Overview: Mickey & Edward as Seven-year-olds

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Overview: Mickey Meets Edward

In this scene Mickey and Edward meet.

Mickey meets Edward

Mickey is sulking about not being allowed to play near the big houses when Edward, the son of Mrs. Lyons, approaches him and says that he saw him “playing with some other boys near my house”.
Mickey explains that he is no longer allowed near Edward’s house, and Edward responds that he is not allowed to play near Mickey’s house either.

Edward gives Mickey sweets

Mickey then demands some of Edward’s sweets, and Edward tells him to “take as many as you want”.
Mickey is surprised by this generosity, explaining that he is not used to being given things for free.
He mentions how if his older brother Sammy “gives y’ a sweet he’s usually weed on it first”.

Edward learns swear words

Edward is impressed by the swear words that Mickey uses, and Mickey then teaches Edward “the ‘F’ word”.
Edward says that he will “look it up in the dictionary”, and this confuses Mickey because he doesn’t understand what a dictionary is.
Mickey continues talking about his older brother, Sammy, stating that his violent mood swings happen because “when he was little, me mam was at work an’ our Donna Marie was supposed to be lookin’ after him but he fell out the window an’ broke his head”.

Becoming blood brothers

Impressed by each other, the boys decide to be best friends.
They soon realise that they share both the same age and the same birthday, so Mickey asks Edward if he would like to be his “blood brother”. They cut their fingers and shake hands, promising to always stand by one another.

Sammy insults Edward

Sammy enters the scene, holding Mickey’s toy gun, and interrupts Mickey and Edward, demanding one of their sweets.
Mickey and Sammy begin to quarrel over the sweets and the toy gun, and Edward attempts to look at the plate in Sammy’s head while this is happening.
Sammy then makes fun of Edward, calling him “friggin’ poshy”, but Mickey defends him.

Mrs. Johnstone meets Edward

Mrs. Johnstone comes out of her house and Mickey introduces Edward to her.
Mrs. Johnstone quickly realises who Edward is and is startled, making Edward feel as if he has done something wrong.
She asks him if Mrs. Lyons knows where he is, and Edward confesses that she does not, and that she would be upset if she found out.
Mrs. Johnstone tells Edward to leave, and to never come near her house again, telling him to “go home before the bogey man gets y’”.

Overview: Edward and Mickey are Forbidden to See Each Other

The next scene is set at the home of the Lyons'. Mrs. Lyons is anxious to prevent Mickey and Edward becoming friends.

Mr. Lyons and Edward

The scene then shifts to the Lyons’ house, where Mr. Lyons gives Edward a toy gun to play with.
Mrs. Lyons reads Edward and her husband a story, but Mr. Lyons leaves before it is over because he needs to go to work.
This prompts Mrs. Lyons to complain that Mr. Lyons doesn’t spend enough time with his family, but Mr. Lyons simply insists that he must go to work, and leaves.

The bogey man

After Mr. Lyons has left, Edward asks his mother how to spell “bogey man”, and she tells him that the bogey man is just “the sort of thing a silly mother might say to her children”.
Mickey then arrives at Edward’s house, ringing on the doorbell and asking Mrs. Lyons if Edward can come out to play.
Mrs. Lyons sends Edward up to bed, before getting rid of Mickey.

Edward is forbidden to see Mickey

Upon her return, Mrs. Lyons asks Edward how he met Mickey Johnstone, revealing that she knows Mickey’s surname.
Mrs. Lyons forbids her son from being friends with Mickey, saying that they are not the same.
Edward responds by telling his mother that he hates her, and that “if you loved me you’d let me go out with Mickey because he’s my best friend”.
The argument goes on, culminating in Edward calling his mother a “fuckoff”.

Mrs. Lyons hits Edward

She is enraged by this and slaps him across the face, telling her son never to mix with such horrid boys again. Mrs. Lyons immediately feels guilty for hitting her “beautiful son”.

Edward watching Mickey and Linda play

Edward, no longer allowed to play with the neighbourhood children, is watching from his house as Mickey and his friend Linda have a battle with toy guns against Sammy.

Kids ganging up on Mickey

The games quickly get out of hand as Sammy becomes excessively violent and inappropriate, causing Mickey to tell him to “fuck off”.
Hearing this, other neighbourhood children turn against Mickey and Linda, telling Mickey that “you’ll go to hell and there you’ll fry” for saying “the ‘F’ word”.
Linda defends him, and eventually the other children leave and the Mickey and Linda are left alone on the stage.

Overview: Mickey, Edward and Linda

Mickey, Edward and Linda become friends.

Linda comforts Mickey

Mickey is upset because of what the other children have said to him, and he is crying because he does not want to die.
Linda comforts him, saying that everyone will die eventually and at least “you’ll meet your twinny again”.

