Our Day Out by Willy Russell.

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"Our Day Out" is a political play. Willy Russell wants us to think about his characters and the world they inhabit. What is your response to the drama and the way it is told?

I like "Our Day Out" because it makes you think. There are numerous different perspectives to see the story from the children's perspective,Briggs' perspective, even the bus driver's perspective, and each is unique. Willy Russell has created strong and realistic characters who we can believe.

The story begins in Liverpool in 177. The scene is dreary and desolate. The area is a deprived, dilapidated example of post-industrial blight. The kids are products of this environment. It is the "progress class" day out and the headmaster of the tough school they attend is the epitome of society's view of them. He is content to let their hopes and fortunes go by the wayside. Of Mrs. Kay the progress class teacher he says "She keeps 'em happy with their reading machines and plasticine." This is a view that these children have no goal in life, that the system is not prepared to give them an opportunity to work out of poverty. He believes each of them has their goal in life to be a labourer or factory worker.

Mrs. Kay, whose decision it is to go on the trip, is more lighthearted and understanding. She loves and cares for each individual child regardless of their social status or background. For some, she is the closest thing they have to a mother, unloved at home and not cared for. Her authority however is questioned by Mr. Briggs, who is a straight-laced disciplinarian. The two have conflicting views on how the children should be taught and treated, and I feel that Briggs chose to come on the trip at the last minute because he did not trust Kay to keep everything under control.

I also like "Our Day Out" because we get to know some of the characters personally, such as Andrews who has smoked since he was eight, gets beaten at home by his father, and whose mother is a prostitute. He is typical of the unstable, under-privileged backgrounds a lot of the progress class kids come from.

At first, the bus driver is extremely apprehensive at the prospect of a day driving these kids around. He comes onto the steps of his coach and says "No food, no drink" and the like. He is prejudiced. He has condemned these kids before even leaving the school. It makes you think what chance do the kids have in life if people just stereotype them like this? He eventually mellows and gives one boy a pound to go to the sweet shop. It is Kay who makes him do this.

Shortly after leaving the school, the coach reaches the docks. At this point, Briggs is sitting next to Riley and his friend, who are both smoking. Briggs looks out at the dock building and comments on the wonderful history and architecture of the Mersey Docks. Riley's friend and Riley snigger mocking Briggs. Briggs' riposte is "Stop, take a look around. You might see things a little differently".

Riley says that his father works there and hates it. Briggs doesn't pay any attention. It is an ironic statement. Briggs himself is the one who needs to see things a little differently. He is blind to the sufferings of others. It is only later on when Carol Chandler finally makes him realise what an arrogant sod he has been. He is more interested in the architecture than the people. The bus finally goes through the Mersey Tunnel to a huge cheer from the kids. For many, it is the first time they have escaped the shackles of inner-city Liverpool and they are brimming with enthusiasm and vitality.

Having entered Wales, the bus stops at a shop. Having disembarked the bus there is an unruly rush for the shop. Briggs manages to organise them into a straight line. Kay pronounces ironically "A straight line, what a wonderful thing to behold." Briggs replies "With organisation, Mrs. Kay, with organisation." For the first time here, their relationship turns confrontational. They are trying to out-do or "skin" each other, and at times it is juvenile and unnecessary. Briggs is the main culprit I think. He is self-delusional, like Skinner from "The Simpsons". He wants to be able to command respect, but it is actually Kay who is the one the kids listen to. She teaches Briggs a lesson. It is only when he enjoys himself later on at the fair and on the journey home where the kids actually behave for him and respect him. "Our Day Out" is just as much "Briggs' day out" as it is the children's day. While the kids have been taken on a trip, Briggs' mind has been taken on a trip. At the end of the day, everything is back to normal, but everyone who was there will remember it as "Their day out", especially Briggs.

In the shop, the kids steal the sweets when the shopkeeper's backs are turned. It is funny. They are stuffing their pockets, but it is all done amorally. To them, stealing is a part of life. There is no malice. As the bus leaves, the kids are swearing at the shopkeepers in a triumphant, almost ironic gesture.

Kay decides they will go to the zoo, to predictable howls of outrage from Briggs. He is not going to get in her way of having a good time and he definitely is not going to get in the kids' way. Again at the zoo, Kay's style conquers that of Briggs. She persuades Briggs to let them walk around alone. The kids are delighted to be free and are caressing the animals.

They argue about the merits of keeping bears in zoos. Ronson says "It was born in a pit, it's spent all its life in a pit, how will it want anything else?" Ronson is the stupidest of all the progress class. He doesn't know where Wales is ("Will we have to cross the sea?") and struggles to talk English, but here he has spoken words of wisdom. He sees that trapped bear in himself, he sees that pit as Liverpool. The kids are the bears. Liverpool is their pit. Ronson, in making this point, has admitted that he has no chance in life and is not looking for a way out because he simply doesn't think there is on. Carol, in contrast, says "It would love to be free. It's not fair. It kills because it's trapped." The kids also kill because they are trapped. Carol says "We don't have anything nice down our way. If we did, we'd smash it up." Carol is the one who is desperate to leave Liverpool. She threatens to jump into the sea later on. She would prefer to stay in Wales.

