The character, Bennett, embodies the theme of bullying through his connection with other characters in the play, his type of abusive language used towards the characters, Chadwick and Tanya, and his violent body gestures towards the two when he enters the stage. Examples of this are shown when Bennett puts Chadwick in a headlock and throws him up against a wall, whilst calling him abusive names.
The two characters, William and Lilly, who are known as the two main characters of the play, both embody the theme of love. In the play, William seems to take a liking towards the new girl, Lilly who doesn't like him but ends up liking another character, Nicolas. The theme of love is shown through William's body actions towards Lilly and his type of language used. An example of this is shown when William eventually asks Lilly out using romantic language, but is then rejected by Lilly. Soon after this, William's character turns and we see a more darker side to him because of her denial of his love towards Lilly.
The character, William, expresses the theme of education through his use of language when he talks to Lilly at the beginning of the play. William makes constant referrals to the theme of education. Example of this are shown at the beginning of the play, when William is introducing Lilly to his school and suddenly he starts talking about further education and his university visits with Chadwick - 'We went to Cambridge University together in the summer holidays. On a visit.' 'If my application's accepted, I'll have my interview next week' (Scene Two). Another example is shown at the end of the play where William has been taken to Sutton Manor Hospital and is talking to Dr. Harvey about the previous events in the play and eventually his future ambitions - 'I want to be an architect. Build buildings way up as high as I can get them to go.' (Scene Seven).
The play, Punk Rock, was written by Simon Stephens and is set in Stockport, Manchester, first in a library of a sixth form college then at a hospital, in 2009 (near present day). The play was first performed on 3rd September 2009 and as a co-production between the Lyric Hammersmith, London and the Royal Exchange Theatre, Manchester. The play is aimed at younger audiences aged between 16 - 18 and younger audiences would understand this play as they are going through the same stages of education as these characters in the play are. If this piece of work was performed in front of a group of people of an older generation, adults would be more interested in the character's journey. For example, audiences would be interested in the character, William, and his story as it shows a big transition from the nerdy, more geeky boy we saw in the beginning to a raged, broken man who has had enough of life.
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