“All My Sons” written by Arthur Miller and directed by Michael Emans, is a family

drama produced by Rapture Theatre and performed at Adam Smith Halls in

Kirkaldy on September 10th 2015. The play is set just after the Second World
War in the back garden of the Keller Family. Plagued with the disappearance of
their son Larry and the memories of Joe’s factory producing cracked engine
heads responsible for the deaths of twenty one pilots and a court case which saw
Joe’s partner imprisoned, the play centres on the Keller family dynamic and its
eventual demise when the truth about Larry’s disappearance is revealed. The
two main aspects of the play which highlight the near sightedness of the middle
classes, human judgement and the idea of a “good man” committing a terrible act
is the acting within the play and directorial choices as they are able to effectively
convey to the audience that the idea of the “nuclear family” simply does not exist
and that every person has their flaws.

The acting within the play is one of the most effective ways in which the
audience is able to understand the Keller Family dynamic and the near
sightedness of this family, whom are able to ignore the terrible act their father
committed. An example of particularly good acting skill within the play is the
contrast in the way Paul Shelley who played Joe Keller conveyed the character
within the acts. Within Act One Joe is portrayed to be a rather jovial character,
constantly joking around with his family and neighbours. He is also portrayed to
be the “family man” who works hard to provide for his loved ones and is very
caring of them. This is shown through his interaction with his son Chris, Ann and
his wife Kate. When Chris and Ann are sharing an intimate moment and are
locked in a passionate embrace, Chris enters the stage through the house’s back
door and shouts “What is this, Labour Day?” to break the couple up. The situation
ultimately comes off as funny because Joe essentially breaks the awkward
tension by making a joke at his son’s expense. The line can also be seen as an
innuendo hinting towards Chris and Ann’s intimate acts, as he is referring to the
pair heading towards sexual intercourse had he not interrupted them. This
therefore displays the character’s quit wit and comical mind. This side of Joe
therefore creates an image of a good man to the audience, which makes the
contrast of his character in the second and third acts more effective. Within Act 2
it is revealed that Joe was responsible for the killing of the twenty one men as his
factory had produced faulty engine heads for the aeroplanes and knowingly sold
them in order to make money. Secondly in act three Kate reveals that she does
not believe Larry to be dead, otherwise it would mean that Joe had killed him. In
these revelations the audience will therefore get a different perception of Joe’s
character as they will see his humour as a way to mask his guilt and the family
acting as if Larry had not died as a way to turn a blind eye to the real goings on.
Once the revelations have been made Joe then acts more menacingly towards his
family stating he would kill himself and making a comparison between Larry and
Chris on how they would have handled the situation, thereby challenging the
audience’s perceptions on people and teaching them that you cannot judge what
a person is like. The comparison is also effective because it shows that even the
best of men can do the worst of things and indirectly challenges the American
Dream, as Joe was so caught up in creating a better life for his family that he
ended up killing people in order to get there.

Lauren Thom Higher Drama 14/09/15

Another particularly good example of acting skill comes in the form of the Keller
family neighbours Sue and Jim Bayliss (played by David Tarkenter and Lyn
McAndrew respectively), due to their two faced interactions with the family and
those outwith it. A particular example which shows the two faced nature of Sue
Bayliss is the conversation she has with Ann in Act Two surrounding Chris and
his involvement in Joe’s company. She claims that she hates Chris as she believes
he is stealing money from his father and that his advice to her husband Jim had
made him delirious. In contrast to this, when Chris enters the garden she
addresses him in a rather friendly manner and acts as if she likes him. The
audience will therefore be able to pick up on the fact that Sue possesses rather
cynical and two faced qualities as she expresses negative feelings about the
Keller family behind their back, but when faced with them she tries to remain
their “friend”. Her cynical and judgemental nature is further displayed when she
addresses Ann as the “female version” of Chris, which is aimed to be a passive
aggressive insult towards Chris’ nature and how he is affecting Ann’s personality.
This situation creates a dramatic impact because Sue acts as a representation of
a quality that all humans possess. She effectively conveys that even the best of
people can be snide and judgemental towards others, as we can assume the
worst in people. Another example of harsh judgement and the middle classes
being near-sighted is displayed through the backstory that Sue provides to Ann
stating that the people in the neighbourhood hated the Kellers labelling them
“murderers”, even though Kate and Chris had no involvement within Joe’s
actions. However the characters of Jim and Sue choose to turn a blind eye to
what Joe had done, despite knowing the extent of the situation to therefore
demonstrate to the audience that people will ignore even the most serious of sins
if family or friends are involved. This will therefore resonate with the audience
as they will be able to find these qualities within themselves and also understand
the message that the play is trying to convey.

