“Sailmaker”
By Alan Spence
Act One
We are learning...
To be able to develop our knowledge and understanding of Act
One and the main dramatic features used by the playwright.
The whole play switches between the present and
flashbacks to when Alec was younger.
In the present, he is an older teenager of about 17 or
18, having just sat his exams, and is looking
forward to university in Glasgow.
At the start of the play, in the first flashback, he is 11
and is informed by his father of his mother’s death.
The theme of poverty
1. Read page 7. Identify and explain and
evidence that suggests the play is set in an
area of deprivation in Glasgow.
2. Read pages 16-21. Identify and explain any
evidence which conveys that Davie and Alec
are living in poverty.
Page 7
• Alec looks outside and can see a midden from his tenement flat. A
midden is a pile of rubbish and discarded food (refuse) from a
kitchen.
• Alec can see spilled ashes. This suggests that the people who stay
in the tenements have dumped the ashes from their fireplaces
outside.
• Alec can see broken glass lying around on the ground outside. The
common garden is clearly not looked after or cared for. The
surroundings are dirty and unkempt.
• The residents of the tenements cannot afford gas central-heating.
Page 16-21
• Davie used to have a trade as a sailmaker. However, he had to
give up the job as there was no work in it. He couldn’t make
enough money from it.
• The job that Davie has (collecting debts) does not pay a lot of
money. Therefore, he has to bet to make ends meet.
• Davie is very short on money and has to borrow money from his
brother, Billy.
• Davie owes his bookmaker a lot of money, and he is not able to
pay it off. The bookmaker is pressurising him for the money.
The theme of grief and loss
1. Read Alec’s soliloquy on page 6. How do
we know that his mother’s death still
affects Alec when he is older?
2. Read pages 6 and 7. Summarise how Alec
reacts when his dad told him that his
mother had died.
1.
• The memory of his mother’s death disturbs his sleep
and causes him to wake up in the middle of the
night.
• He regularly thinks back to the night that he found
out his mother had died. He can never forget it.
2.
• He was heartbroken. Devastated. Distraught.
• Even though he knew it was going to happen
eventually, and had made peace with that fact, he
found it hard to accept the news.
• The shock of the news makes him feel numb, and
this helps him cope with the pain and anguish.
• He seeks comfort from God.
3. Read pages 6 – 8. Summarise how
Davie reacts to the death of his wife
when he is around Alec.
3.
• When he breaks the news to Alec, he is very blunt- he just comes
out with it instead of telling him gently. He doesn’t seem to show
any emotion when doing so.
• Davie doesn’t try to comfort Alec.
• He changes the subject quickly. He doesn’t want to talk about it.
Perhaps he doesn’t want to show Alec his true emotions- he
wants to be strong for Alec.
• He tries to keep himself busy so that he doesn’t have to think
about his wife dying (coping mechanism).
• He tries to take care of Alec.
• Finds it hard to come to terms with reality of the situation.
• He is worried about the future. Pessimistic. Hopeless. Despair.
The theme of Family Relationships
The relationship between Alec and Ian
1.Read pages 8-11. Describe the relationship that Alec has with Ian when
they are young.
2.Read pages 8 and 9. Think about what Ian says about Davie’s job; the
yacht; and the poem. What does this tell us about Ian?
3. Read pages 8 and 9. Think about how Alec reacts to what Ian says.
What does this tell us about him?
1.
• Very close.
• Good friends.
• Have the same interests.
• Spend a lot of time together.
• Get on well together.
2.
• Ian does not think that Davie has got a good job. Ian is
critical of Davie’s job. Ian is cynical when Alec says that
Davie is a professional sail-maker.
• Ian is not impressed by the yacht. He is quite critical of
how it looks.
• He is sarcastic when Alec says his dad made up the poem.
Ian does not believe Alec.
Overall, Ian is very critical, cynical, sarcastic and
sceptical. He seems to be more mature than Alec.
3.
• Alec defends his dad. He sticks up for him. Alec seems to look up to
his dad, and sees him as a role model. He boasts about him. He is
proud of the fact that he has a special skill (sailmaking).
• Alec really likes the yacht. He admires it. He is very enthusiastic
about it. He is excited about the yacht because his dad is going to
repair it for him.
Alec has a more positive and optimistic outlook on life. He tends to
see the best in people and tries to make the best of situations.
Perhaps he is also a bit naïve, though. Maybe a bit gullible.
4. Why does Ian say “Ye need a trade”? What does
this reveal about him?
4.
• Ian thinks that to make a living and make
needs meet you need a skilled job. His
ambition in life is to have a trade.
• However, Alec believes that you need an
education. His ambition is to get a degree, a
good job and move to a better place.
They both want better lives, but they have
different views on how to achieve that.
The theme of Religion
1. Read page 11. Why do you think Ian supports Rangers?
2. Read page 11. Why does Alec say “Pity the grass is green”? What
does this tell us about him?
3. Read page 11. Explain the connection that Ian makes between
Rangers and religion.
