Visual/oral/audio gotcha Barrie Keefe

When considering the options for the staging of gotcha I evaluated the advantages and disadvantages of proscenium arch, traverse, thrust & in the round. the only reason I could see that would make one of the other options better than proscenium arch was to use these different perspective to create different points of view, eg you may like a character from one side of the room but dislike them from the other side. I placed large pieces of set, eg door frame, window, etc in front of each side of the stage, this gave the effect that the audience were flies on the wall seeing the truth that the characters could not see. I think that this set design would also present a message about society, people show there true selves when no one is looking. In eventually decided that proscenium arch was the best option because in the round would create a unclear message, were as proscenium arch would create a clear linear message which is my goal. I decided that the lights would start bright and become dark to show time passing, I thought about changing the lighting depending on the tone of the seen, however I avoided this because this play is suppose to be naturalistic. This diagram represents my final decision.

Reactions to gotcha Barrie Keefe

 in the 70's there was a major economical depression, led by mainly labour who were in power at the time. at the time labour believed social justice, decency and reward for hard work. they are a centre left wing party, were as the conservatives are completely right wing. this play points out the errors of the comprehensive school system which began in 1965 by the Labour Party, therefore i believe that this play is anti-labour like many other plays at the time.

Gotcha is set in a east London comprehensive school in 1976 and the boy is a lower class student.

I believe that the topics brought forward in this play are still relevant today because it points out the flaws in the comprehensive school system, which is still being used today. One example is the large number of students in a single school, 2000, and how it can lead to less focused learning environments with 40+ students in one class. Another topic is that of recognition, in the play the teachers don't even know the boys name therefore showing they have never truly viewed him as a human being despite having him in there classes, recognition and reward is an important part of education and this play highlights how the comprehensive system usually doesn't account for these components. Finally the boy is obviously mentally unstable and besides sharing with people the faults of the comprehensive system, the play also touches on the issue of cognitive instability, this subject is unavoidable and will always be as relevant as day and night are daily routines, because depression, delusion and even insanity cannot be wiped out. 

context of gotcha Barrie Keefe

in 1976 barrie keefe wrote the play Gotcha, it reflects the culture and issues of the time. In the late 70s the comprehensive school system was still a new thing and there aims were to replace grammar schools and give people equal opportunities, however it had many problems including the size & the aim wasn't equal to the result. Gotcha highlights these flaws with the kid who is anonymous because of the size of the school.in the late 70s punk rock was very popular and the play possesses the same meaning and purpose as punk music,the need to be loud and aggressive, also the desire to be recognised. when the auditorium opens the Ramones starts to play, this punk song talks about revolution, the song also prepares people for the main concepts of the play. mary whitehouse was a social activist who opposed mainstream british media, including the television release of gotcha which she had banned from reruns. This shows how at the time what was acceptable on television was restricted.the Labour Party were in power at the time and was led by james Callahan, this led to economic collapse.