Booklet 2 - Shoe Horn

Distinctively Visual
Nowra Christian School
Analysis and
Activities
The Shoe
Horn Sonata
Standard English HSC
3. How were Australian nurses regarded during World War II?

4. What do you think this tells about how women were regarded at the time?(social context)
Synopsis of the Play

The play is a two-acter and is effectively a two-hander or double-hander. The audience does
hear the voice of the third characterRick, the television interviewerbut he is never seen on
stage. A number of off-stage characters are also referred to throughout the play and the images
of historical characters are projected during theperformance establishing the wider world of the
play.
The main action of the play is set in 1995, but we are also projected back in time to the events of
the fall of Singapore and the subsequent rescue by the Japanese and incarceration in prisonerof-war camps. The scenes in the present take place in a TV studio, in the motel/hotel rooms in
which they are staying during the filming of the documentary about their wartime experiencesand
in a neutral space somewhere within the studio. Importantly the scenes also take us to various
real places during the war, including Singapore and Belalau via the projected visual and sound
images.
At one level this is the story about the meeting of two female POW survivors, Bridie Cartwright
and Sheila Richards, for the first time since the end of the war fifty years previously. The two
women had been evacuated from Singapore and had endured together the pain and suffering of
war. The play focuses on the re-establishmentof their relationship. We observe not only their
reunion but their reconciliation.
Their story is told in a complex theatrical form that alerts the audience to the fact that this is not a
simple narrative. The story unravels as the truths and untruths of the past are revealed. While on
the one hand the focus is on the personal truths and lies, these are seen to be part of a much
bigger issue: the construction of public accounts of past events. We see the way in which such
public accounts obfuscate and conceal, and we see the effects of such obfuscation on individuals
keep smiling.
Act One
The opening scene, with Bridie demonstrating the deep, subservient bow, the kowtow,
demanded of the prisoners by their Japanese guards during tenko, transports the audience into
the past action.
Now in the present, Rick poses questions as music and images from the war period appear
behind Bridie, establishing the element of the filming of a television documentary as Bridie is
asked to arouse the events from fifty years ago. This scene establishes Bridie, and introduces
the given circumstances: the recollection and re-living of memories of the years of imprisonment.
This section also reveals the grave dangers the prisoners faced; over-crowded ships moving
towards an enemy fleet, the fear of rape and the lack of preparedness of the British stronghold in
Singapore for the offensive.
In Scene Two we are introduced to Sheila and the major conflict of the play, where Misto sets up
some of the issues that will arise between the Australian Bridie and the former English girl Sheila.
Sheilas arrival at the motel from Perth introduces the audience to the fact that the women have
been estranged for many decades, as each seeks out basic information about personal details;
marriage and children.
Status and suspense are introduced when Sheila does not reciprocate Bridies exclamation of
delight Gee its good to see you, and the audience is left wondering as to why until the end of
Act One.
The physical language between the two described on Page 26 indicates underlying tension and
yet the scene ends with their re-enactment of an old ritual (The lifting of the suitcase as they
pg. 1
used to lift the coffins of the dead: to the cries of Ichi, ni, san---Ya-ta!), demonstrating that their
connection lies in their traumatic shared experiences. Act One continues with the shared
memories of Bridie and Sheila reflecting those of the audience, through the use of dramatic
techniques.
Scene Three: The audience is reminded of how young Sheila was when she was taken prisoner.
The voice of a teenage girl sings part of Jerusalem, the stirring and visionary song with words
by English poet William Blake, and the mature Sheila joins in. The song returns later when Bridie
and Sheila sing it together.
We also learn in Scene Three that Bridie exhibits a protective manner when they first meet
drifting in the sea after being shipwrecked. Her perception is that Sheila is another stuck-up
Pom, and strikes her with her shoehorn to keep her awake. Sheilas bias is then revealed,
having been taught prejudice towards the Irish by her mother and indeed is the label she plants
on Bridie, the Sydney nurse from Chatswood with an Irish surname.
Scene Five: Further differences between the two surface in the description of the officers club
set up by the Japanese. But by the end of this scene they are recalling the choir and the
orchestra of womens voices set up by Miss Dryburgh.
Scene Six sees a more spirited pair in a conga line singing the parodies of well-known songs
theyd used to taunt their captors and keep their spirits up before their differing attitudes and
tension again emerge as revelations increase about the deteriorating conditions for the prisoners
and the unrelenting deaths, particularly in the Belalau camp.
At the end of the Act, Sheila returns the Shoehorn, she claimed she had sold for quinine to save
Bridies life but in fact she traded sex for medicine with the enemy. Sheila experiences a crushing
realization when she extracts from Bridie, the suggestion through silence, that she would not
have done the same for her.
All these years Ive told myself that youd have done the same for me. [Calmly] I was wrong,
though, wasnt I?
Act Two
Act Two opens in the recording studio, as Bridie and Sheila report the appalling conditions in the
death camp of Belalau where the warning from Prison guards that no prisoners would survive the
war was declared, building suspense as to how this could have been possible for both our
characters. Soon it becomes clear that in the years since the war ended, Sheila has led a quiet
life as a librarian in Perth and has not been able to sustain a sexual relationship; nor felt able to
return to Britain or to face remaining with her family in Singapore. She discloses that she drinks
and experiences nightmarish recollections about Lipstick Larry. Bridie however, had been happily
married for years to an Australian soldier who had flirted with her at Christmas behind the wire
and is now widowed and childless.
Scene Twelve: Bridies tells of an event where, when surrounded by a group of Japanese
tourists in David Jones Food Hall, she runs away with a tin of shortbread and later pleads guilty
in court to shoplifting. I still lie awake cringing with shame, she tells Sheila. She could not
explain the truth to the court or to family and friends. The effect of this event on Sheila surprises
Bridie who decides that peace can only be attained if the truth is faced publically.
There are probably thousands of survivors like us, still trapped in the war, too ashamed to tell
anyone.
Scene Thirteen: It is Bridie who reveals the truth of Sheilas courageousness and self-sacrifice
when she recounts how they were rescued, after which she asks Sheila to clarify her shoplifting
arrest. The tensions between the two now slowly dissolve as all confidences have been
expressed. The scene ends with the assertion Bridie has been waiting five decades for:
pg. 2
And Id do it all over again if I had to....cause Bridies my friend...

Friendship has been restored, the Shoe-Horn returned to its rightful owner, plans made for a
Christmas reunion, and the dance they had promised each other in the camp ensues as The
Blue Danube, music of joy and triumph and survival, plays.
pg. 3
Activities: Synopsis
pg. 4
Act / Scene
Main historical
features
Where is this
scene set?
What other
settings does
this scene refer
to in the
dialogue or
stage direction?
What is revealed
about Bridie and
Sheilas
experience of
the war?
What is the
purpose of this
scene?
I, i
I, ii
I, iii
I, iv
I, v
I, vi
I, vii
I, viii
I, ix
I, x
II, xi
II, xii
II, xiii
pg. 5
Analysis of the BOS Prescriptions for Unit

Module A: Experience Through Language Distinctively Visual
This module requires students to explore the uses of a particular aspect of language. It develops
students awareness of language and helps them to understand how our perceptions of and
relationships with others and the world are shaped in written, spoken and visual language.
Each elective in this module requires study of a prescribed text through a key aspect of
language. This provides the basis for the study and use of this aspect of language in other texts,
including texts drawn from students own experience.
Students examine particular language structures and features used in the prescribed text and in
a range of situations that they encounter in their daily lives. They explore, examine and analyse
how the conventions of textual forms, language modes and media shape meaning. Composition
focuses on experimentation with variations of purpose, audience and form to achieve different
effects. These compositions may be realised in a variety of forms and media. (Refer to the
English Stage 6 Syllabus, p 30.)
Elective 2: Distinctively Visual

In their responding and composing, students explore the ways the images we see and/or
visualise in texts are created. Students consider how the forms, features and language of
different texts create these images, affect interpretation and shape meaning. Students examine
one prescribed text, in addition to other related texts of their own choosing that provide examples
of the distinctively visual.
Students will choose one of the following texts as the basis for their further exploration of the
elective Distinctively Visual.
pg. 6
Deconstruction of Syllabus Content

1. You need to cut these out and align these suggestions with the syllabus description for
Distinctively Visual. Go through each sentence and you will find each of the following
ideas.
2. Once you have completed this, make list of features of the text that you think you will
need to cover in this unit.
The Distinctively Visual elements we see that are obvious and relate specifically to the form of
the text- a play; examine the literal images: photographs used as props; other props used on the
stage to differentiate the set of the television studio from the hotel rooms; use of light or darkness
on the stage for metaphysical effect and reflection or transition between scenes; facial
expressions, body language or actions of the actors; positioning on the stage - centre front or to
the side impacts on how we see the characters or the power they have onstage; other props
such as the recurring motif of the shoe-horn and the Red Cross postcard as tangible evidence of
the experience
The Distinctively Visual elements we must use our imaginations to visualise: the imagined
images what we dont see but know to exist; verbal flashbacks, descriptive explanations,
olfactory and other sentient imagery
How the form of Mistos text presents the opportunity to explore Distinctively Visual elements
dialogue, stage directions, directors notes; how verbal imagery creates images of the past or
present; historical language. How language affects interpretation impact of the dialogue on the
other characters in the cast; close examination of how verbal imagery creates the range of
perspectives of the experiences of each woman
How form affects interpretation drama - play - written versus stage performance impact of
gestures; action on the stage; interaction with props and other characters in the cast;
characterisation; costuming; score; lighting; sound effects; symbols; set construction, audience
interaction
How form shapes meaning audience expectations; impact of theatre as a political, social and
cultural medium; impact of sets in engaging and providing context for the audience
How language shapes meaning accessibility of language; simplicity of language; colloquial

versus formal language for characterisation; historical references; use of specific verbs, adverbs,
adjectives in stage directions; use of dashes and ellipsis to create carefully constructed pauses
allowing audience to visualise emotional and psychological interaction beyond the visual of the
stage; how verbal imagery shapes our emotional response to the women and to the experience
of prisoners of war and the Japanese in the plays historical context of captivity during World War
II; gendered meanings presented through the juxtaposition of the language and visuals
You will need to consider the techniques that need to be deconstructed that are explicitly and
literally visual as well as deconstructing the language features of the script itself. You should
consider how visual metaphors are created by the juxtaposition of photographs and props,
characters and staging when combined with the language of the script itself.
pg. 7
Key Terms in the Study of English

