Need Help From Any UK Members In Decoding a Play (Theatrical Plays Are Art Right?)

[BobMarket]

I just didn't see an "off topic" forum and Theatrical Plays don't really fit into Tech or Sports (Sports? Really?) and I don't know where else to go for help with these questions of mine.

I'm reading this play for a class, "The Beauty Queen Of Leenane" by Martin McDonagh.

We're supposed to write up this paper about the economical environment and the social and political environment of the world of Leenane in the play and there are a lot of cultural references that I don't get and feel may be indicators of the class or politics of the characters, but I can't find any information online since most products don't advertise themselves as "Official drink of the poor irish!".

So if you know anything about any of these products or things, as in if they are clear indicators of someone who's poor or wealthy or just anything that these products can tell you about the people who use them I would be very, very thankful.

-Complan
-Ceilidh Time
-TV Show "The Sullivans"
-Kimberley (Biscuits)
-shortbread fingers
-Mikados
-Taytos
-TV Show "Sons and Daughters"
-TV Show (?) "A Country Practice" (the character calls it A Country Fecking Practice, but I imagine the "fecking" is just there for you know, expletive)
-Jaffa Cakes
-Wagon Wheels (biscuits?)
-Bosco (TV show?)

Also, I know that biscuits=cookies correct? Also I appreciate any help anyone could give. This isn't doing my homework for me, there's a lot more to it, it's just these little cultural markers are a mystery to me.

Again, if this is the wrong forum for this, or if there just isn't a forum for this type of question, I apologize in advance. I don't want to disrespect the bleeding rules.

[Mad_Man_Moon]

Jaffa Cakes are wonderful biscuits that are a very soft under biscuit (cookie), with an orange jelly (jello) medallion on top, then sealing that medallion on the cake like biscuit is a thin layer of hard chocolate (chocolate) that cracks easily.

They're lovely, and I (for one) like to eat the biscuit from underneath, the nibble the chocolate off until I have only the orange jelly left ... YUM.


Wagon Wheels are like large tea cakes. You know tunnock's tea cakes, right?


That's about all I can help with, and I refuse to believe that you don't know what short bread is ;-)

[BobMarket]

I wasn't sure if "shortbread fingers" were like, a specific thing or exactly what it sounds like.

Also I do not know tunnock's tea cakes.

Also, are these biscuits something that wealthy people would eat? I'm trying to argue about the economic state of the town in the play and I was hoping to be able to use the brand of biscuits the characters were eating as a sign of their class.

[Mad_Man_Moon]

nah ... all of these should be cheap as chips ... although (like with any food in the states ...) they would cost 3 or 4 times the price over here ...

[drachenfells]

Wagon Wheels use to be good for the poorer kids as they were really big (hence the name) but for a cheap price.
Also, i notice that the three tv shows are all Australian, the sort of daytime tv that student or the unemployed watch as they are on while most people are working.

[BobMarket]

Wagon Wheels use to be good for the poorer kids as they were really big (hence the name) but for a cheap price.
Also, i notice that the three tv shows are all Australian, the sort of daytime tv that student or the unemployed watch as they are on while most people are working.

Thanks! All this info has been stellar. Helping out a great deal.

[Emperor]

Complan is a food supplement that is usually mixed with water to make a drink, you can use it to put weight back on if you've been ill. I'm sure when my mum had amoebic dysentery she bought some in to help get back to full health when she couldn't really face eating anything.

Looking at their site they also suggest it could be used to replace a meal if you are dieting but it largely seems to still be used for weight gain purposes:

www.complanfoods.com

[Emperor]

Classist alert. None of the biscuits would be considered posh - they are the kind of thing my grandparents would have had (the working class ones not the middle class ones ), with some being a little "low rent" (Wagon Wheels) or not too healthy (Jaffa Cakes - bloody loved them though, in fact I want some now) or a solid staple (shortbread) or just looking like they came from another planet or the deep ocean (Mikados). I'm not joking about those last ones, look:

http://www.nicecupofteaandasitdown.c...s.php3?item=49

Taytos are a pretty standard Irish crisp (potato chip to you), I've had them in Ireland and they are fine, not your low end cheap stuff or your fancy crisps, just a good basic snack:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tayto

No idea what Ceilidh Time is, best I could find is this but it may be an Irish TV show:
www.alanroyonthebox.co.uk/Ceilidh-Time-C-D.html

In fact if you had to come up with a profile based on that list, then the whole combination sounds like my dad's parents - poor, working class, possibly elderly (or at least suffering some mild health issues), Irish Catholic descent from Liverpool (Jacob's who make stuff like Mikado have a factory in Liverpool and Dublin), they do try and aim higher, so they aren't buying the unbranded no frills kind of products, and might keep something a little better quality in a tin for when the priest comes round. Not far off what I read about the play (our family mainly comes from western Ireland too):

The play is a blend of black comedy, melodrama, horror and bleak tragedy. The story is set in an Irish village Leenane, Connemara in the early 1990s. The entire play takes place in a shabby, poorly lit kitchen, resulting in a claustrophobic sense of entrapment.

[GordonM]

Ah hah! Finally I've found a use for being Scottish! I'll try to answer as many as I can of the ones others haven't already explained.

A "Ceilidh" is an Irish-themed dance night featuring a band playing live music. You're most likely to see them at weddings where a live band will play jaunty Irish tunes after the wedding meal late into the night. Both rich and poor will have these, but I'd say they're more slanted towards the rich, whereas the poor are more likely to have a DJ playing pop songs. As mentioned above, "Ceilidh Time" could be the name of a TV show, some small time regional show.

"The Sullivans" was an Australian soap opera that was shown in the UK during the 80s. Probably more the sort of a thing a poor person would watch, due to its low quality. The same goes for "Sons and Daughters". They were shown on the same channel (STV in Scotland/ ITV in England/ don’t know the Irish equivalent) during the day.

"Kimberly" biscuits have two spongy bases with a creamy middle. More of a poor person's biscuit due to their cheapness.

"Shortbread biscuits" are a hard, very sugary biscuit that's probably the most famous biscuit in Scotland. You're especially likely to find them in Scottish houses at New Year's Eve/Hogmany due to the fact it's seen as a traditional Scottish biscuit. Popular in England and Ireland too. Equally popular amongst the rich and the poor.

The only "Mikados" I know are a chocolately snack on a stick.

“Country Practice” was a dull daytime soap opera that focused on the countryside, farmers etc. More a rich/middle class person’s programme due to it being slow and thoughtful rather more typical trashy mainstream soaps with their “My sister is in a coma AND pregnant” storylines.

"Bosco" was a children's TV programme in Ireland that had one of the freakiest ****ing puppets ever made! It ran during the 70s and 80s. It got cancelled when people realised it had one of the freakiest ****ing puppets ever made! No idea if it’s audience was the rich or the poor.

I agree with Emperor that overall they paint a picture of a poor, working class family (cheap biscuits and snacks, TV shows on during the day that can only be watched by unemployed or retired people).