Curriculum Portal

neurologyYou need to know

• Willy Russell grew up in a working-class area of Liverpool and left school early, which strongly influenced his creative intentions and writing.
• Our Day Out was written in the 1970s and reflects the educational and social inequalities of the time.
• Russell wrote the play to highlight the barriers faced by working-class children, often showing them as bright, lively, and full of potential despite systemic neglect.
• The play blends multiple genres, particularly comedy, drama, and naturalism, to communicate serious social messages in an engaging way.
• The term genre in drama refers to the style or category a performance fits into, such as comedy or tragedy.
• Our Day Out includes key features of comedy, such as misunderstandings and exaggerated characters, and drama, such as emotional conflict and social commentary.
• The technique of chorus can be used to deliver commentary, highlight themes, or amplify emotion in a stylised way.
• The dramatic technique of cross-cutting involves alternating between separate scenes or actions to build tension or highlight contrasts, such as differences between adults and children.
• Split stage is a staging arrangement that divides the performance space into separate areas and can support simultaneous or alternating action.
• A flashback is a shift to an earlier event that may, but does not have to, be framed by action in the present.
• The style of naturalism in theatre aims to represent realistic characters and situations on stage, focusing on subtext, emotions, and motivations.
• Characterisation skills such as physicality, vocal tone, facial expression, and gesture help communicate emotions and objectives.
• Character objectives are what a character wants in a scene; actors must consider this when preparing and performing.
• Rehearsal strategies such as hot-seating, emotional memory, and the magic “if” are tools used to develop believable characters.
• Our Day Out explores social issues such as poverty, lack of opportunity, inequality in education, and authority versus empathy in teaching.

• Perform extracts from Our Day Out using chorus technique to show shared emotions, group identity, and theatrical style.
• Identify and describe the features of different dramatic genres and explain how these genres affect performance choices.
• Create performances that blend comedy and drama, using tone, timing, and exaggeration to engage the audience.
• Stage the opening extract of the play using group work and chorus, showing the excitement and risks of Mrs Lyons’s class trip.
• Perform a flashback scene by shifting to an earlier event, with or without framing it with action in the present, to add depth to the narrative.
• Analyse a script extract to identify playwright intentions and character motivations.
• Devise and perform cross-cutting scenes by alternating between separate scenes or actions, using staging arrangements and techniques such as split stage, freeze frame, and mime to contrast characters or settings.
• Communicate clear characters using detailed characterisation techniques such as voice, movement, and facial expression.
• Explore how Willy Russell communicates social issues through characters and performance situations.
• Create montages of short scenes showing life at home, school, and in the community for the progress class, using techniques such as split stage or rolling tableaux.
• Participate in hot-seating and visualisation activities to explore character thoughts, backstories, and emotional states.
• Apply the principles of naturalism in performance, showing believable behaviour, realistic dialogue, and emotional authenticity.
• Use rehearsal tools such as emotional memory, objectives, the magic “if”, and subtext to build deep character understanding.
• Perform the cliff scene between Carol and Mr Briggs with clear objectives and emotional transitions.
• Evaluate both their own and others’ performances, identifying strengths and suggesting improvements.