This syllabus uses some terms in specific ways to describe complex processes and concepts. A
detailed glossary appears in Section 16 for reference purposes. Key terms used to describe the
study of English in the syllabus are outlined below.
Responding is the activity that occurs when students read, listen to, or view texts. It
encompasses the personal and intellectual connections a student makes with texts. It also
recognises that students and the texts to which they respond reflect social contexts. Responding
typically involves:
reading, listening and viewing that depend on, but go beyond, the decoding of texts
identifying, comprehending, selecting, articulating, imagining, critically analysing and

evaluating.
Composing is the activity that occurs when students produce written, spoken, or visual texts.
Composing typically involves:
the shaping and arrangement of textual elements to explore and express ideas, emotions
and values
the processes of imagining, drafting, appraising, reflecting and refining
texts.
knowledge understanding and use of the language forms, features and structures of
Texts in English Stage 6 are communications of meaning produced in any medium that
incorporates language, including sound, print, film, electronic and multimedia. Texts include
written, spoken, nonverbal or visual communication of meaning. They may be extended unified
works or presented as a series of related pieces.
Context is used in its broadest sense. It refers to the range of personal, social, historical, cultural
and workplace conditions in which a text is responded to and composed.
Language modes refers to the modes of listening, speaking, reading, writing, viewing and
representing*. These modes are often integrated and interdependent activities used in
responding to and composing texts in order to shape meaning.
It is important to realise that:
any combination of the modes may be involved in responding to or composing print,

sound, visual or multimedia texts; and
the refinement of the skills in any one of the modes develops skills in the others.
Students need to build on their skills in all language modes.
Representing is the language mode that involves composing images by means of visual or other
texts. These images and their meaning are composed using codes and conventions. The term
can include activities such as graphically presenting the structure of a novel, making a film,
composing a web page, or enacting a dramatic text.
Language forms and features is the term used to refer to the symbolic patterns and
conventions that shape meaning in texts. These vary according to the particular mode or medium
of production and can include written, spoken, nonverbal or visual communication of meaning.
Structures of texts is the term used to refer to the relationship of different parts of a text to each
other, and to the text as a complex whole.
pg. 8
Suggested Sentence Starters

Synonyms for composer can and should be used for each different text type: poet author,
write, reporter, cartoonist, artist, novelist, filmmaker, director, producer, scriptwriter,
The [author]/ [composers name] suggests
The [poet]/ [composers name] provides opportunities
The [playwright]/ [composers name] challenges
The [speaker]/ [composers name] purpose if to
The [filmmaker]/ [composers name] highlights
The [director]/ [composers name] use of [technique]
The [photographer]/ [composers name] presents
The [designer [composers name] explores.
The [artist]/ [composers name] has presented
[Name of composer] uses his/his text to (convey, challenge, inform, educate, challenge, provoke,
suggest, impart, communicate, develop, reveal, provide insight, expose, deliberate, construct)
The composer uses his text to portray a view of
The composer has used
Synonyms for text should be inserted to identify the text type being discussed such as:
poem, short story, newspaper article, song lyric, speech, novel, fiction text, website,
image, artwork, documentary, etc
The text suggests
The text provides opportunities
The text challenges
The text highlights
The text provokes
The text indicates
The text educates
The context (social, cultural. political, religious, gender, historical, intellectual, personal) is
(suggested, exposed, highlighted) through the use of
The context has been highlighted through the development of
The composer has provided a contextual focus by.
Contextually the text suggests
The values of the text are conveyed through the use of
The composers values are exposed when
The composers values are exposed by
Values of.. are explored through the text using
The audience for the text is suggested through.
pg. 9
The audience for the text is suggested by

The use of [technique] highlights, suggests, infers, develops understanding, exposes, provokes,
informs,
Techniques such as. have been used to (expose, highlight, provoke, suggest, initiate
discussion, provide opportunities, inform, educate, develop an understanding of)
The theme of .. is developed through the issue of.
The theme of ..is highlighted
The theme of .. is explicitly stated.
The theme of .. is implicit rather than explicitly stated using.
The theme of .. is exposed
The issue of .. (is exposed, highlighted, suggested, inferred, paralleled by, implied, intimated,
headlined, given priority) through .
A critical reading of the text suggests
A critical analysis of the text provides opportunities to
Close reading of the text provides insight into
Synonyms such as viewer, reader, author etc can be developed here

The responder/audience/ viewer/ understands
The responder/audience/ viewer/s impression is
The responder/audience/ viewer/ is persuaded to
The impact on the responder/audience/ viewer/ reminds us that
The responder/audience/ viewer/ becomes convinced of
The responder/audience/viewer develops
Sentence starters relating to Distinctively Visual

Conceptually, Distinctively Visual is highlighted through
Distinctively Visual, as a concept, is highlighted through
Distinctively Visual, both literally and conceptually, is exposed through
Literally, the Distinctively Visual is presented through
Distinctively Visual images are a manifestation of
The moral insights gained from the constructed images suggest.
The concept of Distinctively Visual is developed through
The composer engages with the conceptual premises inherent to Distinctively Visual through
The composer engages with the concept of Distinctively Visual using
In transforming the relationship between the composer is suggesting
Transformation takes place through.
The concept of Distinctively Visual is effectively conveyed through
pg. 10
The composer explores the effects of image through

The transition from to. Suggests a changing (perception, understanding, view) of .
The use of illustrative dialogue (suggests, conveys, exposes, develops, provides)
Visualisation of the theme is (discussed, exposed, inferred, developed) in order to.
Juxtaposing the three texts provides
Juxtaposition of the texts suggests
Juxtaposing [the text] alongside [the text].suggests opportunities to explore
Analysis of the three texts suggests
A critical reading of all three texts provides
Both texts explore
All three texts expose
The texts suggests...
each text portrays
A balanced discussion of .. is maintained through
Bias becomes evident when
Negation of the rights of the individual become apparent through the
A discomforting visual of confronts us to
The nascent implications located in the
The visual of challenges the moral rectitude of
The metaphysical imagery constructed by the poet leads us to
The narrative qualities present quintessential insights into
Philosophically speaking, the
Existential ideas about identity are explored through images of
Self awareness, an epiphany depictingbecomes apparent through
The subtlety of the characters awareness ofis evident in
Our views on are challenged by
Our views on are provocatively engaged through
Historical interpretations are negated and revised through the language of
Disturbing awareness of the implications ofbecome evident in
Increasing awareness of . allows us to
The exposition ofis damning as
Representations of gender as a minority provide opportunities to explore
An uncomfortable reminder of the consequences of captivity becomes apparent through
The staging/ cinematography/language expel any sense of
The constructs evident in the purposeful choice of [language/film technique/ dramatic devices]
create doubt in terms of
pg. 11
Inspirational mantras ofevolve out of the challenges evident in

The disparate nature of individuals and an awareness of how they visualise insights is located
in
Alternate views of history are exposed through
We are compromised by the historical metanarrative as it
The cultural and gender constraints of history represented in reinforce notions of
The resonance of exposes
Moral codas are revealed and sustained through
Social, cultural and moral disintegration of individuals is depicted through
The impact ofbecomes evident in
The chronicling of events in a coherent structure allows insight into
Political and philosophical ideas aboutconvey the innate need to
Allegorical representations force us to recognise
Speculation arises when the expectations of . confront our pre-existing view of
Images of Empire and colonialism are a confronting reminder of
Traditional boundaries ofare exposed and shattered as
The dramatic realities of captivity become apparent through
The structural premise echoes the voice of each of us when we are confronted by
Attitudinal responses need to be equated with the
Mistos use of literal images immediately creates connotations of.
The metaphorical implication of the images forces us to.
Bridies developing awareness of her own hubris initiates a discussion of
Sheilas epiphany is evidenced through
Confronting reminders of cultural difference are explored through images of
The motif of the shoe-horn is used to construct images of
Frightening images ofare constructed through both descriptive and aural imagery
emphasising
The juxtaposition of image and dialogue presents insight into
Figurative language is used to
The photographs are an explicit reminder of
Gendered images of war are presented through
The correlative of image and dialogue extends the notion of
Alarming imagery of is presented through the expressive dialogue
A disturbing sense of evil is exposed through Sheilas depiction of
The shoe-horn is used both literally and figuratively to express
The explicit use of historical photographs in Scene constructs
The historical context is implied through the literal images of
pg. 12
Propaganda and image have been used to

Comparisons between the male and female experience is presented through images of
Bridies representations of the physical condition of the women highlights
Inferred imagery of Empire and its associations is referenced by Bridie to
Sheilas representations of self are identified through images of
The discourse of imagery, both literal and figurative as being a means to understand experience
is explored through
Images of.allows us to recognise
The props present imagery that orients the audience allowing them to
Fear is constructed through the imagery of
Reconciliation between the women and their experience can be seen through
pg. 13
Sample HSC Essay Questions

(a) How has your study of the Distinctively Visual presented you with opportunities to
challenge your perception of self and the world?
Make reference to your core text and at least ONE text of your own choosing.
(b) Effective imagery is always sensory
To what extent is this statement true in relation to the texts you have studied?
(c) We are challenged by the images constructed in texts as they force us to examine the
way we respond to the values of others.
How has this idea presented in the texts you have studied?
pg. 14
Analysis of the Text

Analysis - Act One, Scene One
The play begins in darkness and silence. The voice of Bbridie comes out of this empty
space. Bridie is explaining the kowtow, although it not immediately clear who her
auidienceaudience is. This has the immediate effect of engagingengaging the theatre
audience in her story. We hear a male voice questing her and once the On Air sign
becomes visible we become aware that we are in a TV studio, although we never see the
male interviewer. Bridie answer the questions put to her with a sense of candour
(honesty) that seems to take the interviewer by surprise. She tells of her enlistment and
the evacuation of Singapore. The shoe-horn is introduced, although at this stage we do
not see it or yet understand its significance. Her story is punctuated by the song,, Fall In
Brother and the slide projections of posters and photographs of women enlisting.
The glass of water on the table beside her evokes a sense of minimal survival. The
scene ends in a moment of darkness with the reverberating sound of Rule Britannia and
the projection of slodes of prosperous Singapore before the fall, signifying the last
bastion of the British Empire. Note the playwrights comment on the last slide that
projects the words: Dont Listen to Rumour If only they had
1. Complete the following summary of Act One, Scene One.

