Punk Rock Programme Notes
According to its author, Simon Stephens Punk Rock is a play about violence, about love and about sex. It’s a play about education and ambition and the chaotic destabilising nature of money. It’s a play about fear and optimism and it’s also a play about home. The characters in Punk Rock are defined as much as anything by their relationship to their home town, Stockport, which is also where the writer is from.
During the play there are episodes of very loud music when the cast re-arrange the library furniture. These periods are signalled by the characters freezing, the clock on the wall lighting up, it's hands spinning round quickly and the lights dimming to reveal a low greenish glow. Th characters do far more than change the layout, also dancing together, miming activities, moving quickly, sometimes revealing their characters. We will try to describe these activities but the music is very loud so you may not hear everything.
The Set:
The set is the Sixth Form Library in a fee paying school in Stockport near Manchester, England. The library is described by one of the cast as hermetically sealed and it is true that the only windows are skylights, high in the sloping roof and one small square of window which is closed off by a solid door. The skylights are opened and closed by handles at waist height on the panelled walls. We can see water trickling down the glass at the start of the play.The heavy doors to the library have frosted glass panes in them and beyond the study area of the library large folding doors lead to the stacks of shelves beyond.
The study area of the library is where the action takes place. Two walls at a wide angle to the audience enclose the space. They are panelled with dark wood. The wall on the left leads to the back of the stage, sloping diagonally to the right, while the wall on the right of the stage leads diagonally to the back of the stage, sloping to the left. The walls meet at the centre back, enclosing a large v shaped acting space. Each wall has a sloping roof and into the roof are set 6 skylights, 3 on each wall.
The left hand wall, close to the audience has an almost invisible, small, square door set into the wall. This covers the only window from which it is possible to view the outside world. Next to this tiny door is a block of lockers which stand against the wall, 3 lockers high and 3 lockers wide, making 9 in all. Beyond the lockers, further away from the audience, a large set of folding doors is let into the wall. It can be completely closed, opened in its entirety or parts of it can be opened and closed. The folding doors lead to stacks of book shelves which seem to be endless. Just beyond the folding doors the left hand wall meets the right hand wall at centre back.
The right hand wall has 2 high book-shelves set at right angles to it and sticking out into the room. Between them is a space where someone can be invisible to the audience and to some of the people on the stage. Beyond the shelves, set into the wall, are double doors, with frosted glass panes. The doors lead into a corridor which can be glimpsed beyond. 2 small school photos hang on the corridor walls. On the wall above the doors is a round institutional-style clock. Suspended from the ceiling are 6 strip lights and the floor is synthetic rubber flooring tiles in shades of black and grey.
Scattered around the acting area are small 1 person desks, and plastic chairs. These desks and chairs are rearranged during the play in the intervals when punk rock music is being played. At the start of the play a cleaner’s bucket on wheels and a mop sit in the middle of the deserted library.
The Cast
Each member of the cast is in the sixth form and applying to university so their ages range from 17 to 18. They all wear school uniform which consists of black blazers with red braid and an embroidered badge on the breast pocket. The girls’ blazers have braid around the sleeves, 2 inches from the wrist. They all have striped ties, in blue, white and black and white shirts, with grey skirts and black tights for the girls and grey trousers for the boys. Black shoes are worn by some boys and girls. Some attempts are made to make the uniform more personal and their outer wear, when it is shown, is not uniform.
William Carlisle is played by Rhys Dunlop. He is tall and well-built with a slightly gangly frame, but broad shoulders and long limbs. He has dark brown hair, with an unkempt fringe, which he constantly tugs at. He has deep-set eyes and a small mouth. He frequently wipes sweat from his brow with his hand.
Lilly Cahill, played by Lauren Coe, is a small, slight pale young woman, with an almost child-like figure. She has a straight chin-length auburn bob and a straight fringe over her forehead. She has large dark eyes, highlighted by black eyeliner, a full mouth and a neat nose. She moves with a quiet, deliberate confidence during the talking scenes, but like the others she becomes frenetic when the music starts. Her uniform skirt has a kick pleat at the front and she wears a white fake-fur coat for outdoors and her blazer is customised by the addition of a number of plastic badges on the lapel. She also carries a grey leather satchel.
