Tally’s Blood Ann Marie Di Mambro

Heart-wrenching tale of lives and love (Steven McCombe Review) The emotional production of Tally's Blood is touring Scotland this March to provide audiences with a heart-wrenching and enlightening journey through mid-20th century Scotland. This powerful story focuses on the lives of an Italian family living in Scotland from the late 1930's to the early 1950's and takes us from a small back-street shop to a villa in the hills of Italy.

The family are close-knit but their strong ties to each other are severely tested as they face war, racism, ill-fated love, greed and tradition. This combines an interesting mix of humour, pathos and happiness to captivate and engross all who see it.

A Scottish-Italian love story by Ann Marie Di Mambro The hit of the Byre's spring season returns for a summer outing! Set in Scotland and Italy before during and after the Second World War, 'Tally's Blood' follows the growing friendship between a young Italian girl, living with her Aunt and Uncle in their 'Tally Cafe' in the West of Scotland, and a young Scottish boy.

When World War Two breaks out, the tensions and prejudices between the two families heighten as the Italian immigrants in Scotland find their home country at war with their adopted country.

Playwright and television writer, Ann Marie Di Mambro, uses the experiences of Scotland's Italian community to tell this touching and funny story about love, prejudice and understanding. "A funny, touching and well-made piece that should not be missed" Joy Watters, The Courier "theatre-goers are assured of feeling uplifted at the end of the evening." Alison Anderson, Perthshire Advertiser

Setting The play covers a 20-year period from 1936 to 1955. Scotland (24 scenes) and Italy (7 scenes) Settings are specific and are both indoor and outdoor.

Structure of the play 31 scenes Chronological. Twenty years. Large gaps in the time-line: Act One has scenes set in 1936, 1939, 1943 and 1944. Act Two is set eleven years later in 1955. A cinematic structure which pushes the storyline on quickly, even when there is a break in the time sequence. It builds up a sense of tension.

Set 13 different scenes. Should you be presentational or representational? Naturalistic or Non-naturalistic. Click here for more info Certain pieces are essential – the ginger crates, the bin, working areas and the upstairs window.

Props Some props are essentially set dressing Others are essential parts of the plot the bottles of ginger, the letter and the kitbag, for example.

Lighting Lighting creates mood and atmosphere Italian setting The church, the ginger store and the ‘elopement’ scene, for example. Italian setting Indoor and outdoor

Sound Sound sets the scene – the music, the off-stage party.

Costume Reflects time Reflects place – Italian dress would be different Reflects social conditions (wealth) or the characters

Language Realistic working class Glaswegians. Italian phrases or speech patterns introduced Scenes set in Italy Device of having characters speak in the Glaswegian dialect although they are supposedly speaking Italian enables the audience to understand dialogue though Hughie cannot. Children’s vocabulary and sentence structure

Comedy, wit and humour This is a predominantly comic play, though serious issues are dealt with. Much comedy arises from the use of dialect and the sharp Glasgow wit. The relationships between characters are another source of comedy.

Acting style/techniques Realistic, naturalistic acting. Ordinary people in extraordinary situations naturalism but non-naturalistic settings Monologues (Massimo on Italy; Massimo on internment) have naturalistic sound/feel Dialogue is brisk and witty, like a stage routine.(Popular Tradition)

Rioting mob is unseen, except in silhouette, and the whole drama of the situation must be created by their off-stage shouts and by the reactions of the victims on-stage. Occasionally two scenes run simultaneously (for example, the first part of Act Two, Scene Twelve).

Actor/audience relationships The actors speak directly to the audience. The actors speak their thoughts aloud. The characters age 20 years in the course of the play. If the same actor plays Lucia throughout, she has the problem of persuading the audience to believe in her as a child. The actor playing Hughie has the same problem. It is easier for the actors who begin as adults to age 20 years credibly.

Stage directions The actors speak directly to the audience. Decisions about staging left to the director and designer. Clear indications of how scenes should be paced – ‘A beat’, ‘Pause’, ‘Lucia hovers’ and ‘Hughie hovers’.

Few descriptions of the physical appearance of the characters. Some decisions are left to the director: ‘he starts to batter them (or whatever)’; ‘maybe gets hanky out …’. Stage directions are often informal – ‘mildly miffed’, ‘could use “mooch”’, ‘nice wee hat on’. This helps to indicate to the actor the mood of the moment.

Relevance to Scottish society About Scotland and Scottish society – but seen Italian eyes of Rosinella. The poverty of 1930s Scotland. A lack of employment. War. Ambition. The dependence of young people on their parents. Integration of foreign nationals. The difference between the clear moral standards of the Italian community and the perceived laxity of the Scots. Racism – on both sides, as shown by the mob on the one hand and Rosinella’s contempt for Scottish men on the other.

Target audience Scots, especially, perhaps, those of foreign blood. Those concerned about how Scotland has developed since 1930’s – diversity of past influences, conflicting pressures of different ethnic backgrounds, changing relationships within society. Young people, identifying with generation gap Those with an interest in history, religion and/or racial integration

Nationalism Two nationalities are involved – Scottish and Italian. Differences in their national characteristics are important but there are similarities, too – religion, family ties, hardships.

Characters One important character, Luigi, has only a very brief appearance at the beginning of Act One, and is in fewer than half the scenes in Act Two. One influential character – Massimo’s father – does not appear at all but we hear a great deal about him and recognise his influence on his sons and daughter-in-law.

Rosinella Massimo Lucia Franco Hughie Brigit Luigi

Representational theatre has normally realistic settings on stage with actors assigned only one role throughout the production. In Presentational theatre the settings are not realistic and actors may be assigned a number of roles, often shifting from role to role with only the most minimal of physical changes. In presentational theatre, the actor knows the audience is present. Representational theatre tried to represent real life. Back to Slideshow