One of the most effective pieces of acting within the play that clearly conveys the
near sightedness of the middle classes and flaws within the Kellers’ ‘nuclear
family’ is the heated exchange between Joe and Chris in Act 3 when Chris returns
following the revelation that his father was responsible for the deaths of Larry
and twenty one other pilots. Prior to the revelation Chris had believed his father
to be a good man. This was displayed in the previous act when he defends his
father in front of Ann’s brother George (who’s father was convicted because of
Joe) as he believes so strongly in this aspect. However within Act 3 their
relationship has clearly taken its toll on Chris. Within this act his mannerisms
and defining characteristics change. A man who was once full of life in this act
becomes more reserved, calculating and in his words “practical” as he has
become like every other person out there. The actor Robert Jack, who played
Chris, conveys the broken nature of the character through his actions and body
language. An example of this would be when Joe goes to reach out and hug his
son; Chris instantly withdraws and backs away from Joe. This action creates
dramatic impact and is ultimately effective as it displays a sense of hatred and
resentment that Chris would be feeling as he trusted and loved a man who killed
his own family. It also effectively conveys to the audience that Chris and Joe’s
relationship is severely damaged and the revelation has broken Chris himself
due to how fond of his father he was prior to the revelation. The audience will be

Lauren Thom Higher Drama 14/09/15

able to relate to this situation as they would have experienced something similar
at any point in their lives and would be able to pick up on the message that no
family or person is “perfect”.

The final example of particularly good acting skill within the play comes from the
character of Kate as she embodies the near sightedness of the middle classes and
the negative aspects of the American Dream through the way in which she acts
concerning her “missing” son Larry. Throughout the play Kate is represented to
be a delirious and almost too hopeful of a person, talking about her son as if he
were still alive, despite the fact that he had not returned from the war for nearly
three years. Whenever Kate is told by either Chris or Ann to move on, her
mannerisms change to being rather tense as she is commonly seen standing with
her arms folded across her chest or toying with her clothing. Also at various
times she tends to say things such as “Larry is still alive” and at one point she
mentions that there had been people missing for a longer time than Larry and
had been found alive, so she would still hold out hope. This presents Kate as a
delirious character to the audience as the rest of her family and friends have
accepted that Larry is dead and have moved on from that, where as Kate is
holding on to false hope. This representation is furthered when she does not give
Chris permission to marry Ann because she was “Larry’s girl”, as the idea of
letting Ann move on would truly mean that Larry was deceased. However within
Act two the reasoning as to why Kate maintains such a ridiculous idea is revealed
as Joe (her husband) was inevitably responsible for the death of her son, so if she
does not acknowledge that Larry died this therefore means her husband was not
a murderer. Joe was not completely responsible for Larry’s death however as it
was revealed in Act 3 while Chris reads aloud Larry’s final letter to Ann that he
committed suicide because of his father’s responsibility in the killing of the
twenty one pilots. The single reveal of Joe killing Larry creates dramatic impact
as it shows a clear representation of the blindness of the middle class society and
to what extent the “American Dream” will push people to have the “perfect”
family. Kate chooses to blatantly disregard her husband’s status as a murderer in
order to maintain a normal life and have a coping mechanism for her son’s death.
Although the example has gone to the extreme, the intention to have the
audience see aspects of their own situations in the Keller family and
acknowledge that they have turned a blind eye to the wrongdoings of a family
member to maintain “normality” at some point in their lives will have been
achieved.

Although there were some examples of particularly good acting skill within the
play, there were moments that did not give the intended atmosphere or outcome
that they were supposed to. An example of this would be the character of George
played by Michael Moreland. The character of George was meant to convey the
ideology of judgement and overcoming naivety as he had seen the errors of his
ways by not believing in his father’s innocence. The character is also meant to be
headstrong and his intentions for Ann are meant to blind him from seeing the
caring nature within Chris. However this was not fully displayed within the play
as the character’s reactions to situations such as Ann refusing to leave with him
seemed rather mechanical and unconvincing, therefore breaking the audience’s
suspension of disbelief. The intended effect of the play being set in post World

Lauren Thom Higher Drama 14/09/15

War II America was also broken as the actor playing George was unable to
maintain a convincing American accent throughout the time he was on stage,
therefore once again ruining the atmosphere that the play is trying to create. The
actor began slipping into a Scottish dialect in various points of the play, when he
should have been putting on a New York style accent; cohesive with the
character he was playing. However, the caring nature of the character towards
his sister were clearly displayed through his interactions with her in Act 2. The
pair are seen to be rather intimate, sitting closely together when speaking and
comforting each other on various occasions. This effectively creates a sense of a
“sibling bond” between the pair despite the fact that they had been separated
from each other for many years. Although these actions may be effective at
conveying the closeness that the siblings have with one another, George’s forced
facial expressions, gestures and overly stiff manner ruins the character and
makes him less appealing and realistic to the audience. Furthermore the actor’s
failed attempt at trying to maintain a convincing American accent throughout his
appearance contributed to the loss of the overall atmosphere and a failure in
displaying to the audience that the hatred his character felt towards Joe Keller
left him blind to the good nature of the others and that the character could be
spontaneous and compassionate, but his “professionalism” had taken over.