The play begins in _________________ and _______________. The voice of Bridie comes out
of this empty space. Bridie is explaining the 'kowtow' although it is not immediately clear who her
______________________ is. This has the ____________ of ____________ the theatre
audience in her story. We hear a male voice questioning her and once the 'on air' sign becomes
visible we become aware that we are in a _________________, although we never actually see
the male interviewer. Bridie answers the questions put to her with a sense of _______________
that seems to take the interviewer almost by surprise. She tells of her enlistment and the
evacuation of ___________________ . The ______________ is introduced although at this
stage we do not see it or yet understand its significance. Her story is punctuated by the song,
'Fall in Brother' and the slide projections of _____________ and ___________ of women
enlisting. The glass of water on the table beside her evokes a sense of minimal survival. The
scene ends in a moment of _______________ with the reverberating sound of 'Rule Britannia'
pg. 15
and the projection of slides of prosperous Singapore before the fall, signifying the last bastion
of the ____________ ___________ . Note the ________________ comment on the last slide
that projects the words, 'Don't listen to rumour' - 'If only they had ...'
Silence
Shoe-horn
Posters
Engaging
Playwrights
Audience
British Empire
Effect
TV studio
Darkness
Darkness
Singapore
Candour
Photographs
pg. 16
1. Complete the following table:

Dramaturgical / Language
Device
Direct Quotation from text
How it adds to
establishing main ideas of
the play
Stage directions
Darkness. Out of the

silence comes the voice
BRIDIE. Stage Direction
Stage Directions images of

young women recruits
Stage directions present the

score to be used for this
scene. As a marching song it
is used to accompany a
montage of images projected
onto the screen.
Creates audience
anticipation; audience is
questioning and
disorientated; it immerses
the audience in Bridies
narrative and there is an
absence of visual prompts
on the stage
These images are of nurses to
reinforce Bridies assertions
of young women,
embarking off the ships in
Johore Bahrum, the laughter
expressing innocence and
happiness, unaware of the
future that lay ahead. These
images are from the
Australian War Memorial and
as such, are historical
artefacts of the experience.
The visuals are historical
documents that provide
veracity to the historical
nature of Mistos text.
Visual juxtaposition of
images
According to Crispin Taylor,

the first director to present
this play, the images were
placed on large screens,
using multiple projectors; a
challenging and quite
technologically advanced
objective at the time of
production.
The need to keep the literal

images as backdrops was
imperative in terms of
presenting historical context;
however, these images were
not allowed to predominate
and were used as transitions
to allow the visual impact of
the women themselves in
terms of body language and
facial gestures explicitly
and noted in detail in the
stage directions provided by
Misto and of the dialogue,
to be seen.
pg. 17
Off stage voice over
RICK: Forty four ships

times three hundred people.
(Surprised) There were
13,000 of you! P. 22
Creates surprise and

incredulity (disbelief /
astonishment); this created
because the story is so little
known; reflects the
audiences astonishment
BRIDIE: When the guard

cries our Keirei! the
female stands at complete
attention, then bends her
upper body sp.
( BRIDIE triers to straighten
up from this demonstration
The audience has a visual

portrayal in front due to the
imagery in the speech and
the acting of the life of
women in the Japanese
prisoner of war camps.
This is juxtaposed to the
images used in this scene of
the recruitment propaganda
posters of healthy smiling
women in the armed
services.
Shoe-horn is introduced as
Bridie narrates in her
monologue her fathers
response to her enlisting on
p. 20
There are three things
every young soldier should
know. Always use a shoehorn
The motif is introduced and

the audience is unaware of
its abiding significance in
the play. Although it begins
to symbolise the womens
powerlessness against
violence in the war and in a
patriarchal society.
Eventually it comes to
symbolise the sacrifice of
friendship.
Rule Britannia
Is juxtaposed to BRIDIEs
disgust of the Britishs failure
to take the invasion of
Singapore seriously and
jeopardise the womens
safety. Rule Britannia is a
Dramatic irony
Imagery
Emotive language
Motif
juxtaposition
Colloquial language
Use of music
pg. 18
jingoistic (patriotic /
nationalistic) British song
celebrating the British
Empire.
pg. 19
Analysis - Act One, Scene Two

The lighting stage change reveals a scene shift to a motel room in Melbourne. Bridie now enters
with Sheila who has just arrived. Sheila is carrying a pair of gloves and from this and her attitude
to the porter we are made aware of her British origins. The playwright indicates that there is
tension between the two women. Part of the puzzle for the audience is in establishing whether
this tension is something that exists in the present, or whether its origins go back into the past.
Their dialogue reveals a sense of ambivalence (indecision / uncertainty) in tehri reunion and we
learn that it is fifty years since they have seen each other. We become aware of the existence of
Myra, one of the off-stage characters. As they manoeuvre around each other and their questions
and accusations, they move to a point where their shared past experiencebrings them to cooperate in the lifting of the suitcase in the rhythm of Japanese counting. The playwrightnotes that
this dramatic action is to sound almost like a war cry and it is followed by a blackout.
1. Use the phrases below to complete the following summary of Act One, Scene Two.
The lighting stage change reveals ..........................................................................................

Bridie now enters with ..
Sheila is carrying a pair of gloves and from this and her attitude to the porter
The playwright indicates that there is ....................................................................................

.whether this tension is something
that exists in the present, or whether its origins go back into the past.
..and we learn that it
is fifty years since they have seen each other.
As they manoeuvre around each other and their questions and accusations, they move to a point
where their
The playwright notes that this ..
a scene shift to a motel room in Melbourne

dramatic action is to sound 'almost like a war cry' and is followed by a 'blackout'.
Part of the puzzle for the audience is in establishing
shared past experience brings them to co-operate in the lifting of the suitcase in the rhythm of
Japanese counting.
Sheila who has just arrived
tension between the two women.
Their dialogue reveals a sense of ambivalence in their reunion
we are made aware of her British origins.
pg. 20
2. Complete the following table:

Dramaturgical / Language
Device
Direct Quotation from

text
How it adds to
establishing main ideas of
the play
Hearing aid
p. 24
SHIELA: You say
something then? Youll
have to talk into the good
ear.
BRIDIE: Good ear?
[Notices the hearing aid
and says quite loudly.]
Hows that?
Literal and metaphorical

silence;
It comes to symbolise or
represent visually, through
performance and dialogue,
that she is has silenced
her own experience of the
war and is reluctant for
them to be heard.
extensive stage directions

for gestures, facial and
body language
Symbolismmetaphor
gloves
[SHIELA is carrying
gloves.]
Dialogue:
BRIDIE: She was sure
youd consider it
unrefined going on
television airing your
feelings.
SHEILA: Well youve got
to admit its not very
dignified. P. 25
Misto then extends the

hearing aid metaphor to
represent the silencing byt
the British and Australian
governments of the
womens experience in
Balalau as Japanese
POWs.
Idea of covering up;
represents Shielas ideas of
dignity and sophistication
and what it means to be
British, what is proper; and
then visualises the tension
and differences between the
women; for Shiela it shows
her ideas of femininity and
lady-like behaviours which
heightens her sacrifice for
Bridie.
pg. 21
Irony
Paradox
Visual tension and paradox
The lifting of the suitcase

the level of discomfort and
tension. The women join
together to lift the suitcase
but are very agitated with
each other as shown in the
stage directions. In the end
they act out a memory from
their time in the POW
camps of lifting coffins. The
visual juxtaposition with the
dialogue further increases
the tension. The scene
ends as the two elderly
women let out a cry of Yata which is almost like a
war-cry according to the
stage directions.
The connection they had at

the camp is fraught and
fragile. The lifting of the
suitcase shows common
experiences and memories
and the use of Japanese
language elevates the
tension as it creates a visual
image of their
connectedness.
pp. 26-29
pg. 22
Writing Activity One

Overview (Topic Sentence)
What aspect of the relationship between Bridie and Sheila is Misto highlighting in this scene?
Level One (Technique and Example)

What dramatic techniques are used in this scene? (Provide ONE with an example)
What visual elements are evident in this scene ? (Provide ONE with an example)
Level Two (Purpose)

How do visual and dramatic techniques within this scene dramatise the tension?
Level Three (Analysis)

How do the visual element and language techniques reveal the power relationship between the
two women? (Analysis)
pg. 23
Writing Activity
Convert your answers into a cohesive paragraph. (Topic Sentence, Technique
Example, Purpose, Analysis, Linking Sentence)
pg. 24
Act One, Scene Three