1. Ian supports Rangers because he was brought up by his
dad to support them.
2. Alec dislikes the colour green as this colour is
associated with Celtic. This suggests that he might be a
bit childish and immature. Perhaps he is a bit prejudiced
and biased against Celtic.
3. Ian suggests that Rangers are God’s football team. They
represent God.
4. Read page 12. Why is it interesting that Alec
is fascinated by the holy medal of the Virgin
Mary?
5. Read page 12. Explain what Ian teases Alec
about.
6. How does Ian react when Alec tells him
about his vision of the Virgin Mary? (page 14).
4. Alec is a Protestant and yet he is fascinated by the
Virgin Mary, who is an important symbol of Roman
Catholicism. (he finds a holy medal of her and he
sees her in a vision).
5. Ian teases Alec because he “fancies” Maureen,
who is a Catholic. Suggests his prejudice against
Catholics.
6.
• When Alec tells Ian that he saw a vision of the Virgin Mary, Ian
seems uncomfortable and displeased about it, and he seems to
find the idea unpleasant.
Alec is much more open-minded than Ian when it comes to
religion and exploring other aspects of Christianity, even if
they are Catholic ideas. However, Ian is much more
prejudiced and bigoted against Catholics due to the
influence of his father.
The theme of Family Relationships
The relationship between Davie and Billy
1. How do we know that Davie and Billy have a close
relationship? Give reasons for your answer.
(see pages 19-22).
• Davie feels comfortable asking Billy if he can borrow money,
and Billy seems happy to do so.
• Billy shows his concern for Davie and his financial problems.
• Billy is understanding and sympathetic towards Davie’s
problems. He doesn’t judge him or criticise him too harshly.
• Billy tries to encourage Davie to take control of the situation
and stop gambling.
• Billy is protective of Davie.
The theme of Family Relationships
The relationship between Davie and Alec
1. How do we know that Davie is struggling to cope with
being a single parent?
(see pages 16-17).
• Davie has been drinking a lot more.
• He is not good at making sure that Alec is
given appropriate meals/food. Not good at
cooking. Not well-organised in this regard.
2. Explain how Alec feels about his dad’s drinking
and gambling.
(pages 16 and 17).
• Alec is clearly displeased about the fact that his dad has
been drinking. He disapproves of it, as shown by the fact
that he confronts him about it.
• Alec finds Davie’s bookmaker unpleasant and he is
uncomfortable going to see him. Perhaps Alec is trying to
convince his dad that he should not be associating
himself with these types of people.
Read page 22.
3. What does Davie think about Alec?
The theme of grief and loss
1.Read page 22. How is Davie coping with the
death of his wife? How do we know this?
2.How does Billy react to this?
The theme of Family Relationships
The relationship between Davie and Billy
1. Focus on what we are told about the yacht on
pages 22-26.
What does this reveal about the differences between
Billy and Davie?
• Alec asked Davie to fix the sail on the yacht and Davie
promises to do it, but he never does. Every time Alec brings it
up, Davie makes more promises and guarantees, but he never
keeps them (unreliable; can’t depend on him?; lazy?; lacks
motivation; lacks determination).
• Billy offers to paint the yacht and he keeps his promise by
doing the job quickly and doing the job well.
(reliable; keeps his word; dependable; backs up his words
with actions).
Read pages 27 and 28.
2. How does Billy try to help Davie with his
problems?
3. Despite Billy’s help, what happens?
2. Billy speaks to the bookmaker to ask him to stop
harassing Davie about the money that he owes.
3. The bookmaker that Davie owes money to sends
some men to beat Davie up due to the money that
he still owes. They are sending him a message: pay
up or else!
Read page 31
4. What has happened to Davie, and why?
5.a) How does Davie react?
b) How does Billy react?
Read pages 31 and 32.
6. How does Billy offer to help Davie?
The relationship between Alec and Davie
7. Explain how Davie reacts differently when
telling Alec he has lost his job (page 32).
8. Why do you think that Alec puts the
yacht away into the glory hole? What
does this represent? (page 32)
Task: What types of emotions do you think
Davie would be feeling at the end of Act One?
Emotion
Reason
Task: What types of emotions do you think
Alec would be feeling at the end of Act One?
Emotion
Reason
The theme of religion
1. Read pages 26-29.
Explain the ways in which Davie and Billy have
different views about religion.
1.Davie and Billy are both Protestants.
Billy has very bigoted and sectarian views regarding
Catholics. He is clearly prejudiced against them. He
insults them, criticises them etc.
Davie does not agree with Billy. He disapproves of his
sectarian comments and thinks that he is being
ignorant and immature. He also thinks that Billy is
being a bad role model to Ian.
2. Read pages 30-31.
How do we know that Billy’s religious beliefs have
an influence on Ian?
2. Ian uses sectarian language when
discussing/describing Catholics. He also
has a prejudiced opinion about them.
By contrast, Alec never says anything
sectarian as his dad is not a bigot.