The acting within All My Sons essentially creates a stepping stone towards
conveying the key themes of a good man doing a terrible thing, the middle class
near-sightedness of society and the negative aspects of the American Dream.
Whilst some of the acting points within the play were strongly able to convey
these themes, others lacked in comparison and therefore failed to deliver the
required themes in a way that the audience would understand.

Apart from the acting within the play, the director’s choices surrounding the
production were of significant importance in conveying the themes of middle
class near sightedness and the negative aspects of the American dream. One of
the first directorial choices that had a significant impact upon the play was the
use of the single setting throughout its duration. This is a rather unique feature
of the play as most modern productions tend to have a change in setting or
location to keep the audience engaged with the piece and to keep the narrative of
the play moving forward in a cohesive fashion. However, the source material that
the play was created from demands that only a single set should be used, so the
director made the choice to have the set remain the same throughout. To ensure
that the audience are still able to engage with the play and have a definitive
sense of setting and time, more attention to detail had to be placed within the set,
props and lighting used. A clear example of setting being used to distinguish the
time period of the play would be the placement of articles such as the American
football lying on the ground downstage left. The football was deliberately placed
on the stage to convey to the audience that the play is set within America, as
American Football is one of the major sports played within the country. Another
example would be the wooden country style house that the family live within.
The wooden house was deliberately selected by the director as the rustic style
would therefore convey to the audience that the Keller family lived in a different
time period as suburban houses are made from brick rather than wood. Finally
the director used props such as leaves within Act 1 where Kate picks one up after

Lauren Thom Higher Drama 14/09/15

having a particularly horrid memory, to ensure that the audience can tell the
time passage between seasons. The leaves are brown in colour and the garden
was littered with them during the scene, so this would therefore effectively
convey to the audience that the scene would have been set in the autumn.
Therefore the director’s choice on setting was able to convey the setting and time
passages effectively in a way that the audience would be able to understand due
to the simple conventions that the props and setting give off.

The second choice in which the director made to ensure that the transitions
between acts were clearly distinguished was to have the theme of aeroplanes
prominent within each of them. Within the opening moments of the play, the
director chose to place a young boy, dressed in clothes that would have been
worn before the time period of the play and to have him pretend to fly a wooden
toy aeroplane. The small piece was of further significance as a dim wash was
used to create a mysterious and dream like aspect and an aeroplane sound effect
quite similar to that of a World War II fighter aeroplane is used over the
movement piece. This particular example was incredibly effective at creating a
tension filled atmosphere as the dark nature of the sequence compared to the
well lit scenes taking place in the Keller’s back yard sets it apart from the main
action in the play and determines to the audience that the dark sequences are
not in “reality”. The piece is also effective because the sound effect and visual of
the aeroplane act as foreshadowing to Larry’s death and the revelation that Joe
was responsible for it. The use of the young child dressed in clothes outwith the
1940’s time period is also significant as it could be a subtle representation of
Larry as a young boy, therefore once again foreshadowing his fate and leaving
the audience wishing to know more about him and keeping them engaged with
the material. A similar technique is used within the transition between Act 1 and
Act 2 where Kate had been talking about her dream of Larry dying in an
aeroplane crash. The lights once again fade to a dim wash and the sound of an
aeroplane can be heard whilst Kate stands frozen, centre stage. Once again this
transition is effective because it displays a dream like atmosphere for the
audience and the contrast between the lightness of the previous scene will help
them to distinguish a time passage in the narrative. However, the use of the
aeroplane will reinforce the idea that it is an item of significant importance to the
audience and acts as foreshadowing of Larry’s cause of death. Finally the piece
creates a dramatic impact as Kate’s failing to acknowledge the aeroplane passing
conveys the theme of near sightedness and ignorance to the audience without
them knowing it.

A particular choice of direction that was effective in conveying the relationship

between Chris and Ann within Act One is when the two are alone and eventually
confess their feelings for one another. When the interaction first begins the
director chose to have the pair on opposite sides of the stage. Ann is standing
centre stage right and Chris is standing centre stage left. The separation between
them was intended by the director to show the barrier between each other due
to their involvement with Larry and how it is keeping them apart. As the
dialogue progresses within the section the actors slowly move closer together
with small and subtle movements. This ensures that the movement of the pair
towards being engaged is a slow and rather unnoticeable change, but there is still

