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A good reference is the Stranger things house 

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A good reference is the Stranger things house 

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Between 1960 and 1985 the church of England halved in size and then into the 90s 40% of its members stopped describing themselves as member. Since the 1930s there has been a steady decline in Christianity within Britain. However, in 1970 it was estimated that 71% of people belonged to a religion and attended services but by 2005 it was only 31%. This decline was a result of a change in British society, who had become more liberal, secular and materialistic. Christianity as a religion in Britain suffered as a result as the faith struggled to come to terms with modern social developments such as the ordination of women, contraception, and abortion.

·       This would suggest that Carol and Emma, women of a more liberal era may not have been tied to any religion if they believed in more liberal ways for women and Christianity the main religion within Britain was declining.

·       Also, for thousands of years suicide was a sin in Christianity, and it was not until the 1980s that the church lifted the prohibition on funerals for suicide victims and so it is unlikely that Carol would have had strong Christian beliefs if she was prepared to act against God by taking her own life. It was only in the 1990s that the pope acknowledged that mental illness may play in suicide.

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As a result of the rise in the standards of living in the late 60s package holidays to Europe had made travel more affordable and consequentially this developed the British palate with new and tasty ingredients. Dinner parties which had become increasingly popular were subject to new foreign dishes such as spaghetti Bolognese which was often accompanied by wine. Chains of restaurants began opening in every British town and served 70s classics such as melon or prawn cocktail, mixed grill or steak and for dessert the 70s favourites were black forest gateau or lemon meringue pie. Nightclubs also began offering food such as snack sausages, chicken, and scampi in a basket. By 1975 Brits were eating out more regularly and were becoming addicted to new spicy foods and began their love affair with the classic chicken tikka masala. Other popular 70s food consisted of devilled eggs, rice pudding, stuffed grapes, chicken kievs, instant mash, spam fritters and arctic roll.

Some of the iconic food of the 80s was the wispa bar, wine coolers, sun dried tomatoes which were added to many pastas and salads, squeeze its, space raiders, sex on the beach cocktails, the Seattle hotdog which consisted of a polish sausage topped with jalapenos or grilled onions in a toasted bun filled with cream cheese. Reeces pieces also gained huge popularity following their feature in the film ET which came out in 1982. Red bull, potato waffles, portobello mushrooms, pesto, pasta salads, muller corners, hubba bubba, hot pockets fruit roll ups, diet coke and unforgettably the happy meal and chicken nuggets.

90s food and snacks consisted of dairylea lunchables push pops, KP choc dips, Mr freeze ice pops, slush puppies, edible necklaces, poppets, cartoonies, party rings, cadburys animal biscuits mini milk lollies, candy sticks, iced gems, funny feet lollies. Classic desserts would be bannanas and custard or jam sponge and custard. A children’s meal may be chicken dippers, turkey dinosaurs, and potato smileys, spaghetti hoops on toast, haiwaiin pizza, bologna and white bread sandwich.

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Birch is an experimental writer Anatomy of a Suicide is a drama that explores the concept of nature Vs nurture. The plays themes range from depression, addiction, and sexuality. One of Birch’s biggest influences was Sarah Kane who wrote 4:48 psychosis which is usually interpreted as an expression of the experience of clinical depression which Kane herself suffered. The play is often seen as essentially her suicide note written before she hung herself at Kings college hospital London. Throughout the play Birch explores similar ideas.

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- Hospital
- Cliffs and the sea
- Carols and Johns House "middle of nowhere"
- What is said about the the house:

pretty special

Very expensive

The light is beautiful

South facing windows

Four bathrooms

Good attic space

Fields to look at (belong to neighbours though)