This scene opens with the nostalgic sound of a 1940s song Something to Remember You By
which is to take on an almost ironic meaning as the play continues and which we eventually
connect with the shoe-horn. Sheilas nervousness in the television interview situation allows
Bridie to assume the more powerful stance, and we assume that this is the role that she played
in the relationship in earlier times.
The voice of the interviewer continues with questions about the evacuation of Singapore and
Sheilas upper class British origins are confirmed. As Sheila recounts these events from her
perspective, we see slides projected depicting the reality of the situation and hear Bridies verbal
and non-verbal interactions which indicate not only her attitude to the situation but also to her
memory and construction of the events.
As the interview probes Sheilas feelings, we hear and see the reality of the situation that she is
describing. We hear waves and the sound of young Sheila singing Jerusalem and images of
the bombing and destruction of Singapore. The unfolding memories takes on its own rhythm as
the two women in dialogue tell the story of their time in the water before the approach of the
Japanese.
The shoe-horn which has been introduced in the opening scene begins to take on new meaning
as Bridie describes how she used it to keep Sheila conscious during this ordeal. We also learn
that the shoe-horn was lost during the war. The arrival of the Japanese is graphically presented
to the audience with the sound of the waves, the singing of Jerusalem and the illumination of
the Japanese flag. It is at this point that the two women are joined by their memories with the
linking of hands on stage as the Japanese voices are heard. The scene ends with a crescendo
as the singing continues under the images of the Japanese invasion of Singapore and the fall of
Empire is complete.
Analysis Activities
1. Read the following summary of Scene Three. As you read, highlight dramaturgical and
language techniques in one colour and highlight the effect in another colour. Highlight
visual elements or imagery in another colour. (e.g. projections of images, imagery,
mannerisms etc) that refer to specifically visual elements or imagery. The sections you
need to highlight are underlined.
This scene places the focus on Sheilas story presenting both the similarities and differences
between the women. The parallels are evident - both have had the same experience; they have
common memories and unique insights into the other which, despite the fifty years of separation
presents images that highlights unity with all its accompanying tension. The scene begins with
the two women in a studio; their dialogue is presented in voice over as they settle in to the
interview. The tension and nervousness between them is obvious through the body language
embedded in the dialogue and the antagonistic nature of the retorts between them. The
interviewer is focussed on Sheilas narrative of events thus driving the plot in terms of events and
in introducing her story as the other key protagonist of the play. The male voice, Rick,
immediately engages with the confronting question of why Sheila had remained in Singapore
pg. 25
despite the threat of Japanese attack implying the lack of foresight by the British. Sheilas
response suggests that she has been raised with a sense of propriety and that her mannerisms
and cultural understandings of the world echo the historical perspective of Empire.
The use of slides at this juncture presents literal images that present the evacuation. Mistos
stage directions not only direct the actors here, he uses them to present his personal reflection
and commentary and as these comments would not be spoken on the stage presents insight
into his deep sympathy for the victims of the disaster that impacted on women affected by the
experience.
Imagery is presented in the humourous but ironic depiction of the instructions given to Sheila by
her mother which are a concrete parallel with those presented by Bridies father. Confronting
imagery is presented here by Sheila who describes the contrasting idyllic imagery of what the
women and children thought was a brief, if not crowded sojourn (stop / rest) to the horrors and
panic emphasised by the reference to spotlights.
The staging echoes the verbal imagery with Sheila standing in a spotlight on the stage; her
monologue continues presenting graphic imagery of the events the clarity of her memory is
confronting especially considering the first audience for this play consisted of many women
who had experienced this exact event. Similes, imperative verbs, and the first person
account- sustain the tension and panic of the event, however, the stage directions suggest the
language is presented calmly. Misto is creating here an almost objective account void of
emotion which is further emphasised by the interviewers questions about whether Sheila was
afraid at this point and her denial of being so at least with this perspective of memory. Bridies
re-entering of the action in a brief statement of dialogue at this point negates the calm and
unemotional narrative reinforcing Sheilas British stiff upper lip agenda - provoking Rick to press
for Sheilas emotional response. Sentience (is the ability to feel, perceive, or experience
subjectively) is constructed for the audience through the sound effects of lapping waves the
sensory imagery meant to take both audience and Sheila back to the event a form of aural
flashback.
pg. 26
Sheilas response presents the images of darkness, the smothering effect of oil, the isolation,
and her own remembered images of warmth when she was experiencing shock and the effects
of the cold water.
The stage directions tell us here that this religious connotation is extended and embedded in
Sheilas British Christian concept of self. A young voice, the young Sheila, sings Jerusalem
presenting rousing images of Empire used to fortify the patriotism of its inhabitants. The verb
whimpering, in contrast, is used by Misto suggesting the image of a fragile and frightened child
belying the representation Sheila is attempting to present as an adult. The poignancy of the
voices of the young (off stage voice) and old Sheila (onstage) connect the past and the present.
The lines from Jerusalem imply imagery of deliverance and salvation. The bathos (Bathos is a
story-telling technique that follows serious ideas with the commonplace or ludicrous. The
juxtaposition of these ideas creates humour.) presented in her evaluation of the event, and the
fact that she was there in the sea with no gloves and her comments about being at school and
living in the privileged world of chaperones creates a stark image of vulnerability and reinforces
Bridies comments.
Explicit images are presented on stage again allowing a transition point in the dialogue, to shift
from Sheilas perspective of events to Bridies. The experience in image has shifted from smiling
faces boarding ships to slides depicting the bombing of Singapore harbour with confronting
images of ships burning and smoke filled skies to sustain the historical narrative.
Bridies account also reinforces the sense of calm that she experienced or remembers
experiencing as the Vyner Brooke was attacked by the Japanese. The counting of the bombs,
the fact that so many missed and that it only took one to lead to the demise of the ship and so
many lives presents provocative imagery. Images of death and the lack of organisation impact
on the audience; the visceral images of raw burned hands and women sliding down ropes to
the water emphasises the ingenuity and pragmatism of the experience. Childhood reflections of
conversations with her father and of not being able to swim add weight to the tension of the
scene. Bridie then recounts her first meeting with Sheila which is once again punctuated by the
British propriety she maintains. The imaginary shoe horn is reprised here signifying its
pg. 27
importance to the play as a motif; the sensory imagery of water, cold, hitting, splashing
culminates in both women singing lines, once again from Jerusalem, this time about mental
strength, both in their memories and on stage.
2. Use the above analysis of the scene to complete the table below. You will need to
complete this in your own notes.
Dramaturgy / Language /
Visual Element
Explicit Example from

play (doesnt have to be
a direct quote)
How it creates meaning

in the play?
Imagery
Motif
Shoe-horn
symbolism
Gloves
Body language and

mannerisms
Sensory imagery
Images of darkness
Monologue
Bathos and humour
Similes
Music - Jerusalem
Sound waves lapping
pg. 28
Writing Activity Two

Act One, Scene Three is a very important and visually affective (emotional) moment in the play.
When we write about texts selecting the best examples of the text is very important on our
writing. We cannot possibly include everything in a playscript in an essay. It is my belief that this
scene is a pivotal aspect of the play and important to know well and to write about well.
Overview (Topic Sentence)

Write a brief summary of the complexity of the relationship between Bridie and Shelia in this
scene..

What techniques are used to contrast the two women? (There may be more than one, but you
should not just list them, name one or two and provide examples)
Level Two (Purpose)

How is the contrast heightened in the scene?

How do the visual element and language techniques reveal the shared experience and
vulnerability between Shelia and Bridie?
pg. 29
Paragraph Writing Activity

Convert your answers into a cohesive paragraph. (Topic Sentence, Technique Example,
Purpose, Analysis, Linking Sentence)
pg. 30
Writing Activity Three

Overview
Write a brief summary of the dramatic change the women experienced the night they are
recounting.

How is symbolism used to show the dramatic change recounted in this scene?
How is humour generated in this scene?
Level Two (Purpose)

As a result of the techniques above, what is the mood of Shelias speech?

Why is there such a contrast between the characters at this point in the play?
pg. 31
Writing Activity
pg. 32
Writing Activity Four

Overview
Describe the visual imagery in this scene.

List three or four key uses of imagery in this scene. (Ensure you also note the references or
describe the examples)
Level Two (Purpose)

How do the visual elements of this scene provoke audience response?

Why are the images deliberately so shocking and provocative? (Hint: Misto is making a comment
about war and the reality of lived experience)
pg. 33
Writing Activity
pg. 34
Act One, Scene Four

This scene occurs in the motel room after the previous interview scene. As the two women
review the interview we see their different responses to the process of dredging up these
memories. Some of these are class and cultural differences we see from their dialogue. The
tensions that we witnessed in an earlier scene are still evident and the reasons for them are still
not clear to the audience.
As they reflect on the interview, their conversation turns to their memories and this time they
relive a moment of comic delight as they replay the sticking of the pin in Lipstick Larrys loin cloth.
This incident is played out a play-within-a-play as they are both recalling the past and enacting
how they will talk about it to the camera. Then enacting it as if a camera were there to capture
their performance. The scene then concertinas into one image as the sounds of Lipstick Larry
punctuate their performance. There is a blackness in this performance the beating of the young
Bridie and Sheilas attempt to save her from it a premonition (forewarning / hunch / omen) of
something more deep and powerful that is later to be revealed. The played moment then rbings
the audience back into the present and there is a moment of reality as they stand now at a
distance from the sound of Lipstick Larry beating Bridie.
The scene ends with the sounds continuing as the two women in the present clink galsses a
dramatic action that signals their reunion.
1. How have the women reacted to their television interview? How is the huimour used to
convey their different attitudes?
Name of
character
Response to watching the

interview
Attitudes to the British that is

demonstrated (use quotes and
techniques)
Bridie
Sheila
2. Comic relief is used in the making of the loin cloths. What insights do we get into Bridie
as well as her relationship with Sheila?
pg. 35
Further Analysis
In this following analysis the dramatic and language techniques are bolded.
The idea are underlined.
The purpose and effect of the dramatic and language techniques are in italics. You are to read
through this analysis with a peer and complete the tables.
Purpose verbs are underlined and in italics.
As you read through you should highlight these in different colours to make it more obvious.
This scene uses tone and mood to construct the juxtaposing image of tension and friendship
between the two women. The literal images of interaction and the body language and
expressions used on the stage are powerful and real. The power of this performance lies in its
ability to confront audiences with the veracity truth of the shared experience; the characters
represent the sense of easy familiarity we have with people we have been intimately involved
with and how that shifts and changes, or, can be reprised so readily even after fifty years of
separation.
Mistos stage directions present many references to looking or seeing in this scene Bridie
closely examining the menu the focus not really about what is on the menu or highlighting the
malapropism (malapropism - the mistaken use of a word in place of a similar-sounding one,
often with an amusing effect (e.g. dance a flamingo instead of flamenco ),), rather, it is
about not seeing - trying to avoid the gulf of unspoken thoughts and emotions that have
been repressed during the period since the women last saw each other.
Other distraction techniques are employed - picking up the glass and fussing, all creating a
busyness on the stage rather than the inevitability of these women really sharing and
remembering; the actions imply a fear of stopping, of saying what needs to be said and the
dramatic tension of the play builds. The stage directions here to engage with how the women
interact and how the adverbs used present the intended visual to be constructed for the
audience.
pg. 36
Mistos dialogue for Sheila directs us to look at and experience her hearing aid an excuse
for shutting off in previous scenes to one of static in this scene selective deafness is one thing
but here Sheilas actions and dialogue force us to consider the noise that she has heard, that the
memories themselves, instinctual visceral and confronting, still resonate despite the time that has
passed. Sheila also refers to the lights in the studio - the bright lights of the studio are
metaphorical reminders of her fears being exposed, of being judged and thus becoming
vulnerable once more anathema which is abhorrent (hated) to her sense of British identity.
The tensions only begin to ease once Sheila proceeds to leave the room. The scene shifts to
reveal the power relationship between the women in the camp. Sheilas claim that she was
ordered around by Bridie reinforces the ways in which the women encouraged and protected
each other during their captivity. Once again the adverbs in the stage directions imply tone
and mood allowing us to engage with the real tension, fear and relationship the two women
have experienced in the past. The complexity of Mistos agenda purpose resonates in the
dialogue: the need to negotiate between criticising the English and their hubristic pride filled
ignorance which resulted in the extensive loss of life and being seen as being racist towards the
Japanese.
Time has shifted the political perspectives and racial derision which was so strongly asserted
during WWII (already referred to in early scenes in the language of Bridies father and Sheilas
mother); to some extent, this play highlights the challenges of coming to terms with what
happened or being able to speak about it by those who suffered at the hands of such cruelty.
The reflective stance, begun when Sheila pretends to face the camera direct address to the
audience presents a visual recount of Sheilas memories of Lipstick Larry. The name
presents humourous visual connotations; however, these connotations become further
reinforced by the images of loin cloths, boxer shorts and rusty pins. The culmination of this
scene reinforces the bonds that unite the women; their laughter and humour is bittersweet
however, as even a humourous memory reminds them of the ever-present fear and danger,
pg. 37
control and disempowerment they experienced. Mistos stage directions, or aside if one likes,
presents the idea that for just a moment the women had defeated the enemy giving
them psychological empowerment.
The sound effects off stage presents confronting aural imagery of the violence perpetrated
against the women. We do no need to see the beating to feel and experience the immense
pain it would have brought in terms of sentient emotional memories for the first audience
and indeed for subsequent audiences. In hindsight, whilst both women can laugh at the
remembered images, the audience sees with poignant reality, why the bond exists between
the women. The scene ends dramatically, the sensory experience of sounds of a women
being beaten and the blackness of the stage present the metaphor of loss dignity and
freedom of the women and the lack of integrity of the captors.
1. Read the scene summary.
2. Write summary statements about the ideas in this scene.
i)
What is the tension in their relationship that is continued from previous scenes?
ii)
What is being said about seeing the truth in this scene? What is being said about
memory in this scene?
iii)
How is the violence against women portrayed in this scene?
3. Complete the following table. You should complete this following table expanded in your
own notes.
Techniques
Tensions in their
relationship
Examples of
Techniques and
quotations from
Shoe Horn
Visual Elements
Effect of visual
elements of the text
Tone and mood
Body language and