Lauren Thom Higher Drama 14/09/15

progression. The atmosphere created from this piece was intended to be slightly
awkward as the slowness of the movement towards their relationship is
deliberately structured so the audience will continue to engage within the play
due to anticipation of the pair getting together. As the movement draws towards
a climatic point, the couple move into a more intimate distance from each other,
hinting that the relationship will emerge soon, before Chris confesses his feelings
and asks Ann to marry him. Ann then responds with a kiss and the action of the
kiss therefore conveys to the audience that the distance between the pair has
now been closed as they have decided to marry each other. The director also
intended for this section to represent the pair moving on from Larry’s death and
overcoming their naivety of believing he was still alive. Within the play Ann had
always been labelled as “Larry’s girl” and Chris was always seen as “Larry’s
brother”, however when the pair come together this is symbolic of them leaving
behind the past and creating new identities for themselves as an engaged couple,
instead of their labels blindly given to them by friends and family.

Although there were directorial choices that improved the overall quality of the
play, there were other choices that did not quite execute what they were meant
to convey. An example of this would be the use of flashbacks at random moments
to signify that the characters of Chris, Ann and George were thinking of their
childhoods. The director chose to have the actors glance off into the distance
while the sounds of children laughing were playing in the background. The lights
would then dim to show that there was a difference between the normal action
and the memories that the characters were having. Two moments in which this
piece was used was when George was glancing at the broken tree, planted as a
memorial for Larry and when Ann was remembering playing in the Keller’s back
yard many years previously. Within each of these examples the actors would
stare blankly at a particular spot and stop talking. The lights would dim while the
sound of childhood laughter was being played. The intention of this piece was to
create a sense of memories haunting the characters as laughter is significant to
happy memories and the circumstances in which the characters are in each
other’s company again is far from the light hearted childhood that they all once
shared. However the intended effect was not created as the action overall seems
rather unnecessary as it does not fit into the minimalistic and realist setting that
the play had initially tried to create. All it does however is break the audience’s
suspension of disbelief as the action feels rather forced and unintentionally
reminds the audience that they are watching a piece of theatre as opposed to a
slice of real life. There is also a moment during a flashback when Ann states that
she has never liked the dark, which is meant to be a reference to the dark nature
of the flashbacks, however this line does not make sense as when the flashbacks
happen the lighting does not crossfade into a blackout, but a dim wash therefore
making the line void and the director’s attention to detail seem questionable.

The final directorial choice that seemed questionable was the use of constant
unnecessary movement throughout the play and Ann’s stance and actions. As the
play uses a single setting, it would be hard to engage the audience for the entire
duration as there is a lack of action in the first half of the play and many
members of the audience would easily become disinterested. To combat this the
director chose to have the actors moving around the stage constantly, whether

Lauren Thom Higher Drama 14/09/15

they be moving from sitting in a chair to pacing around, or from one end of the
stage to the other. There was always movement no matter how great or small. On
some occasions this direction worked as the scene where Chris confronts Joe
about what his involvement was in the deaths of the pilots would have been less
effective had Chris not moved into Joe’s face and pushed him into the trellis
bench out of anger. However within other scenes such as when Ann is pacing
around the garden and no dialogue is being spoken, this action seems rather
unnecessary and quite forced, therefore making the play less believable to the
audience and once again breaking the sense of the play being a real life situation.
Secondly a particular direction that did not correspond well to the overall feel of
the piece was the directorial choice to have Ann act as if she was a 1940’s “pin up
girl” through her stance and actions. In one moment of the play when the Keller
family and Ann are gathered within the Keller’s back yard, Ann is stood as if she
is subtly trying to seduce the audience and is also rather rigid and stiff looking.
The direction was to try and make Ann seem as if she was like a pin up girl or a
Hollywood leading lady as making her seem more glamorous would emphasise
that she no longer belonged in the setting of the Keller’s home and that her time
in New York had changed her. However this point does not come across, as the
way Ann is stood would not correspond to how someone would act within a
relaxing environment with family and friends, but much rather within a business
meeting or in a room with a group of strangers. The audience would therefore
gain the wrong impression of Ann’s character and would therefore take her to be
far more serious and uptight than she is meant to be. Finally the overuse of
movement within the play would make the audience believe that the director
had run out of ideas on how to stage the play as the same actions being used
throughout the entire duration of the production becomes tedious and boring to
watch.

The version of the play ‘All My Sons’ written by Arthur Miller that was staged at
the Adam Smith Halls in Kirkaldy was effectively able to use acting and
directorial choices to convey the themes of middle class near sightedness, the
negative aspects of the American Dream and judgement and create a piece which
would have a lasting impact upon the audience. The play particularly excelled in
its attention to detail, however some of the cast struggled to maintain accents
throughout the play and some of the directorial choices did not achieve their
intended effect, so this hindered the quality of the play and therefore failed to
fully deliver some of the key messages. Overall the production was rather good,
but with added adjustments it would have excelled.

Lauren Thom Higher Drama 14/09/15