"Our Day Out" is implicit. The bear pit is just one of the many metaphors in the story. On the way home, Carol is clutching a goldfish she won at the fair. It is a goldfish, but as far as Carol is concerned, it is gold. Goldfish won from the fair die after a few days, but she doesn't care. Ronson also clutches his ragged teddy bear from the fair tightly. He wants to care for it and love it. After the zoo, the scene on the coach is the most implicit of the whole film. The kids have stolen animals from the zoo. The zoo keeper rushes on to the coach and demands to have them back. Eventually there is crowing and animal noises and the animals are returned. This is implicit because the kids have only taken them to care for them. Nobody cares for them at home. Nobody looks after them. They believe that the animals love them back and show so much interest and affection. Again, like at the sweet shop, there is no malice. Briggs compares the children to animals.

The bus continues to Conwy Castle. I like the way "Our Day Out" is based around the bus. It is the one constant in the story. The journey is circular, it ends like it starts with many different events and emotions in between, but through all of it the bus is there and doesn't change. It gives a sense of how the story progresses without losing the story itself. The coach is an sound base from which the story springs.

At the castle, the kids are running riot. It is their day out, and they are determined to make the most of it. Briggs is despairing and is depressed and embarrassed at the sight of the kids running around wildly. Kay is disgusted with him. It is a DAY OUT, and they are happy, which is the whole aim of the trip, yet Briggs is treating it as if it was a school day! Willy Russell has managed to create all his characters, these two in particular, with strong and conflicting views. It is natural that there will be confrontation. At the castle, we see the biggest clash between Briggs and Kay. The conflict is dramatic. They talk politically and overtly about the kids' places in society. Kay speaks emotionally

"If you're telling me that these kids are factory fodder and the factories of England need them, and given a better chance they would still go and work in the factories, then you are wrong Mr. Briggs, very wrong!"

Briggs is visibly shaken, but remains unmoved, trying to be the dictator he perceives himself to be. Their political opinions are very different. Kay is a socialist. She thinks that the children should not be condemned to eternal mediocrity just because they were born poor. They should be given help and benefits to try and work their way out themselves. Briggs is an ideologist. These kids fit in with his plan of a perfect society. They must work in the docks and factories. He does not care that his ideology places these kids at the bottom of the pile. He believes that it is their destiny.

"You ARE on their side, aren't you?"

"Yes Mr. Briggs, I certainly am."

Willy Russell, writer of "Our Day Out" makes his characters speak polemically and politically about society and life in general, while still making us believe it is the character talking. Watching the film, I did not think of Russell once. It is a credit to his skill. Most of the film is realistic too. He achieves this because the majority of the kids are not real actors. They only have to be natural because he has cast them in their real-life roles. The only two parts of the film which are slightly unrealistic are the sweet shop incident and the stolen animals, which are also the two funniest scenes in the film.

Kay insists on going down to the beach for some more fun and games with the kids"You can't come all the way to the sea side and not go to the beach!" meanwhile Carol has got "lost". Briggs finds her on a cliff edge. She has lost all respect for him. She understands more than most of the other kids the situation she is in and she sees Briggs as a beacon of the system that has failed her. She says "You hate me. You hate all the kids." It is time for Briggs to look at himself. She wants to stay in Wales and threatens to jump off the cliff, but Briggs reassures her that there is a home to go back to and opportunities in Liverpool. I do not think Briggs seriously believes this himself, but it is all he can say to maintain his perceived image. Carol retorts "Don't be friggin' stupid." This language shows contempt and complete lack of respect for Briggs' authority and status. He is to learn from her, not her from him. She breaks down and cries. "If you were my old man, I would have been alright Sir." She sobs and runs to Briggs. It has taken this much for him to realise what a power-craving arrogant sod he is. He abandons all principles and sympathises with Carol. The whole story has been turned on its head. This is a pivotal movement where everything is as far away from the harsh reality of life in dilapidated Liverpool as possible.

The structure of "Our Day Out" is circular. The beginning and ending are the same mould, while at this point things are unusual, almost surreal. Is it possible that the Briggs who likens the kids to animals is the same one who then takes the aforementioned "animals" to the fair?

He enjoys the fair just as much as the children. He is one of them there. It is a complete role reversal. Briggs joins in the singing on the back seat of the coach on the way back from Liverpool, and obviously genuinely enjoys himself. He wears a party hat for a photograph.

The grim reality hits home when they enter Liverpool. The surroundings and familiar sights have an effect on Briggs. He reverts back to type. When the bus pulls into the school, he is given the photo film to develop. He ponders the thought for a second then discards the film. Briggs is an idiot. He tries to fool himself into believing there was no day out, no he did not enjoy himself. But he is not being himself. In his heart of hearts he knows he enjoyed himself today. He is too hell-bent on preserving his image as a dictator that he has forgotten his real self. For the kids, the grim reality has hit home and they are walking the same dirty streets they left in the morning. They will cherish the memories of the day, but tomorrow everything will be back to normal. The circle has returned to its starting point. Mrs. Kay has enjoyed her day and goes out for a drink with two other teachers. Briggs is invited. I think he wants to go, but he forbids himself to. He can't be seen to be having fun. Briggs has learnt a valuable lesson from "Our Day Out". He has to be himself, not what he wants himself to be.

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