Q1: Write a response to the text. What did you think of it and why? What is the play about? You were asked to write notes as we went through - type these notes onto your blog.
A1: I really liked the play. I think a lot of the topics rasied were very sensitive yet issues needing more awareness from society. I think it covers many different perspectives of the eastend and the issues raised, creating quiet a diverse image of what the eastend is like. I liked this as it seemed very true to life, things never have just one side to it and often don't turn out how we think they will. For example East End Tales 4 presented someone helping an elderly lady, showing compassion, kindness and sympathy whereas East End Tales 5 shows domestic violence and abuse in the east end. However, it shows how many different people respond to this aspect of the East End in the community. In 'East End Tales 5' you have the Father who refuses to acknowledge it, pretending it doesn't exsist, turning the TV up ever louder to drown out the noise so its like its not happening. Then you have the reaction of the mother, accepting that it happens, concerned about what is going on and trying to do something about it. Finally you have the character of the women being abused, submissive and afrid to speak out, reling on someone else to speak out for her... Although no one ever does. The play is about the East End at present, however I think the writer has used this topic as a gateway to rasing a lot of issues and aspects of life that go unoticed. It shows many examples of situations in the East End giving the audience a intense yet fairly accurate view on the East End. The play has no characters or stage directions/describtions giving us the freedom to interperate and preform as we like. This way no one preformance is the same, each one showing unique aspects of drama. It could also mirror how each situation looks different through each persons eyes, representing how each action in the east end is recivied differently.
Q2: What was your favourite tale? Why?
A2: My favourite tales was 'East End Tales 5'. I think out of all of the issues raised 'East End Tales 5' raised the most important issue of our time. Domestic Violence... However, I liked it becuase it presented it through someones elses eyes, not through the absued or abuser perspective. It seemed, to me, to be stating an important point that becames more relavant each year. How do you respond to witnessing domestic violence? Many people refuse to accept that these things happen, like the father character in this tale. It makes it a lot easier for abuse to occur and a lot harder to prevent it. 'East End Tales 5' presents the issue as the cold hard reality that it is, it made me think and question our society, not only in the Eastend. I think this should be the main goal of most theatre, designed to make you think hard and question your world. This tale did that perfectly with an issue I believe to not only be extremly important but something that doesn't recive enough awareness in our society.
Q3: At the start of the session you were asked about what you thought of the East End.
What did you know at the start of the session? What knowledge did you develop by the end of the session?
A3: At the start of the session I didn't really know that much about the East End. I had been to Brick Lane ( around that area) but i had never experienced the East End in its true colours. I had seen Eastenders and from that I took a very negative view on the East End. All I had to go on was the typical negative view, that TV and no first handed experience had given me. I though it was this place were there were a lot of drugs, stabbing and gangs. A place with a lot of drama (like Eastenders) with very strong characters. I guess some of this is true but this only shows the negative things. Jake and Mateo, who live in the East End, gave us a view that shows both posative and negative. They said the negative image were shwoing is true but there are some good things too. There is an every day life like everywhere else, young kids just chilling in parks having a good time, a lot of busissness men going to and from work. They pointed out that the East End is very diverse with a lot of ethnicitys about and few white british people. Pubs are very important in the East End, both posative and negativly. They provide a nice community hang out for people after work yet they can also cause trouble as drunk people can often start fights easliy. At the end of the lesson this negative sterotype was removed and something a lot more balanced was put in its place, showing the negative and posative side to the East End just as East End Tales did.
Q4: What did your group do when you were asked to explore one of the tales?
A4: Our group was asked to explore 'East End Tales 6'. First we had the idea to retell it as a converston between friends at the same pub that it was set it. The story bouncing off each other as we all tell it yet are hearing it for the first time. This then developed in thre friends, one of which tells the story over a pint at the pub. Once the two characters in the story meet, two of the friends peel off. They go to where the story teller points and re act the story as she tells it, representing what the story teller can only see in her head. As she tells the story she acts as if her firends are still there, yet she distances her self from them and becomes absorbed in the tale. Telling it as she looks out the window clearly in thought. Lastly, in order to fit our play into the time frame we trimed the text down to key senetnces that describe what happens and also gets the meaning across, therefore fitting into our 2 minute time frame.
Q5: Start a research post on your blog. You will need to keep adding to this research over the term. You need to research the East End. Find out about the history of the East End. Research some events that have happened recently in the East End. Research some of the events from the text.