performance on stage
Looking and seeing

the truth
Stage directions
Dialogue
Lighting
Use of adverbs
pg. 38
Violence against
women
Direct address to
audience
Use of humour
Sound effects off

stagee
pg. 39
Act One, Scene Five

This scene takes us back into the studio and we are once again in the middle of an interview.
The focus of this phase of the interview is on the sinking of the Vyner Brooke and the
incarceration in the prisoner-of-war camp. The scene begins with the ironic sound of Happy
Times, juxtaposed with the sound of machine-gun fire and the cries of women. Behind the
words of Bridie and Sheila are photographs of women in the camps and a Japanese soldier. This
scene reveals more of the tensions between the two women as each reconstructs her own
memory of their shared ordeal. This ordeal included being available for Japanese soldiers.
Bridie recounts the situation of Lavender Streetand how the women who had been set up
tricked the Japanese by supposedly coughing up blood, simulating tuberculosis.
We learn of the ever-present hunger of the prisoners as the two women recount the story of the
bone in the context of the contempt in which the Japanese soldiers held women. It is at this point
when Bridie produces the concrete evidence in the form of the chop bone, that we begin to
realise the difficulty that the interviewer is experiencing in articulating the questions that he wants
to ask, and we come to see how well the women have dealt with the horrors of their
incarceration. We are also once again faced with notions of reality, truth, memory and
reconstructions of the past. The scene moves to another moment of reconciliation between the
women as the shoe-horn once again features, this time as a metronome, and we hear of the
singing that sustained the women in the camp. This information is underscored by the playing of
Bolero which builds to a climax, with Bridie conducting, as the scene ends.
1. Complete the following overview table, by listing details from the scene
Setting
Historical Details
revealed in the
scene
Details from Scene 5
Music and Sound
Motifs
Ideas
pg. 40
Further Analysis
This scene presents confronting imagery of death; callous actions of the Imperial Japanese Army
resulting in the brutal deaths of Australian soldiers, nurses and civilians (albeit defended by the
vagaries of war); starvation of women and children and of the sexual and predatory behaviour
some women were forced to endure during their captivity and, of community and transcendence
of the experience through the references to joining and participating in the choir. The staging
cleverly presents the image of Bridie and Sheila sitting side by side, the equanimity of the
position however, is belied at times by their philosophical positioning and perspective of events.
Inferred tone is presented through the facial expressions and body gestures presented. Mistos
stage directions for the tone, attitude and demeanour of both women covers a range of emotions:
calm, upset, horrified, defensive, surprised, uneasy, annoyed, disgusted, diplomatic, reluctant,
amazed, independent, fond, nostalgic. The dramaturgy required to act out and visualise these
emotions emphasises the intimate sociology of the theatrical experience for the audience as they
interact with the women on the stage.
The sensory experience of sound and image impresses upon the audience the historical veracity
of the event. The score shifts from the ironic beginning track of Happy Times by Jo Stafford
presenting metaphorical images of hope and deliverance which is juxtaposed with the sounds of
machine guns, screams and the crying of women as men and women, nurses from the Vyner
Brooke were taken into the sea and shot. This representation is historically factual and is
referenced in the links below. The visual representation of this scene is depicted by Bridie in
dialogue. Mistos stage directions suggest she says this calmly so the audience see her at this
stage as objective and in control.
The screened photographs used throughout the scene, of women and their daily routine in
Japanese camps, ragged starving children and the close up of the Japanese soldier in menacing
pose has purposeful visual impact. The first image, of the women in the camp is shown at the
same time as the narrative unfolds as Bridie and Sheila recount events about camp life. They
further illustrate this depiction with references to barbed wire and the crowded conditions. The
dignity of the women is presented through the dialogue; visceral imagery of their having to use
toilets in front of the guards also taken from primary sources and accounts of women in the
camps is confronting and disturbing from a human rights perspective. This passage of dialogue,
shared between Bridie and Sheila, demonstrates they have the same image and memory of the
event. The dialogue ends with the confronting image of the Japanese solder reinforcing the
dominance and control that overshadowed their lives during captivity. This image serves as a
transition into the next phase of the interview and whilst the previous passage was confronting,
the ensuing material is even more so.
Tensions rise in the mid section of this scene. Bridie and Sheila share looks between them as the
off stage interviewer asks confronting questions about the sexual abuse they may have
encountered in the camps. The passage reprises the Australian/British patriotism and rivalry
between the women presenting an almost obsessive and defensive nationalism. The stage
directions imply the characters are far more agitated echoing the confronting nature of the
revelations. Whilst Bridie represents anger and rejection of the interaction between the British
and Australian comfort women, Sheila is more circumspect, suggesting rather that the women
who chose or submitted to these ministrations did so to provide food for their children. Bridies
strident and accusative invective clearly has an impact foreshadowing further revelations later in
the play. The depiction of the scene where Bridie was forced to stay behind and be party to the
behaviour of her captors and the ingenuity of one woman to infer she had tuberculosis brings
humour to the scene which barely hides the fear and resentment she experienced. The stage is
darkened at this point and an image of starving children is presented on the screen. This serves
as empathetic justification for those women who did what they felt they needed to do to feed their
children. The end of this vignette reveals images of hunger, deprivation and need. The
pg. 41
interviewer halts with his simile when the women explain about the chop bone; the image left for
the audience to fill in themselves or by the women. The representations of the impact of the
experience in terms of mental health are referenced here building the image that is stated directly
by Sheila. The merciless killing of women who could not cope emphasises the pressures on the
women to sustain a positive outlook referencing the imagery of the song played at the
beginning of the scene. This discussion presents a segue into score of Ravels Bolero. Mistos
stage directions have this score played through to the end of the scene presenting a back drop to
the next vignette.
The women explain their meeting with Margaret Dryburgh and the forming of the vocal orchestra
Misto incorporating this history into his narrative. The passage reprises the motif of the shoehorn and its significance in terms of survival and community. Both Bridie and Sheila relate the
significance of the choir and images of connectedness and transcendence are presented in the
final lines the anaphora emphasising the power of the music to raise them above their
experience. The shoe-horn is the last word in this scene and serves to foreshadow its actual
appearance in the next scene and subsequently the impact it has had on Sheila which ultimately
provides clarification for why she had chosen not to contact Bridie in the fifty years since they last
saw each other.
Group Work Activity

1. Read the summary above. Highlight issues, ideas or concerns in one colour. Highlight
specific mention of devices in another. Highlight visualisation or visual imagery in
another.
2. Your groups will complete one of the following ideas and will share with the class through
a collaborative Powerpoint:Complete the following table.
Issue
Dramatic Features
(Specific reference
to the text)
What is visualised
through these
dramatic features?
War and atrocities
Dialogue: All the

men were bayoneted
.p. 41
Brutality of the
Japanese; agony and
fear of the prisoners
Soundtrack of
womens cries heard
off stage p. 41
Horror and
desperation of the
brave and decent
women
Visual images . slides

of women and
starving children in
the camps p. 41
Suffering of innocent
civilians and the pity
and horror of war
Symbol / motif of the

chop bone p. 45
Starving women and

the appalling
conditions of life in
the camps
How does this

achieve and effect
meaning and
audience response?
The audience feels
horror and pity. Anger
and a deeper
understanding of the
experiences in the
past.
Feel horror at wars
brutality, deeper
understanding of
Bridies and Shielas
past experiences and
how this affects the
present
Feel anger and reach
deeper depths of
understanding and
therefore empathy
Understanding of the
depth of their
pg. 42
Issue
Dramatic Features
(Specific reference
to the text)
What is visualised
through these
dramatic features?
How does this

achieve and effect
meaning and
audience response?
friendship and the
miracle of their
survival
Heroism
Power
Truth
Attitudes to women
Resilience
pg. 43
Writing Activity Five

Topic Sentence
War and its atrocities create an environment where values and friendships are tested
Overview
1. How has the idea in the topic sentence been revealed in the play through to Scene 5?

List three or four key uses of imagery in this scene. (Ensure you also note the references or
describe the examples. Make sure they connect to the topic sentences.
Level Two (Purpose)


pg. 44
Writing Activity
pg. 45
Writing Activity Six

Topic Sentence
Misto has used dramatic, visual and language techniques to convey the brutality of
war.
Overview
1. How has the idea in the topic sentence been revealed in Scene 5?

