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The Protagonist | Multi-role | Fragmented Identity
Verity suffers from severe, undiagnosed mental health and behavioural issues. The playwright explicitly uses five different actors to play Verity. This prevents the audience from simply diagnosing her as "one type of crazy." Instead, it physically symbolizes her fractured personality and the overwhelming, shifting reality of her condition.
When directing or acting as Verity, you must decide which "facet" of her personality is speaking. Here is how you can differentiate the five variations:
Focus: Vulnerability and playful energy.
Acting Skills: A high-pitched, breathy vocal tone. Light, skipping movements on the balls of her feet. Easily distracted and completely unaware of the danger or tension around her.
Focus: Uncontrollable rage and destruction.
Acting Skills: A loud, sudden, guttural volume. Aggressive, rigid posture. She invades the proxemics of other actors, forcing them to flinch or back away. Sudden bursts of kinetic energy.
Focus: Confusion and sensory overload.
Acting Skills: Fast-paced, repetitive mumbling (echolalia). Physically closed off—hugging her knees, rocking back and forth, or covering her ears to block out the chaotic soundscape of the hospital.
Focus: The "real" Verity trapped inside her illness.
Acting Skills: Absolute stillness amidst the physical theatre chaos of the ensemble. A clear, calm, measured vocal tone. Direct, unblinking eye contact with the audience (breaking the fourth wall) when delivering lines like "Find me."
Focus: Defeat and chemical submission.
Acting Skills: A flat, monotone pitch. Sluggish, heavy movements dragging her feet. A slumped posture, heavily sedated by the "chemical straitjackets" (Largactil) forced upon her by the care system.
When Verity is overwhelmed, the five actors often speak in unison. This requires perfect synchronization of pace and volume to create a terrifying auditory representation of the voices and judgments echoing in her mind.
The Mother | Overwhelmed | Guilt-ridden
Jean is pushed to her absolute breaking point by Verity's behaviour. She feels deeply inadequate ("Other mothers cope. I feel so inadequate") and is secretly jealous of the calmer bond Verity shares with her father. Unable to cope with the trauma, she eventually leaves the family home with her younger son, Nicky.
A tight, strained voice. Often speaks with a fast pace, reflecting her constant anxiety and exhaustion. Her tone might snap sharply when she loses patience.
Tense body language. Shoulders hunched, arms frequently crossed defensively. She physically distances herself from Verity out of exhaustion and, sometimes, fear.
The Father | Bureaucratic | Repressed
Edward has a slightly calmer relationship with Verity than Jean does, but he struggles to emotionally connect with the reality of the situation. He channels his grief and desperation into writing endless letters to institutions, trying to find residential care for her, only to be met with bureaucratic brick walls.
A measured, controlled pace. He tries to sound reasonable and calm to balance out Jean's panic, but his voice might waver or crack to reveal the stress underneath.
Stiff posture. Often uses a desk or paperwork as a physical barrier between himself and the chaos of his family. Heavy, defeated sighs.
The Brothers | Defensive & Traumatised
Mark is the older brother who is fiercely protective of his mother, Jean, often acting as a barrier between her and Verity. Nicky is the younger brother who is deeply traumatised and frightened by Verity's outbursts.
Mark: Aggressive, sharp tone when defending his mother.
Nicky: Quiet, timid volume with a trembling pitch.
Mark: Confrontational proxemics, stepping in front of Jean.
Nicky: Making himself physically small, hiding behind furniture or flinching.