Bennett Francis is tall and well-built with broad shoulders. He has with light brown hair in a standard length. He is a powerful figure, with a confident stride, a square chin, large mouth, strong nose and narrowed eyes. He often carries a sports bag with him and his tie is loosely knotted. This part is played by Ian Toner.
Aisha Fabienne Ross takes the part of Cissy Franks. Cissy is exceptionally thin and fair skinned. She has a narrow face with high cheek-bones, wide eyes and well-marked brows a large curving mouth and small nose. She has long mid-brown hair which hangs to her waist in waves and kinks. She customises her uniform by wearing metallic purple Doc Marten boots instead of shoes, over lacey black tights. She also wears a jumper which accentuates her thin-ness.
Nicholas Chapman has a similar build to William and Bennett. He is tall and well-built with broad shoulders and long-limbs. He has a well-modelled face with a mass of black hair, large, bright eyes, a fine nose, large mouth and chiselled jaw, and a dimple in his right cheek when he smiles. To vary his uniform he arrives in a designer grey overcoat and also wears black, combat boots with his grey trousers tucked into them. Jonah-Hauer King takes this part. He sometimes carries a sports bag into the library with him.
Tanya Gleason is played by Laura Smithers. Tanya has a different body type from the other 2 girls. She is slightly chunkier than they are, though far from fat. Her body is more like a woman’s than a girl’s, with adult curves. She has brown skin and a mass of black hair tied back in a pony tail. She wears the standard school uniform with sensible black shoes and tights and carries her books in a tote bag. She also plays the cleaner who only features at the very beginning of the play, wearing a pink overall and black woolly hat and who mops the library floor.
The final member of the cast to appear is Chadwick Meade. He is a complete contrast to the other boys. Small and slight with narrow shoulders, he has bright ginger hair which stands on end and light eyes, with a slightly bulbous nose. His wide mouth is full of large teeth and he walks, bent over with a stoop. He also wears a white parka with a fur-trimmed hood and keeps his books in a smallish rucksack. Rory Corcoran takes the part of Chadwick.
The play is written by Simon Stephens, directed by Selina Cartmell and Chahine Yavroyan is the lighting director with set and costume design by Monica Frawley.
According to its author, Simon Stephens Punk Rock is a play about violence, about love and about sex. It’s a play about education and ambition and the chaotic destabilising nature of money. It’s a play about fear and optimism and it’s also a play about home. The characters in Punk Rock are defined as much as anything by their relationship to their home town, Stockport, which is also where the writer is from.
During the play there are episodes of very loud music when the cast re-arrange the library furniture. These periods are signalled by the characters freezing, the clock on the wall lighting up, it's hands spinning round quickly and the lights dimming to reveal a low greenish glow. Th characters do far more than change the layout, also dancing together, miming activities, moving quickly, sometimes revealing their characters. We will try to describe these activities but the music is very loud so you may not hear everything.
The Set:
The set is the Sixth Form Library in a fee paying school in Stockport near Manchester, England. The library is described by one of the cast as hermetically sealed and it is true that the only windows are skylights, high in the sloping roof and one small square of window which is closed off by a solid door. The skylights are opened and closed by handles at waist height on the panelled walls. We can see water trickling down the glass at the start of the play.The heavy doors to the library have frosted glass panes in them and beyond the study area of the library large folding doors lead to the stacks of shelves beyond.
The study area of the library is where the action takes place. Two walls at a wide angle to the audience enclose the space. They are panelled with dark wood. The wall on the left leads to the back of the stage, sloping diagonally to the right, while the wall on the right of the stage leads diagonally to the back of the stage, sloping to the left. The walls meet at the centre back, enclosing a large v shaped acting space. Each wall has a sloping roof and into the roof are set 6 skylights, 3 on each wall.
The left hand wall, close to the audience has an almost invisible, small, square door set into the wall. This covers the only window from which it is possible to view the outside world. Next to this tiny door is a block of lockers which stand against the wall, 3 lockers high and 3 lockers wide, making 9 in all. Beyond the lockers, further away from the audience, a large set of folding doors is let into the wall. It can be completely closed, opened in its entirety or parts of it can be opened and closed. The folding doors lead to stacks of book shelves which seem to be endless. Just beyond the folding doors the left hand wall meets the right hand wall at centre back.