List three or four key uses of dramatic, visual and language techniques used in this scene.
(Ensure you also note the references or describe the examples. Make sure they connect to the
topic sentences.)
Level Two (Purpose)


pg. 46
Writing Activity
pg. 47
Analysis: Act One, Scene Six

This scene opens in the empty hotel room. The womens entrance in the conga line dance
suggests their growing reconciliation, but as the dialogue continues we are aware that there are
still tensions between them. As they delve into their memories we become aware that the
enemies were not only the Japanesebut also the British and Australian authorities. Although
the scene begins with the joyous image of dancing, the tension level builds throughout. The
discovery of the snapshots is juxtaposed with the images that we have seen on the screen. The
big picture is now refocussed for the audience as Bridie surveys the photos. The tension
continues to increase. The production of the tobacco tin by Bridie seems like another attempt at
reconciliationbut it is obvious to the audience that this tin is also a further source of tension,
despite the expressions of fondness that Bridie expresses for Sheila. As Bridie departs, Sheila is
left alone on the stage and she takes out the shoe-horn from a drawer. This is the first time the
audience sees it and it takes on a symbolic significance that is to grow throughout the play. There
is a moment of flashback to the young Sheila and Japanese soldiers and a song.
The image of Sheila staring at the shoe-horn passes and is replaced by projected
images of war ravaged women staring at the camera.
1. Complete the following overview table, by listing details from the scene
Setting
Historical Details
revealed in the
scene
Details from Scene 6
Music and Sound
Motifs
Ideas
pg. 48
Further Analysis
Ongoing stage tension between Bridie and Sheila presents an intangible (vague / hard to grasp
at) gulf between the two despite the clear sense of common experience they convey. The
opening of the scene with the two women singing the made up lyrics that are still clearly
ingrained in their memory is a poignant reminder of the imprints experience places on our lives.
Percy Graingers English Country Gardens reinforces the irony of the view of the Empire that
begins and end this scene in the stage directions and commentary provided by Misto.
Explicit images are presented in this scene through props on the stage. First, we see Bridie
handling the photographs of Sheila as a young woman and the effect they have on her as a
result of her memories which then resonates in the dramaturgy. Secondly, Bridie shows Sheila
the rusty tin she has kept ever since the war a reminder of the care and responsibility they had
for each other, the affection and friendship that clearly resonates between them.
Imagery (gloves, playing bridge, criticism of Australian men, women going off with the Nips) is
referred to in the dualogue that reprises the ongoing rivalry between British and Australian
values and the conflicting perspectives the women have of the sexual encounters with the
Japanese. The values judgements being placed on these women by Bridie reveal her repulsion
has extended across the decades. Sheila, however, is more circumspect for reasons that will
soon be revealed. The audience may interpret that these arguments existed within the camp as
an integral element of the survival process and had been part of the everyday interactions that
had formed conversation and debate that stimulated minds and reinforced and sustained notions
of identity for those who were held as prisoners of war. Indeed, the story told her resonates with
the range of POW narratives told by men, in particular to Australian POWs and their sporting
prowess over that of the British, New Zealander and Canadian POWS.
The dramaturgy presents both intimacy and distance between the women on the stage allowing
the audience to see the pain Sheila has suffered (and is evidenced through her stage silences
when she is shown the tin). Misto uses a voice over flashback revealing how the tin represents a
visceral memory imprinted on Sheilas mind of ridicule and derision; after Bridie leaves the stage
Sheila goes to her drawer and we, as the audience, visually see the shoe-horn for the first time
on the stage. The poignant imagery is of enormous loss which we can see through the dramatic
irony of Bridie suggesting anyone who has slept with the enemy could not or should not show
their face - a pun as lost face was a mantra of the Japanese in terms of maintaining their
physical and psychological presence as menacing captors of the women. Sheilas silences and
her inability to look at Bridie increase the social tension of the scene and we are witness to the
foreshadowing of revelations that will lead to the climax of the play.
The scene ends with inferred images of Sheila being ridiculed by the Japanese as she sings a
song Its a Lovely Day Tomorrow which was sung by Vera Lynn during WWII. The song is about
optimism and reflects the British view that they could overcome anything. The scene ends with
powerful screened imagery on the stage of two female prisoners. Misto once again adds his
own little commentary that would not have been spoken on the stage but clearly presents his
view of the irony of the British perspective of superiority, the notion of Empire as nothing more
than broken down by the experience. We are confronted by these images as we empathise and
imagine the devastation of what actually occurred.
1. How is the tension between Bridie and Shelia continued in this scene?
2. One of the ideas that is evident in this scene is the ongoing rivalry between the English
and Australian women?
Hint: (Remember: Statement, Techniques, Visualisation, Meaning) Once you have
completed your responses highlight each part of your response in different colours and
underline your technique)
pg. 49
1. Read the general overview and the Further Analysis

Dramaturgy / Language /
Visual Element
Explicit Example from

play (doesnt have to be
a direct quote)
How it creates meaning

in the play?
Imagery
Motif
Shoe-horn
Tobacco - tin
Body language and

mannerisms
dramaturgy
Explicit images or
projected images
Use of music
Voice overs
2.
pg. 50
2. Using the textual analysis in the above table, how is Sheilas character further
developed in this scene? (REMEMBER TEPA You must ground your reading
of the play in the features of the text) Write about 200 words.
pg. 51
Analysis: Act One, Scene Seven

This scene presents Bridie alone in the studio responding to the interviewers questions. The
scene begins with confronting images screened as backdrops of female prisoners in a
desperate state. The literal images establish the premise of the scene as Misto shares his
historical narrative with the audience. One of the issues that have surrounded the narrative of
prisoner of war experiences has been the lack of focus on the experience of women; as
such, this play presents their history and the interview construct performs that role in the play
allowing history to unfold through the questions and evidence presented through characters
representing this perspective. Bridie, standing in the spotlight presents a commanding figure
and forces us to focus on her story. The image she portrays, of herself and Sheila and the
weighing of the women is a damning portrait of the cruelty imposed upon women under the
guise of war.
The discussion about the caramel leads into a reflective analysis of Christmas in the camp in
1943. At this point the women have been held captive for nearly two years and the loss of
liberty and memories of home are shared here to present the imagined world women chose
to remember to escape the mental anguish of hunger; the irony of course is that memories
only serve to increase the sense of deprivation. The sensory imagery of the smells, taste,
feel, look of the rice resonates for the audience. The truncated dialogue reveals the horrors
of the memories. The audience is confronted by the idea of having to pick grubs out of the
rice seemingly unimaginable images of the deprivations these women experienced. Misto
establishes a contrasting image, revealing the capacity for moments of joy amongst the
horror. Score is employed here filling the theatre with male voices singing O Come All Ye
Faithful, a popular Christmas carol. Bridies identifying of the contrast between the voices of
the Australian men and Japanese presents metaphorical perceptions of strength and
weakness in the representations of masculinity of the two races from her perspective. The
colloquial nomenclature of Digger reminds the audience of the Australian context. Images of
women coming from every corner of the camp and even crawling out of the hospital implies
the heightened emotion of the remembered scene. Further contrasts are presented by
comparing the physical attributes of the other prisoners with those of the Japanese
reinforcing the joy of seeing familiar facial and body features hairy legs for example. It
would suggest here that these visitors represented real men to the women as opposed to
their Japanese counterparts. The memory related on stage has remained vivid for Bridie as
she relates the wink from an Aussie POW and the audience sees her reaction to this as one
of realising her femininity despite the physical state they were in.
Bridie relates that once the men stop singing the women returned the favour, united, as a
choir clearly implying the unity of the spirit of the women in the camp. They sang God Rest
Ye Merry Gentlemen; a metaphorical and lyrical thank you to the men within the context of
the Christmas message. Bridie expands on her flirtatious episode and nostalgically reflects
on the importance of that moment; the simile extends the images of emaciation that have
been the visual focus of the scene and allows the audience to see that the human spirit has
the ability to overcome even the direst of circumstances.
The scene ends poignantly with Bridie telling Rick that she meets the soldier after the war
and marries him, a nice segue to the score of Well Meet Again another popular WWII song.
Misto effectively takes the audience back historically as well as presenting iconic imagery of
the nostalgia of the loss and separation caused by the imprisonment and death of so many
individuals during the conflict. Once again the sense of hope is reprised through the score
and infers that the women and the men were not willing to allow the circumstances to destroy
their spirit.
pg. 52
1.
pg. 53
2. Complete the following analysis table.

Techniques
Dramatic Features
(Specific reference
to the text)
What is visualised
through these
dramatic features?
How does this

achieve and effect
meaning and
audience
response?
Photographs
staging interview
studio
spotlight
pg. 54
Techniques
Dramatic Features
(Specific reference
to the text)
What is visualised
through these
dramatic features?
How does this

achieve and effect
meaning and
audience
response?
soundtrack for context

and flashback
Language: tone: calm,

amused, accusative,
bleak follow the
stage directions and
list throughout for how
Misto constructs his
characters impact on
the audience; tone for
audience is:
confronting and
provocative, nostalgic,
reflective, poignant;
examine:
Motif
pg. 55
Techniques
Dramatic Features
(Specific reference
to the text)
What is visualised
through these
dramatic features?
How does this

achieve and effect
meaning and
audience
response?
alliterative phrasing
imperatives
simile
pg. 56
Analysis: Act One, Scene Eight

1. Read this scene again in pairs.
2. As you rRead through a second (!) time notate in the following table the following
features of the scene.
Dramatic Techniques:
Dramatic
Features
(Specific
reference to the
text)
What is
visualised
through these
dramatic
features?
How does this

achieve and
effect meaning
and audience
response?
set: motel roomlights,

props, Alka Seltzer, shoe-horn;
sound effects;
spotlights;
dramatic irony;
dualogue
stage directions
Language Techniques:
Dramatic
Features
(Specific
reference to the
text)
What is
visualised
through these
dramatic
features?
How does this

achieve and
effect meaning
and audience
response?
tone: whole scene:

provocative, confronting,
critical, empathetic,
incredulous;
character tone: impatient,
defensive, concerned,
reassuring, embarrassed,
polite, tense, concerned,
threatened etc
use stage directions
allusion,
metaphor
invectives
imperative verbs and phrases
exclamatory sentences
imagery,
repetition
crescendo of crickets to
heighten tension
alliteration
rhetorical questions
punctuation for phrasing and
pause,
flashback in voice over,
pg. 57
Summary, Act One, Scene Eight

