The 39 Steps Play Guide For AQA GCSE Drama

SECTION B STUDY OF A SET PLAY: THE 39 STEPS 29 TIP As you experiment with portraying the characters in Task B5, think about how their occupations and locations could affect the physical or vocal choices that actors might make when performing them. Task B5 Study the list of characters that the two ‘Clown’ actors are required to play. Choose three and explain how the actors could make them distinctive and immediately recognisable. Consider: • Body language • Posture • Accent • Facial expression • Intonation • Use of gesture. CROFTER • ‘An ancient and surly Scottish crofter’ (farmer). • Married to a much younger woman. • Suspicious of Hannay. • Despite taking a bribe from Hannay, he still informs on him. PROFESSOR JORDAN • At first appears to be a wealthy English professor. • Revealed to be a German agent. • Tries to recruit Hannay to his cause, and, when he fails, he tries to kill Hannay. • When he is killed, it contributes to the play’s final resolution. • He is the antagonist or villain of the play. HEAVY 1 AND 2 • Two henchmen of the Professor who pretend to be police officers. • They wear ‘ trilbies and trench coats ’. • Another double-act, but suggesting more threat of violence than the others. SALESMAN 1 AND 2 • ‘Garrulous’ (talkative) underwear salesmen. • They form a comic double act . • Their light-hearted dialogue contrasts with Hannay’s tense situation. DUNWOODY AND MCQUARRIE • They are setting up a political meeting. • Dunwoody is the Master of Ceremonies. • McQuarrie is the Chairman. • Dunwood is ‘fussy and doddery’. • McQuarrie is ‘even more ancient and doddery’. • The ‘two old men’ provide comic relief through their mistake over Hannay’s identity. MR AND MRS McGARRIGLE • A Scottish couple who run a hotel. • Mrs McGarrigle is a romantic who enjoys encouraging ‘young doves’ like Hannay and Pamela. • They refuse to tell the Heavies about the ‘dear young couple’. MRS JORDAN • ‘A severe-looking grey-haired lady in tweeds’. • Married to Professor Jordan. • Involved in her husband’s activities and is heard complaining to the Heavies on the phone. • When she believes Hannay is dead, she joins her husband in a wild dance. SHERIFF • An apparently jovial Scottish sheriff. • He reveals himself to be loyal to the Professor and turns on Hannay. • He tries to have Hannay arrested for murder, but Hannay escapes.