A5: A Timeout article about what to do in the East End. This tells me a lot about what is popular in the East End and also about the type of people who go there. This article is clearly aimed at regular customs of the popular shops showing me what people are into in the East End.
http://www.timeout.com/london/things-to-do/east-london-essentials-6
The programme 'Educating the East End' shows how teenagers can be in the Eastend. It shows one school, Frederick Bremer School and all of the programme is filmed in the school. Therfore its a non-fictional show. However, it only shows one school meaning the teenagers shown in this example are not nessaceraly every teenager in the Eastend.
http://www.channel4.com/programmes/educating-the-east-end
Eastenders however is a soap. This means its a fictional shows and all things in it are made up. Some of it is losly based on the Eastend but most plot lines are extremly exagerated and unlikely to happen to the same group of people over and over again. It also only presents a very negative aspect of the Eastend, giving a lot of people a very negative view on the area.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/search?q=eastenders
This article gives us some infomation on Jack the Ripper and what the East End was like in the time periodd that he opperated in. It coves these main points about the East End in the the 1880s:
Why were living conditions so bad in the East End?
How did people survive?
Who were Jack the Ripper’s victims?
Why didn’t the police catch Jack the Ripper?
How did the Jack the Ripper story end?
- See more at: http://www.museumoflondon.org.uk/explore-online/pocket-histories/jack-ripper-and-east-end/#sthash.FDmo9yQi.dpuf
Why were living conditions so bad in the East End?
How did people survive?
Who were Jack the Ripper’s victims?
Why didn’t the police catch Jack the Ripper?
How did the Jack the Ripper story end?
- See more at: http://www.museumoflondon.org.uk/explore-online/pocket-histories/jack-ripper-and-east-end/#sthash.FDmo9yQi.dpuf
http://www.museumoflondon.org.uk/explore-online/pocket-histories/jack-ripper-and-east-end/
This is an article about a photographer,David Bailey, from the East End in 1961
http://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2014/nov/13/david-baileys-best-photograph-60s-london-east-end
This is about a play that raises some issues about childrens road saftey in the East End. This tells me a lot about the attitudes of the East End not only about the kids but also about the parents. The fact the a lack of road saftey is so common could mean that parents don't pay much attention to it.
http://www.hackneygazette.co.uk/news/education/half_moon_theatre_shines_its_light_of_east_end_children_s_road_safety_1_3902749
Photos of the East End at present:
A1: I really liked the play. I think a lot of the topics rasied were very sensitive yet issues needing more awareness from society. I think it covers many different perspectives of the eastend and the issues raised, creating quiet a diverse image of what the eastend is like. I liked this as it seemed very true to life, things never have just one side to it and often don't turn out how we think they will. For example East End Tales 4 presented someone helping an elderly lady, showing compassion, kindness and sympathy whereas East End Tales 5 shows domestic violence and abuse in the east end. However, it shows how many different people respond to this aspect of the East End in the community. In 'East End Tales 5' you have the Father who refuses to acknowledge it, pretending it doesn't exsist, turning the TV up ever louder to drown out the noise so its like its not happening. Then you have the reaction of the mother, accepting that it happens, concerned about what is going on and trying to do something about it. Finally you have the character of the women being abused, submissive and afrid to speak out, reling on someone else to speak out for her... Although no one ever does. The play is about the East End at present, however I think the writer has used this topic as a gateway to rasing a lot of issues and aspects of life that go unoticed. It shows many examples of situations in the East End giving the audience a intense yet fairly accurate view on the East End. The play has no characters or stage directions/describtions giving us the freedom to interperate and preform as we like. This way no one preformance is the same, each one showing unique aspects of drama. It could also mirror how each situation looks different through each persons eyes, representing how each action in the east end is recivied differently.
Q2: What was your favourite tale? Why?
A2: My favourite tales was 'East End Tales 5'. I think out of all of the issues raised 'East End Tales 5' raised the most important issue of our time. Domestic Violence... However, I liked it becuase it presented it through someones elses eyes, not through the absued or abuser perspective. It seemed, to me, to be stating an important point that becames more relavant each year. How do you respond to witnessing domestic violence? Many people refuse to accept that these things happen, like the father character in this tale. It makes it a lot easier for abuse to occur and a lot harder to prevent it. 'East End Tales 5' presents the issue as the cold hard reality that it is, it made me think and question our society, not only in the Eastend. I think this should be the main goal of most theatre, designed to make you think hard and question your world. This tale did that perfectly with an issue I believe to not only be extremly important but something that doesn't recive enough awareness in our society.
Q3: At the start of the session you were asked about what you thought of the East End.
What did you know at the start of the session? What knowledge did you develop by the end of the session?