Public bridleway

Middle of nowhere

Plum trees outside

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The strong desire for change and the need to move away from the traditional canvas production offered the body of the author as its new surface

birth of the term contemporary art due to hippie movement

Performance art, a style distinctive from the theater, boomed

Creativity, always a mirror of the world, could no longer accept the predisposed idea which placed a woman solely as an object within a piece

feminism art shook the very ground art stood

feminist art addressed the social, political, and cultural concerns of womanhood, feminist artists sought to create a dialogue between the viewer and the artwork through the inclusion of a women’s perspective (I imagine this being quite important as Alice Birch herself is a feminist and her plays are being heavily influenced by feminism, including Anatomy of a Suicide. Both Carol and Emma were adults when the Hippie and feminism movements started, so I imagine both of the being involved with the topic)

photography became a new form of art: Cindy Sherman creating self portraits, projecting amongst other the roles of women in society

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Classic British Adverts from the 1970s Part 1/10

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Gives us a good idea of the life in the 60s and what houses, cars, etc looked like

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Dirty Dancing - Trailer (1987) Deutsch | German

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Film:

Star Wars, Jaws, Grease, The Exorcist, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Superman, The Godfather, Saturday Night Fever, Rocky, and Jaws 2

New Hollywood revolution (new generation of young filmmakers came to prominence in the United States)

TV:

1970s UK television featured a mix of traditional and more modern comedy (I imagine Carol and Emma watching a lot of TV as they don't work and are at home a lot looking after their children)

typical examples were Terry and June and Sykes.

Notable dramas included Play for Today and Pennies from Heaven. In police dramas, there was a move towards increasing realism; popular shows included Dixon of Dock Green, Z-Cars, Softly, Softly, and The Sweeney.

The science fiction show Doctor Who reached its peak

Literature:

Fiction in the early '70s brought a return to old-fashioned storytelling (for example Erich Segal's Love Story)

Racism remained a key literary subject.

The horror genre emerged, and by late 1970s Stephen King had become one of the most popular genre novelists.

rising cost of hard-cover books and the increasing readership of "genre fiction", the paperback became a popular medium

1977 brought many high-profile biographical works of literary figures, such as those of Virginia Woolf, Agatha Christie, and J. R. R. Tolkien (Due to Alice Birch being influenced by Virginia Woolf, I could imagine that Carol or Emma (although more likely Carol) have read and engaged with her work)

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54 million

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1950/60s:

1950: 15% had a fridge & freezers and tumble dryers were scarcely heard of and only 10 per cent of population had telephone

People listen to gramophone records

1959: Commercial television starts with the first ITV broadcast

For the fist time, virtually all houses had electricity

audio cassette, video recorder were invented

The first supermarkets opened – mainly in town centres. Now you could buy all your food in one shop

trains now run using electricity, which was much quieter and cleaner (big change for John?)

Many people no longer wanted holidays in Britain and went abroad (give us an idea of where Emma and Carol might have enjoyed travelling to)

1970s:

Concorde makes the world's first commercial passenger-carrying supersonic flight

Barbie, Sindy and Action Man dolls became very popular (Both having children, I imagine Carol and Emma being quite familiar with toys)

era of global travel began in 1970 when first Boeing 747 jet landed at Heathrow. Air travel became cheaper and now it is easy to take a holiday in almost any part of the world

coal mines were replaced by nuclear power plants

birth of modern computing:

pocket calculators, email, digital watch, digital camera, walkman, cell phone

1974: fist domestic microwave

64% people had a microwave

90% of families had a TV

colour TV was introduced more and more

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1950 - 70:

1950s Britain is regarded as a bleak period for feminism

it was common practice for companies to pay women less than men, irrespective of the skills involved

Ford sewing machinists strike of 1968 (women were paid way less than men)

1960s: only 25% of full-time students in the UK were females

1967: birth control pill was made available for all women with the NHS

1970s:

huge change for women (new awareness of female oppression for Carol, Anna which I imagine might have caused/increased their depression, Emma fighting against it)

Equal Pay Act 1970 prohibited any less favourable treatment between men and women in terms of pay and conditions of employment

The Methodist Church allows women to become full ministers for the first time

Sex Discrimination Act of 1975 protected people from discrimination on the grounds of sex or marital status

In the United Kingdom, the 1979 election resulted in the victory of its Conservative leader Margaret Thatcher, the first female British Prime Minister