This scene opens with the drinking of a glass of fizzing watera neat juxtaposition
with the earlier image of the glass of water and the images of hunger and thirst in
the camps. We learn that Sheila has missed an interview session because of her
hangover. The dialogue in this scene is also about past eventsand more recent
events.
Sheila questions Bridie about what she has said in the missed taping session and also seeks to
have Bridie recount the events of the previous night which are something of a blur in her
memory. This scene shows Bridie in a mothering rolea situation that is to be reversed before
the play ends.
Underpinning the interaction in this scene is an attempt by Bridie to understand why Sheila had
rejected her after they had been rescued from the camp at the end of the war. Finally, Sheila
takes out the shoe-horn and throws it onto the bed. Bridie sees her initials on it and begins to
question Sheila as to how she had come by it. There is now real tension between the two with
Bridie no longer in the position of control. Sheila recalls Belalau and retells the events which
Bridie was too sick to know aboutincluding Sheilas sacrifice for her. This revelation is
underscored by the noise of crickets which cut out as Bridie is faced with the truth. The scene
ends with a dramatic representation of the isolation of the two characters in the spotlights and the
voiceover flashback to the moment when Sheila returned from the Japanese with the tablets
for Bridie. The final moment on stage has Bridie turning to face Sheila, the slow fading of lights
and the song, After the Ball is Over.
pg. 58
The final scene of Act One brings the play to a climax. Explicit images of loss and shock are
presented through the dramaturgy including the costuming, positioning of actors in positions of
power on the stage, stage distance as a means of presenting isolation, facial gestures to
demonstrate the impact of the invectives and revelations and of course, the appearance of the
shoe-horn.
Implicit yet distinctively visual images are presented through the depiction of Sheila and other
POWs the evening prior at the dinner these imagined and implied images, whilst humourous,
are deeply troubling and reveal the innateness of memory; the images and experiences have not
dulled in the minds of the women. The fact that the imagery constructed here reveals
psychological hurt and damage is provocative and forces the audience to engage with the extent
of the experience. Further, the emotional reference to the little boy who wanted to ask Santa for
an egg evokes images of Christmas and childish joy being repressed by the conditions of the
camp. Even more evocative is Bridies retelling of other events from the previous evening. Sheila,
in an apparently intoxicated state, rejected Bridie vehemently and publicly reinforced the tension
that has existed between them since the beginning of the play. The dualogue between them
becomes quite aggressive and results in Bridie slapping Sheila a confronting visual of the fear,
sadness, tension and resentment for not keeping in contact and ironically, reveals more about
the affection and sadness than it does about anger. At this point in the scene Sheila is forced to
reveal she has the shoe-horn. The visual appearance of the central motif of the play is both
provocative and confronting. The shoe-horn, as we know from the beginning of the play, was a
gift from Bridies father and thus has rich emotional attachment to images of family and youth,
connectedness, an innocence prior to the war; its role in the camp as a metronome presents
images of community and music, moments of transcendence and the potential to rise above the
psychological constraints of the experience. There has been no mystery about it until this point in
the text, just the acceptance that it was lost and used as a bartering tool with the Japanese
referenced earlier in the play. Revealing the prop at this stage, seeing that it exists and has
existed as a symbol of experience reminds us of the impact and power of material objects and
visuals to evoke emotional reactions and responses.
Sheila having been in possession of the shoe-horn for so many years becomes a mystery to be
unveiled and the ensuing action, the proximity of the women, the sound effects take us back in
time through the dialogue. Sheila mentions Belalau the image of which is written on Bridies
face, and the horrors of that camp presenting a historical narrative from WWII. The imagery,
adjectives of beauty seen in the stunning colours of sunsets, the olfactory images of frangipani
raising sensual and exotic inferences and the descriptions of storms and their wonder and beauty
are contrasted against the horrors and screams of the women in the camp as they fought off
malaria. The evocative aural imagery of Sheila singing to Bridie, her vivid recollections of Bridie
in hospital and her physical condition explore the pain and suffering Sheila witnessed. The
intertextuality of singing Bridies favourite song adds layers of metaphorical meaning as the
nostalgia of the ball is a memory of life prior to the war when innocence and gaiety was the only
priority and at this point in the historical narrative Sheila is implying the fears she had for Bridies
impending death. The proximity of these women on the stage at this point reveals their closeness
in the war as well as the pressure that is on them at this point in the play. Bridies demand to
know where the quinine tablets (medicine used to stave off malaria and of course restricted
during the incarceration to the Japanese themselves) had come from becomes an answer she
fears. Mistos stage directions allow us to see and hear the dread in Bridies voice as she begins
to suspect the worst; the tension of the scene is palpable as the women face each other. Misto
adds sound effects at this point in the scene, crickets, adding an aural quality to the already
established sentience, of the exotic. However, the noise of the crickets is also reminiscent of
white noise, a buzzing to hide truth to stop the clarity of voice from being presented.
The crescendo of the cacophonous noise of the crickets fills the stage for the remainder of the
scene and the sudden silence at the end adds to the dark and light metaphors, a sense of
pg. 59
foreboding and evil that has enveloped the stage as this dramatic revelation is presented to both
Bridie and to the audience.
Sheila presents further images from her memories coffins, symbols of death. We do not need
to see them to experience the sadness and loss that they evoke or the fear that she experienced
in thinking Bridie would die. Her confession that she went to see Lipstick Larry, the alliteration
mocking his looks and presenting a caricature image of a Japanese officer (already punctuated
in audience memory by earlier images of his wearing loin cloths), raises horror for Bridie as she
slowly comes to realise what Sheila may have done to get the quinine that saved her life
reversing the irony of her invective just moments ago in the scene. The visuals we determine
from Sheilas description of the Japanese, pink cheeks, drunkenness reprise the images Bridie
has given us earlier of her experience in Lavender Street (Scene Five). The confronting and
devastating image that is evoked by Sheila retelling how the soldiers first made her sing,
ridiculing her and then dragging her back as she tried to leave resonates with the audience. The
effect on Bridie is also evident on the stage. The cessation of the cricket soundtrack leaves the
characters and the audience in an uncomfortable silence; the dramaturgy has Bridie turned away
from Sheila, unable to face the sacrifice that has been made for her. Sheilas demand for her to
turn and look at her, and Misto placing both women under separate spotlights highlights the
social distancing of them on the stage. The staging presents a metaphorical visualisation of the
distance between them in terms of values and attachment. The scene ends with a voice over of
the young Sheila singing Bridies favourite song. The dramatic irony is palpable; whilst Bridies
war was over the ball (listen to the lyrics to understand the intertextual metaphor here), Sheilas
has never ended and her hopes vanished. Bridies turning to face Sheila and her facial
expressions are the imperative here presenting the heightened emotion, the humility she feels
combined with the regret and disgust for what has happened to Sheila - and her own inability to
resolve the image of what occurred. The heroic stoicism here is profound. Imagery of heroes is
rarely of a young British woman whose sense or propriety has been her strength. The loss of
innocence resulting from this act of sacrifice has clearly had a long term impact on Sheila and to
carry the weight of it, and the shoe horn provokes the audience to imagine themselves in
similarly circumstances and whether they would be as committed to saving the life of another in
the same way.
Short Answer Questions

1. At the beginning of this scene, we learn about Sheilas exploits whilst drunk. What do we
learn?
2. Comment on the dramatic effect of having this action take place offstage and only
discussed in this scene.
3. What does this relationship suggest about Sheila and her relationship with Bridie?
4. Suspense is being created about the womens relationship. How is this continued in this
scene with Bridie questioning Shilea about her apparent unwillingness to rekindle their
relationship? What comments suggest that there is tension?>
5. Why do you think Shbeila refused to make contact with Bridie after WWII? Eexplain her
statement, And when something hurts you run away . Or you dig a hole and bury it.
6. Durng this scene, Sheila confesses how she gained the quinine. What is the shoe-horn
symbolic of now?
7. What is Bridies reaction to the discovery of Sheila sleeping with the japs?
8. At the conclusion of the scene we first hear the older Sheila talking and then the scene
finishes with the voiceover of the younger Sheila. What is the effect of this contrast?
pg. 60
Further Analysis, Act One, Scene 8

The final scene of Act One brings the play to a climax. Explicit images of loss and shock are
presented through the dramaturgy including the costuming, positioning of actors in positions of
power on the stage, stage distance as a means of presenting isolation, facial gestures to
demonstrate the impact of the invectives and revelations and of course, the appearance of the
shoe-horn.
Implicit yet distinctively visual images are presented through the depiction of Sheila and other
POWs the evening prior at the dinner these imagined and implied images, whilst
humourous, are deeply troubling and reveal the innateness of memory; the images and
experiences have not dulled in the minds of the women. The fact that the imagery
constructed here reveals psychological hurt and damage is provocative and forces the
audience to engage with the extent of the experience. Further, the emotional reference to the
little boy who wanted to ask Santa for an egg evokes images of Christmas and childish joy being
repressed by the conditions of the camp. Even more evocative is Bridies retelling of other events
from the previous evening. Sheila, in an apparently intoxicated state, rejected Bridie vehemently
and publicly reinforced the tension that has existed between them since the beginning of the
play.
The dualogue between them becomes quite aggressive and results in Bridie slapping Sheila a
confronting visual of the fear, sadness, tension and resentment for not keeping in contact
and ironically, reveals more about the affection and sadness than it does about anger. At
this point in the scene, Sheila is forced to reveal she has the shoe-horn. The visual
appearance of the central motif of the play is both provocative and confronting. The shoehorn, as we know from the beginning of the play, was a gift from Bridies father and thus has rich
emotional attachment to images of family and youth, connectedness, an innocence prior to the
war; its role in the camp as a metronome presents images of community and music, moments of
transcendence and the potential to rise above the psychological constraints of the experience.
There has been no mystery about it until this point in the text, just the acceptance that it was lost
and used as a bartering tool with the Japanese referenced earlier in the play. Revealing the prop
at this stage, seeing that it exists and has existed as a symbol of experience reminds us of
the impact and power of material objects and visuals to evoke emotional reactions and
responses.
Sheila having been in possession of the shoe-horn for so many years becomes a mystery to be
unveiled and the ensuing action, the proximity of the women, the sound effects take us back in
time through the dialogue. Sheila mentions Belalau the image of which is written on Bridies
face, and the horrors of that camp presenting a historical narrative from WWII. The imagery,
adjectives of beauty seen in the stunning colours of sunsets, the olfactory images of frangipani
raising sensual and exotic inferences and the descriptions of storms and their wonder and beauty
are contrasted against the horrors and screams of the women in the camp as they fought off
malaria. The evocative aural imagery of Sheila singing to Bridie, her vivid recollections of Bridie
in hospital and her physical condition explore the pain and suffering Sheila witnessed. The
intertextuality of singing Bridies favourite song adds layers of metaphorical meaning as the
nostalgia of the ball is a memory of life prior to the war when innocence and gaiety was the only
priority and at this point in the historical narrative Sheila is implying the fears she had for Bridies
impending death. The proximity of these women on the stage at this point reveals their
closeness in the war as well as the pressure that is on them at this point in the play.
Bridies demand to know where the quinine tablets (medicine used to stave off malaria and of
course restricted during the incarceration to the Japanese themselves) had come from becomes
an answer she fears. Mistos stage directions allow us to see and hear the dread in Bridies
voice as she begins to suspect the worst; the tension of the scene is palpable as the women face
each other. Misto adds sound effects at this point in the scene, crickets, adding an aural quality
pg. 61
to the already established sentience, of the exotic. However, the noise of the crickets is also
reminiscent of white noise, a buzzing to hide truth to stop the clarity of voice from being
presented.
The crescendo of the cacophonous noise of the crickets fills the stage for the remainder of the
scene and the sudden silence at the end adds to the dark and light metaphors, a sense of
foreboding and evil that has enveloped the stage as this dramatic revelation is presented to both
Bridie and to the audience.
Sheila presents further images from her memories coffins, symbols of death. We do not need
to see them to experience the sadness and loss that they evoke or the fear that she experienced
in thinking Bridie would die. Her confession that she went to see Lipstick Larry, the alliteration
mocking his looks and presenting a caricature image of a Japanese officer (already punctuated
in audience memory by earlier images of his wearing loin cloths), raises horror for Bridie as she
slowly comes to realise what Sheila may have done to get the quinine that saved her life
reversing the irony of her invective just moments ago in the scene. The visuals we determine
from Sheilas description of the Japanese, pink cheeks, drunkenness reprise the images Bridie
has given us earlier of her experience in Lavender Street (Scene Five). The confronting and
devastating image that is evoked by Sheila retelling how the soldiers first made her sing,
ridiculing her and then dragging her back as she tried to leave resonates with the audience. The
effect on Bridie is also evident on the stage. The cessation of the cricket soundtrack leaves the
characters and the audience in an uncomfortable silence; the dramaturgy has Bridie turned away
from Sheila, unable to face the sacrifice that has been made for her. Sheilas demand for her to
turn and look at her, and Misto placing both women under separate spotlights highlights the
social distancing of them on the stage. The staging presents a metaphorical visualisation of the
distance between them in terms of values and attachment. The scene ends with a voice over of
the young Sheila singing Bridies favourite song. The dramatic irony is palpable; whilst Bridies
war was over the ball (listen to the lyrics to understand the intertextual metaphor here), Sheilas
has never ended and her hopes vanished. Bridies turning to face Sheila and her facial
expressions are the imperative here presenting the heightened emotion, the humility she feels
combined with the regret and disgust for what has happened to Sheila - and her own inability to
resolve the image of what occurred. The heroic stoicism here is profound. Imagery of heroes is
rarely of a young British woman whose sense or propriety has been her strength. The loss of
innocence resulting from this act of sacrifice has clearly had a long term impact on Sheila and to
carry the weight of it, and the shoe horn provokes the audience to imagine themselves in
similarly circumstances and whether they would be as committed to saving the life of another in
the same way.
pg. 62
Collaborative Analysis Table, Act One, Scene 8.

