Add the Scenes – Act II
Add your own ‘scenes’ into Act 1
and Act 2.
Why have you chosen to divide
the play where you have?
ESSAY QUESTION:
How does the character of Mrs Lyons
develop throughout the play?
Chart the Changes
Mrs Lyons is not a ‘fixed’ character: she changes
throughout the play, which stretches over 30 years.
Under the following headings, chart the way that
she changes.
Beginning of the play
Pre-Edward
With baby Edward
7-year-old Edward
Teenage Edward
Grown-up Edward
Section of the play:
Section of the play:
Section of the play:
Key character traits:
Key character traits:
Key character traits:
Motivations/excuses:
Motivations/excuses:
Motivations/excuses:
Quotations:
Quotations:
Quotations:
Section of the play:
Key character traits:
Motivations/excuses:
Mrs Lyons
Section of the play:
Key character traits:
Section of the play:
Key character traits:
Motivations/excuses:
Motivations/excuses:
Quotations:
Quotations:
Quotations:
How does Mrs Lyons change
throughout Blood Brothers?
What kind of person is she?
Which of the following words do you think apply?
Paranoid
Obsessive
Arrogant
Mature
Lonely
Dangerous
Childish
Mad
Motherly
Impulsive
Victim
Thoughtful
Sensible
Deserted
Clingy
Over-thinker
Thoughtless
Example Assessment Criteria
• Explanation of character.
• Use of relevant examples to demonstrate
understanding of character.
• Evaluation of selected examples.
For your evidence, use Mrs
Lyons’ speech, stage
directions, and what other
characters say about her.
• Communicates ideas effectively using correct
terminology, and organises material clearly.
Accurate spelling, punctuation and grammar.
PEE for this essay
• Point
• Evidence
• Explanation
• Language Features
• Audience
Ways to introduce your evidence.
Point. For example, Russell writes, ‘…
Point. This is shown when she says, ‘…
Point. The audience see this when Mickey says, ‘
Point. Mrs Lyons is described as a ‘…
Point. When she finds out ___ she is ‘…
PEE for this essay
At the beginning of the play, Mrs Lyon’s is lonely, and
desperately wants a family.
She tells Mrs Johnstone that ‘we bought such a large house
for the – for the children – we thought children would come
along’.
She finds her home too big because her husband is away
with work a lot, and she is living in it alone. She explains
that she and her husband expected to have children
together, and clearly sounds disappointed.
Russell does not include many stage directions to indicate
how Mrs Lyons would have spoken particular lines.
However, from her stuttering and repetition, the audience
can see that Mrs Lyons is clearly uncomfortable and upset.
PEE for this essay
At the beginning of the play, Mrs Lyon’s is lonely, and
desperately wants a family. She tells Mrs Johnstone that ‘we
bought such a large house for the – for the children – we
thought children would come along’. She finds her home
too big because her husband is away with work a lot, and
she is living in it alone. She explains that she and her
husband expected to have children together, and clearly
sounds disappointed. Russell does not include many stage
directions to indicate how Mrs Lyons would have spoken
particular lines. However, from her stuttering and
repetition, the audience can see that Mrs Lyons is clearly
uncomfortable and upset.
How does the character of Mrs Lyons
develop throughout the play?
Suggested Essay Plan:
How does Mrs Lyons change throughout Blood Brothers?
• Intro – setting of the play – idea of class. Who is Mrs Lyons?
Who does she contrast with?
• p. 2 – what is she like at the beginning of the play? Is she
happy/lonely/content/polite? Why?
• p. 3 – what is she like when she has baby Edward? Is she
secure and happy now? How does she get him? How does she
treat Mrs J?
• p. 4 – what is she like when Edward is a young boy/teenager?
Is she a good mother? How is she different to earlier in the
play? (i.e. more paranoid? More secure? More superstitious?)
• p. 5 – what is she like at the end of the play? What is her final
act? What does this tell you about her? Who does it affect and
is this what she intended?
• Conc – sum up how she’s changed and why. Did she find
happiness? Did she deserve to? What does Russell want you
to think of her/what is he saying about class? Give your
opinion.