1980s/90s:

Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women in 1981

Female genital mutilation was outlawed  by Prohibition of Female Circumcision Act 1985, which made it an offence to perform FGM on children or adults

1991: English criminal law declared it is possible for a husband to rape his wife

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The Journeys of Apollo 11, " The Conquest of the Moon ", NASA documentary (2009) HD

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People watching Apollo 11 Events unfolding

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People watching Apollo 11 Events unfolding

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social progressive values that began in 1960s, such as increasing political awareness and economic liberty of women, continued to grow

In 1971 Britain went decimal. Before this there was 12d in a shilling, and 20 shillings in a pound

1973 oil crisis and 1979 energy crisis

United States President Richard Nixon resigned as president in 1974, while facing charges for impeachment for the Watergate scandal

medication Thalidomide caused malformation of limbs of more than 10,000 babies, because the had been taken by pregnant women

This might explain why Carol doesn’t trust the nurse that took Anna away

New awareness for the environment and pollution

Boeing 747 makes its first commercial passenger trip to London from NY

Prince Charles, The Prince of Wales, joins the Royal Navy

Paul McCartney announces he was leaving The Beatles

Apollo 13 announces “Okay, Houston, we’ve had a problem here” as an oxygen tank explodes whilst they are on the way to the Moon

Conservative Party wins the general election, making Edward Heath the new Prime Minister of the UK

British aircraft crashes in Barcelona, killing 112 people.

Plane hijacking begins and is known as Black September. Three airliners are hijacked and blown up by Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine

Fiji gains independence from Great Britain.

The first march of the Gay Liberation Front takes place in London

1978 would become known as the "Year of Three Popes”

It was a decade of strikes - postal workers, miners and dustmen.

During the summer of 1976 the weather turned so dry that water supplies reached critical low levels.

In 1977, the whole nation celebrated the Queen's Silver Jubilee with street parties

In 1979: Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan, which led to ongoing war for ten years

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Facts that Carol and Emma would know about since they were born around 1940/50:

The Cold War (1945 1991)

1950: Labour wins the general election with Clement Attlee returned as prime minister

1950: Korea War

1950: Conservatives under Winston Churchill win the general election

1952: Elizabeth II became queen

1953: Watson and Crick publish their discovery of the structure of DNA

Vietnam war (1955 - 1975)

1955: Winston Churchill retires as prime minister and Conservatives win the general election, with Sir Anthony Eden as prime minister

1956: Britain switches on its first nuclear power station

1957: Prime Minister Sir Anthony Eden resigns and is replaced by Harold Macmillan

1963: France vetoes Britain's entry to the European Common Market. De Gaulle said the British government lacked 'commitment' to European integration (lol he knew)

1963: Conservative Sir Alec Douglas-Home becomes prime minister

1965: Death penalty is abolished

1966: England win the football World Cup

1967: Abortion and homosexuality are legalised

1969: Apollo 11: first manned lunar landing

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- Had a complicated upbringing (writes a lot about mental health issues and family relationship issues)

lived in a Commune for 5 years whilst growing up (one scene of Anatomy of a Suicide is set in a commune)

Her parents weren’t married so she got the name Birch after the commune where they lived (Birchwood Hall)

- Intention behind Anatomy of a Suicide was wether trauma could be passed on through DNA ("Once the suicide taboo has been broken in a family, does it becomes easier to repeat later? And how does one break out of that pattern so the cycle doesn’t become inevitable?" - Carol got it from her uncle?)
- Anatomy of a suicide was first play she wrote herself

wrote the play after having her son, and the brutality of birth is a key theme: "You’re told: 'Well, it’s something that so many women go through', and you’re expected just to deal with it; but at the same time it’s a violent and wonderful thing, enormous and completely life-changing." (explains why Carol was so freaked out about her birth and says a lot about Emmas character and that she can't sympathise with Carol, even though she also already gave birth)

She wrote it at night and in about 4 weeks and tried to find a form that would hold topics such as suicide, depression, …

They always rehearsed the whole play all together (all three storylines)

