Scottish Contemporary Theatre
How to answer essay questions.
A
good introduction sets up your train of
thought and gives you something to refer
back to in your analysis.
 You MUST:
 Name the play and the playwright –spelled
correctly and the title in speech marks!!!!
 Give a short summary of the action of the
play.
 Take the question, translate it into your
own words to show your understanding and
show what your argument is going to be
about.

“Discuss the gender inequalities that have been highlighted
in two or more…..You must ensure that you explain the
reasons for the gender inequalities in your answer.”
The plays “Men Should Weep” by Ena Lamont Stewart, “Tally’s
Blood” by Anne Marie Di Mambro and “Passing Places” by Stephen
Greenhorn are plays that portray men and women and the
relationships between them in different ways. Whether the action
takes place in Glasgow tenement, a Lanarkshire café or around
modern Scotland; common themes emerge regarding the male and
female characters, their relationships, their expectations and their
place in society. More often than not the balance of power between
the sexes is unequal for a variety of reasons but not always in the
way the we might expect.
TASK: In pairs – write your own introduction to this question that covers
all of the necessary components and explains what the essay will be
about.
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“Describe and analyse the portrayal of domineering and/or
submissive women in two or more plays that you have seen
or studied.”
“Are there any unconventional women in Scottish
contemporary drama? You should illustrate you answer with
reference to at least two plays you have seen or studied.”
“In two plays you have studied, discuss whether or not
young men display the same characteristics as their male
elders.”
“In at least 2 plays you have seen or studied, discuss the
extent to which women in Scottish drama are portrayed as
independent.”
“Discuss the relationship between parents and children in
contemporary Scottish plays. You should illustrate your
answer with reference to at least two plays you have
either seen or read”
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Too often we take up precious time explaining the story or
concentrating on the plot. If you are focussing on the
events of the drama the chances are you are not analysing
properly.
E.G. In the final scene of “Men Should Weep”, the relationship between Maggie
and John changes completely. She stands up and says that she can “manage” John
while he sits slumped in the chair.
This is a topic sentence with an outline of the situation but
no analysis.
Task: In pairs, take this piece of action from the play and
describe what this symbolises, what it says about the
nature of the relationship between the sexes. What has
Maggie become? What has John become? How does it
relate to what has gone before? How does it relate to
other plays/characters? IN OTHER WORDS – ANALYSE WHAT
IT MEANS!
N.B. This task should easily stretch to several paragraphs!
 “Towards
the end of the play, Lucia is taken
back to Italy to live with her father and his
new family. Her position in life is completely
changed in this situation. She enters a
culture alien to her which treats women in a
way that does not sit well with her
experience and expectations.”
 Task: Take this as an introduction to a section of an
essay that analyses the position of women in the
society and in relation to men. To do this you need
multiple examples and analysis of each.
 N.B.
This should run to several paragraphs.
 “The
main characters in the play represent a
very different portrayal of men and their
position in society than many Scottish plays
of the past.”
 Task: In pairs, collate examples of how Alex and Brian do
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not fit with the stereotype of the traditional male.
What examples can you find that show they do retain some
aspects of the stereotype?
Use these to write half of an essay (8 examples/quotes)
that assesses how far Alex and Brian fulfil this stereotype.
 The
essays in this section are different. They
require you evaluate a performance or body
of work.
 That means that you must analyse key
aspects of the performance and comment on
their effectiveness.
 If you are mentioning aspects of the
performance without taking apart how it was
done then you are just retelling the story
Quality of acting
 Set design
 Use of costume
 Lights and sound
 Overall design concept
 Interaction with the audience
 Moments that had a significant impact on the
audience
 Characters that had an impact on the audience
 Tension and timing
 Message and target audience

In each case you should:
describe the aspect being discussed
Explain how it fit into the performance
Go into detail about how it was done
Comment on what these details communicated to the audience
Comment on the impact these had on the audience
Words you could use:
Powerful
facial expression
pitch
Suspense
gestures
pace
Tension
eye contact
tone
Emotive
posture
volume
Political
body language
register
Educational
stance
emphasis
Surprising
gait
fluency
Atmospheric
blocking
articulation
Creative
levels
accent
Humorous
timing
clarity
Depressing
choreography
 Flats
 Apron
 Front
of house
 Wings
 Rostra
 Levels
 Wash
 Profile
 Fresnel
 Backdrop…..