Alisha Sweezey

Scene(s) from The Hostage

            Selecting a scene for Wednesday’s class to discuss is difficult for me because my understanding of the script after reading did not improve after seeing the play.  And since I don’t actually have my script in front of me at this very moment, I do not know the pages numbers, however, the moment in the play and then seeing it on stage that I am interested in occurs in the first Act when everyone is talking about the Belfast boy.  Maybe it is just me, but when reading, actually all the parts about the Belfast boy, I kind of got the impression that they didn’t really care as much about him, that he was just today’s news and tomorrow it be something new.  But when seeing them discuss the prisoner on stage, they actually seemed really concerned for him, even despite their acquaintance with Leslie.  Irish pride is a huge theme in most Irish genre literature and you can see it here in this performance and the Belfast boy is never even physical present.  This is part of the reason why I feel bad for Leslie because in the play, the characters seem to generally enjoy him and feel he is harmless, but because he is not one of them, but an Englishman, their duty is for Ireland, no matter what.