A3: At the start of the session I didn't really know that much about the East End. I had been to Brick Lane ( around that area) but i had never experienced the East End in its true colours. I had seen Eastenders and from that I took a very negative view on the East End. All I had to go on was the typical negative view, that TV and no first handed experience had given me. I though it was this place were there were a lot of drugs, stabbing and gangs. A place with a lot of drama (like Eastenders) with very strong characters. I guess some of this is true but this only shows the negative things. Jake and Mateo, who live in the East End, gave us a view that shows both posative and negative. They said the negative image were shwoing is true but there are some good things too. There is an every day life like everywhere else, young kids just chilling in parks having a good time, a lot of busissness men going to and from work. They pointed out that the East End is very diverse with a lot of ethnicitys about and few white british people. Pubs are very important in the East End, both posative and negativly. They provide a nice community hang out for people after work yet they can also cause trouble as drunk people can often start fights easliy. At the end of the lesson this negative sterotype was removed and something a lot more balanced was put in its place, showing the negative and posative side to the East End just as East End Tales did.
Q4: What did your group do when you were asked to explore one of the tales?
A4: Our group was asked to explore 'East End Tales 6'. First we had the idea to retell it as a converston between friends at the same pub that it was set it. The story bouncing off each other as we all tell it yet are hearing it for the first time. This then developed in thre friends, one of which tells the story over a pint at the pub. Once the two characters in the story meet, two of the friends peel off. They go to where the story teller points and re act the story as she tells it, representing what the story teller can only see in her head. As she tells the story she acts as if her firends are still there, yet she distances her self from them and becomes absorbed in the tale. Telling it as she looks out the window clearly in thought. Lastly, in order to fit our play into the time frame we trimed the text down to key senetnces that describe what happens and also gets the meaning across, therefore fitting into our 2 minute time frame.
Q5: Start a research post on your blog. You will need to keep adding to this research over the term. You need to research the East End. Find out about the history of the East End. Research some events that have happened recently in the East End. Research some of the events from the text.
A5: A Timeout article about what to do in the East End. This tells me a lot about what is popular in the East End and also about the type of people who go there. This article is clearly aimed at regular customs of the popular shops showing me what people are into in the East End.
http://www.timeout.com/london/things-to-do/east-london-essentials-6
The programme 'Educating the East End' shows how teenagers can be in the Eastend. It shows one school, Frederick Bremer School and all of the programme is filmed in the school. Therfore its a non-fictional show. However, it only shows one school meaning the teenagers shown in this example are not nessaceraly every teenager in the Eastend.
http://www.channel4.com/programmes/educating-the-east-end
Eastenders however is a soap. This means its a fictional shows and all things in it are made up. Some of it is losly based on the Eastend but most plot lines are extremly exagerated and unlikely to happen to the same group of people over and over again. It also only presents a very negative aspect of the Eastend, giving a lot of people a very negative view on the area.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/search?q=eastenders
This article gives us some infomation on Jack the Ripper and what the East End was like in the time periodd that he opperated in. It coves these main points about the East End in the the 1880s:
- Why were living conditions so bad in the East End
- How did people surivie
- Who were Jack the Rippers victims
- Why couldn't the police catch him
- How did the Jack the Ripper story end.
This is an article about a photographer,David Bailey, from the East End in 1961
http://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2014/nov/13/david-baileys-best-photograph-60s-london-east-end
This is about a play that raises some issues about childrens road saftey in the East End. This tells me a lot about the attitudes of the East End not only about the kids but also about the parents. The fact the a lack of road saftey is so common could mean that parents don't pay much attention to it.
http://www.hackneygazette.co.uk/news/education/half_moon_theatre_shines_its_light_of_east_end_children_s_road_safety_1_3902749
Pubs features higly in this play. This article is about the best pubs in East London. By looking at this it gives me a better idea of what the pubs are like and what makes a good pub in East London. http://www.timeout.com/london/bars-and-pubs/best-pubs-in-london-in-east-lon
This is the website of the writer of East End Tales. It gives a little bit of background knowledge on the play and how it was written. http://finkennedy.co.uk/East-End-Tales
Here is a small extract from the website:
'It was written as part of a Half Moon Young People’s Theatre Scriptworks project for Mulberry School for Girls in Tower Hamlets, London. The story ideas were developed by a group of Year 10 Bengali girls over a number of weeks through a mixture of improvisation and written exercises, before being shaped and written up in a lyrical style.The stories range from short contemplations on the nature of east London, through to longer tales of domestic violence, the drudgery of low-skilled jobs, petty crime and high density living. '
Some background information on the writer of East End Tales:
Finn Kennedy attended Goldsmiths College, University of London in 2001 and graduated with a Distinction MA Writing for Performance. His first play, Protection, was produced at Soho theatre in 2003. Since then he has continued to write plays in a ensemble group narrative style such as Stolen Secrets, Mehndi Night and East End Tales. For the past four years he has been the Writer-in-residence at the Mulberry School for Girls. 
This is a link to a interview with Fin Kennedy with The Guardian. This gives me some insight into the concepts behind his work and to who he is as a person. It gives me the knowledge to understand the angle at which he wrote East End Tales and therefore helping me to understand the play as a whole.
Photos of the East End at present:
A great start, make sure you keep it up to date.
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