The Landlords Monologue

When chosing a character fro the monologue i chose the landlords character because he was the character i had most developed in my mind and i also decided that instead of going for the wounded abused woman which i would find easier to play i would challenge myself by being a fairly bland male character. I thought this was a good decision because i want to be versatile as an actor and thought stepping out of my comfort zone would be a good plan.  My  monologue follows:

1.65, 1.65's a bit steep for a bloody orange juice, only, i just sold one for that. 1.65. But is a lot? I mean when you fink about it the juice itself cost like 30p a cup, and even if i just sell that one bloody cup i still gotta pay some idiot 6.33 an hour to wash the fucking cups, then you add electricity, that fuckin expensive and gas and water and insurance and maintainence. So yeah, 1.65. sounds alright to me. You know, when i first step foot in this place i was two. Me grandad 'ad just bought it and it was fucking magic ya know, all shiny floors and comfy booths and chairs i couldnt even climb up cause they was so bloody high. and grandad kept all the bottles on the back wall, all different drinks all different colours and i tried to count em but you know i was two so.. When grandad died me dad 'ad it and now me dads 'ad his accident, i guess its mine. he used to say, my old man "this pub is important boy, people come in here and get pissed go 'ome with that lass thats been given 'em the eye all night and then when they have the christenin of the baby they made when they was drunk on my beer they'll come back 'ere after. and one day thell be mariied bring theyre 'ole family and then when they die of liver failure they're 'ole family will come 'ere to remember them" he did have a funny sense of humor but then he'd say this pub is the only constant to 'em. I guess back in 'is day it was the heart of the community but now all its just a mouldy old building with piss warm beer in the barrels and a sick stain on the carpet.

You see, i didn't really want this pub. I wanted to really do somthink wif me life but ma dad said 'son its 'istry' and me old man calls it 'is pride and joy. So I can really say no to that, piss all thier 'family 'istry'. but the east end 'as changed now, we're all lookin over our shoulders when we walk down the street scared 'a getting stabbed for mobile phone. And half the people who walk through my doors are 'alf dead already. They shuffle in sit down and order a pint, none 'a this friendly chat me old man used to 'ave, but then theres this woman, she walks through the door and shes bright behind 'er eyes, proper alive. Then theres this guy, i dont fancy the look of 'im and he's standing near 'er but hes mad. Proper mad then i see shes spilt his drink. so im on me toes bright and alet waiting for it all to kick off, limbering up to break the first fight since '98. and the whole pubs gone quiet, someone must've switched off the music. an were all watching, waiting for sumink to 'appen but just as i think hes hit 'er she cracks a fuckin joke and orders another round. Makes him laugh and ends all the fuss. so now im standing 'ere heart pounding watching the bastard drink his orange juice. So 1.65. sounds alright to me.

end

When staging my monologue my partner suggested i stange it round a chair, and keep flitting about as if i was having a conversation over the bar, i also tried to make the landlord seem like a normal person, not particularly authorititive or menacing. i wanted him to look comfortable but jaded as hed been doing this job for his whole life.

The monologue task helped me understand the play further because i really had to think of what the eastend meant to someone living in it ot just an outsider, i thought through what it was and what it is now, the type of people that would classically be in the pub and the role the pub now played in the community

When watching other peoples monologues i thought rosebys worked really well because she played this crazy scottish woman looking back on how she used to be an activist and the piece was really funny but she also touched on the issue of people doing things to be cool or to fit in as we got the notion that the woman was actually more interested in the drugs and the people than the actual issues.

I also thought eirc performed is monologue really sucessfully he hunched over in a chair smoking and really effectivley embodied his character both physically and with his voice. he also made us feel some sympathy for a character who was depicted as a 'nice guy'