Johns last monologue to Anna is heartbreaking considering the fact that the play was released around the time of Ariana Grande concert Bomb attack

- “Well behaved women seldom make history” angered her and made her question a lot and research a lot about feminism, patriarchy & capitalism, which is why she likes to write for female performers (oppression of women is also a main theme of Anatomy of a suicide)

- She is very academically strong and smart (did very well in school and uni) and she’s a perfectionist which slows her down while writing as she wants it to be perfect (The subtext of Anatomy of a Suicide is very strong and every word is well thought through so its important to look at it in detail as there is a clear intention behind every action)
- With a family background in psychoanalysis, she draws on methods to understand people who will become her characters. “I work until I know that I could put them into any situation and know their responses as well as I know my own”

- She was influenced by Sarah Kane, Sylvia Plath & Virginia Woolf (Which underlines her interested in psychology)

- She wrote screenplay for Normal People (gives an idea of her writing and how it's being interpreted. Good starting point for Anatomy of a Suicide)

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Vogue proclaimed that in the 1970s “There are no rules in the fashion game now.” This was a due to the overproduction of cheap synthetic clothing. Generally, the look of the 70s can be characterised for both genders as tight on top and loose on bottom. The era saw the birth of anti-conformist casual chic approach to fashion consisting of sweaters, t-shirts, jeans and trainers etc. Achieving the female hippie look would consist of tie dye shirts, Mexican peasant blouses, ponchos, capes frayed jeans midi skirts and maxi dresses all in extremely bright colours. But by the mid-70s the hippie look had disappeared, and the casual look of slogan t-shirts cardigans and khakis had gained more popularity. By 1976 fashion had adopted a more Parisian peasant look including capes, turbans puffy skirts and shirts with billowing sleeves. By 77 fashion had become baggier and so it became more fashionable to flaunt more skin.

80s Fashion threw emphasis on the image of wealth through cheap clothes and accessories. Punk fashion also was born from the reactionary movement against hippie fashion and the materialist values of this decade. The first part of the decade was relatively tame compared to the second half with the iconic 80s bold and out there colours. Hair was big curly and heavily stylised and was accompanied by a make up look characterised by light coloured lips, dark and thick eyelashes and blush. The early 80s was more minimalist and subdued. Colours were more basic and plain. Women wore sweaters turtlenecks fur-lined puffer jackets faux fur coats, velvet blazers trench coats, crop tops, tube tops, knee length skirts, embroidered jeans and leather trousers. Flared trousers were out and replaced with a straight leg trouser. Towards the middle of the decade clothes became brighter and more colourful. Focus was given to slim miniskirts designer jeans spandex cycling shorts off the shoulder jumpers and overtight jeans. For men athletic clothing was more popular including tracksuits polo neck shirts beanies and hoodies again also with more subdued colours until the middle of the decade which brought in more colourful styles. Michael Jackson was a huge influence amongst the male youth with matching red/black leather trousers and jackets, white gloves and sunglasses.

The 1990s saw the return to minimalist fashion. There was a prominent shift towards tattoos, body piercings and also forms of body modification. The decade was dominated by supermodels in the fashion industry.  In 1992 grunge fashion broke into mainstream for both genders consisting of flannel shirts, ripped jeans, mom jeans, doc martens, combat boots band t-shirts oversized knit sweaters ripped tights and eco-friendly clothing made from recycled textiles and fair-trade organic cotton. But by 1994 grunge rapidly declined with fashion becoming more feminine and form fitting. Women wore tailored skirts and trouser suits, shorts skirts and dresses. They wore hot pants, slim pants baby doll dresses, animal prints, high shine fabrics such as satin metallics vinyl silk and sequins. A common look worn was a black slip dress worn over a tight white t-shirt. Between 1994-5 the sexy school girl look was trending. By the end of the decade the unisex casual chic look gained popularity with dark stonewashed jeans spaghetti strap crop tops and tracksuit bottoms. For men around the middle of the decade long hair, brown leather jackets, pullover baseball jerseys and graphic tees were standard. Pastel colours and bold patterns replaced black. Desirable accessories of the period included loafers, Chelsea boots, boat shoes, chunky digital watched shoulder bags, black/neon coloured high top sneakers and gold jewellery.

