of making the play what it is. The play moved at the right pace, in that the play sometimes moved at a steady pace, like when Leah and Jamie were talking at the beginning, but also sometimes moved at a faster pace, like when Jamie and Sandra had a fight. The play never got boring and very scene was a chase scene, because the actors ALWAYS used the whole stage.

 I think that beautiful thing was a fantastic piece of theatre, which was both devastating and beautiful. You came away from watching it with hope because it was so influential. I think that the story was really interesting and very moving. The actors bought the story to life in the best way possible.