Group 1
Dramatic techniques
Example from
Scene
Purpose
to shock
to teach
to broaden our
understanding
to illicit and emotional
response/
engagement
to amuse
to build tension / to
break the tension
to establish historical/
political context
to tell an untold story
to expose
to criticize
Themes / ideas
Distinctive / distinct
Memorable
Imprints on the mind
Unique
Vivid
Stands out
Engages the senses
Rich
Visually engaging
Visually surprising
Visually enticing
Visuals augment our
understanding and
emotional response
War
brutality
dehumanisation
post traumatic stress
propaganda
patriotism
Music
freedom
hope
unity
courage
Friendship
sacrifice
unity
shared experience
courage and conflict
sound effects
Spotlights
dramaturgy
dramatic irony
dualogue;
irony;
pathos;
bathos
pg. 63
Group 2
Dramatic techniques
Example from
Scene
Purpose
to shock
to teach
to broaden our
understanding
to illicit and emotional
response/
engagement
to amuse
to build tension / to
break the tension
to establish historical/
political context
to tell an untold story
to expose
to criticize
Themes / ideas
Distinctive / distinct
Memorable
Imprints on the mind
Unique
Vivid
Stands out
Engages the senses
Rich
Visually engaging
Visually surprising
Visually enticing
Visuals augment our
understanding and
emotional response
War
brutality
dehumanisation
post traumatic stress
propaganda
patriotism
Music
freedom
hope
unity
courage
Friendship
sacrifice
unity
shared experience
courage and conflict
tone: whole scene:

provocative,
confronting, critical,
empathetic,
incredulous;
character tone:
impatient, defensive,
concerned, reassuring,
embarrassed, polite,
tense, concerned,
threatened etc
use stage directions
metaphor
imperative verbs and
phrases
exclamatory sentences
pg. 64
imagery,
repetition
crescendo of crickets
to heighten tension
alliteration
rhetorical questions
punctuation for
phrasing and pause,
flashback in voice over,
pg. 65
Writing Activity Seven

Topic Sentence
The distinctively visual techniques within The Shoe Horn Sonata allows the responder
to witness the strong relationship between Bridie and Sheila have and share the
emotions they experience.
Overview

List three or four key uses of dramatic, visual and language techniques used in this scene.
(Ensure you also note the references or describe the examples. Make sure they connect to the
topic sentences.)
Level Two (Purpose)


How do the dramatic techniques and the distinctively visual elements in this scene evoke the
tensions and emotions in this relationship?
pg. 66
Writing Activity
pg. 67
Writing Activity Eight

Topic Sentence
The distinctively visual positions the responder to gain an experiences about past
events and personalities. This acts as a catalyst, exposing the responder to the
experiences of the women and the long term effects of war, that they suffered.
Overview

List three key uses of dramatic, visual and language techniques used in this scene. (Ensure you
also note the references or describe the examples. Make sure they connect to the topic
sentences.)
Level Two (Purpose)

pg. 68

How do the dramatic techniques and the distinctively visual elements in this scene enhance our
understanding and emotional response of the horror and sacrifice of war?
Writing Activity
pg. 69
Writing Activity Nine

Topic Sentence
The distinctively visual allows the responder to enter a world of despair and
vulnerability.
Overview

List three key uses of dramatic, visual and language techniques used in this scene. (Ensure you
also note the references or describe the examples. Make sure they connect to the topic
sentences.)
Level Two (Purpose)

How do the visual elements of this scene invoke a vivid response for the audience?

How do these responses link to the despair and vulnerability of Bridie and Sheila in this scene?
pg. 70
Writing Activity
pg. 71
Music in The Shoe-Horn Sonata, Act One

Music is used extensively through the play.
Music
Context in play
Fall In Brother
What is the impression that

is being created about the
British in the context of
WWII and the hype and
glorification of war?
Rule Britannia
What is the impression that

is being created about the
British in the context of
WWII and the hype and
glorification of war?
Something to
Remember you By
Act 1, Sc. IIii
Jerusalem
Act I, Scene 3
Happy Times
Act I, Scene 5
Bolero
Act I, Scene 5
Effect on visual imagery in the play

Remember your purpose words
pg. 72
Music
Context in play
Percy Grangers,
English Country
Garden
Act I, Scene 6
O Come All ye
Faithful
Act I, Scene 7
God Rest Ye Merry

Gentlemen
Act I, Scene 7
Well Meet Again,

performed by the
Inkspots
Act I, Scene 7
Effect on visual imagery in the play

Remember your purpose words
pg. 73
Projected Visual Images in The Shoe-Horn Sonata, Act

One
Visual Image
Projected
Stage Direction or
Context of visual
image
Act I, Sc i
Singapore
What else is
happening on the
stage?
What is the effect of

the visual images?
Here think
purpose verbs
and specifically
about distinctively
visual
Dont listen to
rumour . If only
they had .
Act I, Scene 3
Japanese flag
Act I, Scene 5
Photographs of the
women in Japanese
POW camps
Act I, Scene 5
Face of fierce
Japanese warrior
Act I, Scene 5
Photographs of
children in the POW
camps stick thin,
obviously starving
and malnourished
Two women
prisoners of the
Japanese in shocking
state of malnutrition
and mistreatment
Act I, Scene 6
pg. 74
Visual Image
Projected
Stage Direction or
Context of visual
image
Act I, Scene 7
Photographs of
women emaciated,
haggard,
impoverished
What else is
happening on the
stage?
What is the effect of

the visual images?
Here think
purpose verbs
and specifically
about distinctively
visual
pg. 75

Booklet 2 - Shoe Horn

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Booklet 2 - Shoe Horn

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Distinctively Visual

Nowra Christian School

3. How were Australian nurses regarded during World War II?

Synopsis of the Play

And Id do it all over again if I had to....cause Bridies my friend...

Analysis of the BOS Prescriptions for Unit

Elective 2: Distinctively Visual

Deconstruction of Syllabus Content

How language shapes meaning accessibility of language; simplicity of language; colloquial

Key Terms in the Study of English

identifying, comprehending, selecting, articulating, imagining, critically analysing and

the processes of imagining, drafting, appraising, reflecting and refining

any combination of the modes may be involved in responding to or composing print,

Suggested Sentence Starters

The audience for the text is suggested by

Synonyms such as viewer, reader, author etc can be developed here

Sentence starters relating to Distinctively Visual

The composer explores the effects of image through

Inspirational mantras ofevolve out of the challenges evident in

Propaganda and image have been used to

Sample HSC Essay Questions

(b) Effective imagery is always sensory

Analysis of the Text

1. Complete the following summary of Act One, Scene One.

1. Complete the following table:

Direct Quotation from text

Darkness. Out of the

Stage Directions images of

Stage directions present the

According to Crispin Taylor,

The need to keep the literal

Off stage voice over

RICK: Forty four ships

Creates surprise and

BRIDIE: When the guard

The audience has a visual

The motif is introduced and

Analysis - Act One, Scene Two

The lighting stage change reveals ..........................................................................................

The playwright indicates that there is ....................................................................................

The playwright notes that this ..

a scene shift to a motel room in Melbourne

2. Complete the following table:

Direct Quotation from

Literal and metaphorical

extensive stage directions

Misto then extends the

Visual tension and paradox

The lifting of the suitcase

The connection they had at

Writing Activity One

Level One (Technique and Example)

Level Two (Purpose)

Level Three (Analysis)

Act One, Scene Three

Explicit Example from

How it creates meaning

Body language and

Writing Activity Two

Overview (Topic Sentence)

Level One (Technique and Example)

Level Two (Purpose)

Level Three (Analysis)

Paragraph Writing Activity