The right hand wall has 2 high book-shelves set at right angles to it and sticking out into the room. Between them is a space where someone can be invisible to the audience and to some of the people on the stage. Beyond the shelves, set into the wall, are double doors, with frosted glass panes. The doors lead into a corridor which can be glimpsed beyond. 2 small school photos hang on the corridor walls. On the wall above the doors is a round institutional-style clock. Suspended from the ceiling are 6 strip lights and the floor is synthetic rubber flooring tiles in shades of black and grey.
Scattered around the acting area are small 1 person desks, and plastic chairs. These desks and chairs are rearranged during the play in the intervals when punk rock music is being played. At the start of the play a cleaner’s bucket on wheels and a mop sit in the middle of the deserted library.
The Cast
Each member of the cast is in the sixth form and applying to university so their ages range from 17 to 18. They all wear school uniform which consists of black blazers with red braid and an embroidered badge on the breast pocket. The girls’ blazers have braid around the sleeves, 2 inches from the wrist. They all have striped ties, in blue, white and black and white shirts, with grey skirts and black tights for the girls and grey trousers for the boys. Black shoes are worn by some boys and girls. Some attempts are made to make the uniform more personal and their outer wear, when it is shown, is not uniform.
William Carlisle is played by Rhys Dunlop. He is tall and well-built with a slightly gangly frame, but broad shoulders and long limbs. He has dark brown hair, with an unkempt fringe, which he constantly tugs at. He has deep-set eyes and a small mouth. He frequently wipes sweat from his brow with his hand.
Lilly Cahill, played by Lauren Coe, is a small, slight pale young woman, with an almost child-like figure. She has a straight chin-length auburn bob and a straight fringe over her forehead. She has large dark eyes, highlighted by black eyeliner, a full mouth and a neat nose. She moves with a quiet, deliberate confidence during the talking scenes, but like the others she becomes frenetic when the music starts. Her uniform skirt has a kick pleat at the front and she wears a white fake-fur coat for outdoors and her blazer is customised by the addition of a number of plastic badges on the lapel. She also carries a grey leather satchel.
Bennett Francis is tall and well-built with broad shoulders. He has with light brown hair in a standard length. He is a powerful figure, with a confident stride, a square chin, large mouth, strong nose and narrowed eyes. He often carries a sports bag with him and his tie is loosely knotted. This part is played by Ian Toner.
Aisha Fabienne Ross takes the part of Cissy Franks. Cissy is exceptionally thin and fair skinned. She has a narrow face with high cheek-bones, wide eyes and well-marked brows a large curving mouth and small nose. She has long mid-brown hair which hangs to her waist in waves and kinks. She customises her uniform by wearing metallic purple Doc Marten boots instead of shoes, over lacey black tights. She also wears a jumper which accentuates her thin-ness.
Nicholas Chapman has a similar build to William and Bennett. He is tall and well-built with broad shoulders and long-limbs. He has a well-modelled face with a mass of black hair, large, bright eyes, a fine nose, large mouth and chiselled jaw, and a dimple in his right cheek when he smiles. To vary his uniform he arrives in a designer grey overcoat and also wears black, combat boots with his grey trousers tucked into them. Jonah-Hauer King takes this part. He sometimes carries a sports bag into the library with him.
Tanya Gleason is played by Laura Smithers. Tanya has a different body type from the other 2 girls. She is slightly chunkier than they are, though far from fat. Her body is more like a woman’s than a girl’s, with adult curves. She has brown skin and a mass of black hair tied back in a pony tail. She wears the standard school uniform with sensible black shoes and tights and carries her books in a tote bag. She also plays the cleaner who only features at the very beginning of the play, wearing a pink overall and black woolly hat and who mops the library floor.
The final member of the cast to appear is Chadwick Meade. He is a complete contrast to the other boys. Small and slight with narrow shoulders, he has bright ginger hair which stands on end and light eyes, with a slightly bulbous nose. His wide mouth is full of large teeth and he walks, bent over with a stoop. He also wears a white parka with a fur-trimmed hood and keeps his books in a smallish rucksack. Rory Corcoran takes the part of Chadwick.
The play is written by Simon Stephens, directed by Selina Cartmell and Chahine Yavroyan is the lighting director with set and costume design by Monica Frawley.