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Popular music in the 1970s evolved from the new forms of blues reock that was developed at the end of the 60s. Britain became increasingly influenced by third world music including Jamaican and Indian which resulted in new music scenes and subgenres. The influence of pub rock and American punk rock led to an increase in popularity of punk music which eradicated a lot of the existing pop music replacing it with a new wave of post punk bands who mixed different forms of music. The 70s pop music mostly consisted of groups playing guitars drums with occasional keyboards (Led Zeppelin, Queen, Pink Floyd, the Beatles,...). However, many individuals enjoyed successful pop careers such as Elton John, Rod Stewart and Gilbert O’Sullivan
Elton John:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xw0EozkBWuI
Blondie:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WGU_4-5RaxU

Disco fell out of fashion in the 1980s with genres such as post-disco, Italo disco, Euro disco and dance pop surging in popularity. Rock music also dominated the music industry which was characterised by heavy distortion, pinch harmonics, and whammy bar abuse. Adult contemporary, quiet storm and smooth jazz also gained popularity.  The 80s is also highly associated with the use of digital recording, synthesizers with synth pop and other electronic genres gaining a wider audience. This decade also saw the emergence of electro, techno, house and freestyle. This decade holds so many notable artists including Michael Jackson, Madonna, George Michael, Prince, Whitney Houston and The Police.
Take on Me:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=djV11Xbc914
Wham:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pIgZ7gMze7A
U2:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6DeDzsCGbsQ
Bon Jovi:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lDK9QqIzhwk

During the 90s there was the continuation of teen pop and dance pop with hip hop growing highly successful as well as rap reggae, contemporary R&B and Urban music. As far as rock, grunge Britpop and industrial rock and other alternative rock music emerged.
Nirvana:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zucJHYwi2Uc
Baby got back:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X53ZSxkQ3Ho
Oasis:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vU05Eksc_iM

MUSIC MENTIONED IN STORYLINE A:

Velvet Undergrounds, Venus in furs:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AwzaifhSw2c

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Economic influence of Storyline A (1970s, 80s, 90s)

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Economic influence of Storyline A (1970s, 80s, 90s)

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The early years of 1970s were a period of rapid economic growth, the bank of England deregulated the mortgage market meaning that high street banks could now lend mortgages. Consequently, this aided in the rise in house prices and consumer wealth. There was also a serious growth in credit and so the 70s became the first time we saw a first mass use of credit cards.

However, by 73 inflation in the UK was accelerating fast to over 20% there were mass strikes by miners and trade unionists and a total of 9million working days were lost to strike action. At the height of the strikes Britain was forced into a 3day working week in a bid to conserve energy. By 1974 Britain was hit hard with a recession. Later in the decade inflation continued to be a problem with a combination of rising oil prices and rising nominal wages, with the decade culminating in the winter of discontent.

WHAT ALL THIS MAY HAVE MEANT IN RELATION TO THE CHARCATERS WITHIN THE PLAY

·       Although the decade is cast in such a negative light it was actually a period of rising living standards and for John and Carol most likely a young couple, this era would have benefited them greatly from the growth in credit and would have enabled them to buy a house with greater ease and then also seen the rise in their property price which would later explain why the house is kept on in later generations.

·       Unemployment was certainly on the rise and perhaps this is why when the play starts Carol is without a job, although John does propose the idea of changing jobs at the beginning of the play this would have most likely have been quite difficult at the time.

The 1980s saw the Thatcher revolution which saw a break away from post war consensus and reforms came in such as privatisation, reducing the power of the trade unions, deregulation, and lower income tax rates. The government tried to tackle inflation aggressively, but unemployment was still a prevalent issue with a rise of up to 3 million which was the highest levels of unemployment since the great depression and precipitated riots during the summer of 1981. Following the recovery of the 1981 recession the UK experienced a long period of economic expansion and the growth rate reached record post war levels. House prices almost tripled and there was a strong growth in consumer spending and growth in imports. The decline in savings ratio and unbalanced economy led towards greater consumer spending.

WHAT ALL THIS MAY HAVE MEANT IN RELATION TO THE CHARCATERS WITHIN THE PLAY

·       The characters would most likely have been witness to the riots of 1981 and even of had them in the city where they were living.

·       Lower income tax would have meant John and Carol would have had more disposable income to spend on luxury items and therefore they would have experienced a rise in their standard of living, possibly spending more on renovations of their house which again would have greatly increased in value.

Following the successful years preceding the 1990s, the 90s bore witness to the decline in house prices which continued to fall even into 1995. During this decade, the primary economic objective was set towards avoiding future booms and busts and so by 1997 the Bank of England was made independent, giving them full control of interest rates. As a result, inflation remained low and people grew more optimistic as there were certainly not such wild inflation problems as the public had seen in the 70s and 80s. There was now greater economic stability. By the end of the decade unemployment was falling rapidly and the government even recorded a budget surplus.

WHAT ALL THIS MAY HAVE MEANT IN RELATION TO THE CHARCATERS WITHIN THE PLAY

·       With greater economic stability it would have meant our characters would have felt more stability within their jobs.

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1. Facts about what exists and has happened before the action of the scene begins.

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1. Facts about what exists and has happened before the action of the scene begins.

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Carol has a small waist again after pregnancy

Emma has a child called Daisy

Emmas mother was not allowed to see her, when Emma gave birth

Carols mothers name is also Anna

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2. Questions about what exists and has happened before the action of the scene begins. 

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2. Questions about what exists and has happened before the action of the scene begins. 

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What's the relationship like between Carol and Emma?

How long ago did Emma have Daisy?

What year is this set and where?

Why would Carol think that Emma dislikes her?

Why and what for did Emma clean the floorboards for?

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3. Facts about the immediate circumstances of the scene. 

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3. Facts about the immediate circumstances of the scene. 

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Emma has brought Carol flowers

Daisy wanted to come see her cousin

Carol has had a baby

The midwives are weighing the baby

The baby is healthy

The baby was named Anna

John is besotted with Anna

Daisy chose the flowers

Carol is emotional and cries

Carol is frightened and wants her mother

Carol loves her baby

Emma kisses Carol and then leaves her

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1. Facts about what exists and has happened before the action of the play (first scene) begins.

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1. Facts about what exists and has happened before the action of the play (first scene) begins.

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Carol tried to kill herself (with drugs and slit her wrists with razor blades in the bathtub)

Emma cleaned the floorboards of their house after her suicide attempt (water was overflowing from bathtub)

Carols and Johns marriage is complicated (He loves her more?)

Carol and Emma have a tense relationship (Carol doesn’t like it that John told Emma that she tried to take her life)

John is a train operator and is away a lot

Something happened with Carols uncle when she was 10years old (he tried to kill himself?)

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2. Questions about what exists and has happened before the action of the play/first scene begins. 

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2. Questions about what exists and has happened before the action of the play/first scene begins. 

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A, B, C: why are they all “depressed”

Why did carol try to kill herself & say that it was an accident when it clearly wasn’t?

Where is it?

What time is it? (1970 but when exactly?)

Why is Carols and Johns marriage complicated?

Where did John come from?

Why is Emmas and Carols relationship tense?

what happened to Carols uncle (scene 1)?

what do the fishes signify that are being mentioned in almost every scene?

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4. Questions about the immediate circumstances of the scene. 

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4. Questions about the immediate circumstances of the scene. 

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Why did Emma come to visit

When did Emma last speak to John

Why did Emma think it best not to bring Daisy

How long ago did Carol give birth

What is wrong with Carol's milk

Why didn't Carol want the midwives to take her

Why does Carol feel so on edge

Were there any other names to chose from other than Anna

Why does Carol cry

Is Carol actually tired

Why does Carol want her mother

Why is Carol scared