Mickey and Linda see Edward

Mickey and Linda go to Edward’s garden, and the two boys agree to ignore their mothers’ instructions not to interact with each other.
Mickey introduces Edward to Linda and the three decide to go to the park to play with Sammy’s gun, and practise shooting at the statue of Peter Pan.

Edward's fear of being caught

Edward fears they will get in trouble with the police, but Mickey and Linda tell him not to worry about that because they’ve “been caught hundreds of times by a policeman”.
Edward is impressed by this bravado and the three friends head to the park.

Mrs. Lyons looks for Edward

Mrs. Lyons enters, and she is looking for her son, Edward.
The Narrator also enters, and he tells Mrs. Lyons that “gypsies” are going to take her son away and tells her that “the devil” has her “number” as well.
Mrs. Lyons is becoming frantic with worry for the whereabouts of her son, and Mr. Lyons tries to calm her down. He is worried about his wife’s mental stability at this point.

Mrs. Lyons panics

Mrs. Lyons says that she wants to move away from the area before “something terrible” happens.
She can’t bear the children with whom Edward has begun playing, and she believes they are “drawing him away from” her.
Mr. Lyons, still trying to calm his wife down, picks up Edward’s shoes and places them on the table. Mrs. Lyons reacts with horror, sweeping the shoes off the table, and the Narrator again enters to remind Mrs. Lyons that the “devil’s got your number”.

1Context & Author

1.1Context

1.1.1Setting

1.1.2Political Background

1.1.3Education & Work

1.1.4Marilyn Monroe & Pop Culture

1.1.5Family

1.2Author

1.2.1Willy Russell

1.2.2End of Topic Test - Context & Author

2Plot

2.1Act One

2.1.1Overview: Introduction to Mrs Johnstone & Lyons

2.1.2Analysis: Introduction to Mrs. Johnston and Lyons

2.1.3Overview: The Birth of Mickey & Edward

2.1.4Analysis: The Birth of Mickey & Edward

2.1.5Overview: Mickey Playing at Home

2.1.6Overview: Mickey & Edward as Seven-year-olds

2.1.7Analysis: Mickey & Edward as Seven-year-olds

2.1.8Overview: Mickey & Edward as Seven-year-olds 2

2.1.9Analysis: Mickey & Edward as Seven-year-olds 2

2.1.10End of Topic Test - Act One

2.1.11End of Topic Test - Act One 2

2.2Act Two

2.2.1Overview: Mickey & Edward as Teenagers

2.2.2Analysis: Mickey & Edward as Teenagers

2.2.3Overview: Mickey & Edward as Teenagers 2

2.2.4Analysis: Mickey & Edward as Teenagers 2

2.2.5Overview: Mickey & Edward as Teenagers 3

2.2.6Analysis: Mickey & Edward as Teenagers 3

2.2.7Overview: Mickey & Edward as Adults

2.2.8Analysis: Mickey & Edward as Adults

2.2.9End of Topic Test - Act Two

2.2.10End of Topic Test - Act Two 2

3Characters

3.1Mickey

3.1.1Mickey

3.1.2Mickey as a Damaged Adult

3.2Edward

3.2.1Edward

3.2.2Edward 2

3.2.3End of Topic Test - Mickey & Edward

3.3Linda

3.3.1Linda

3.3.2Linda 2

3.4Mrs Johnstone

3.4.1Mrs Johnstone

3.4.2Mrs Johnstone 2

3.5Mrs Lyons

3.5.1Mrs Lyons

3.5.2Mrs Lyons 2

3.5.3End of Topic Test - Linda & Mothers

3.6Mr Lyons

3.6.1Mr Lyons

3.7Sammy

3.7.1Sammy

3.8The Narrator

3.8.1The Narrator

3.9Minor

3.9.1Minor Characters

3.9.2End of Topic Test - Other Characters

3.10End of Topic Sessions

3.10.1Grade 9 - Key Characters

4Themes

4.1Parents & Children

4.1.1Parents & Children

4.2Growing Up

4.2.1Growing Up

4.3Friendship & Brotherhood

4.3.1Friendship & Brotherhood

4.3.2End of Topic Test - Parents, Growing Up, Friends

4.4Fate & Superstition

4.4.1Fate & Superstition

4.5Nature vs. Nurture

4.5.1Nature vs. Nurture

4.6Social Class

4.6.1Social Class

4.6.2End of Topic Test - Fate, Upbringing & Class

5Literary Techniques

5.1Structure

5.1.1Structure

5.2Tragedy

5.2.1Tragedy

5.3Dramatic Irony

5.3.1Dramatic Irony

5.4Imagery

5.4.1Imagery

5.5Character & Voice

5.5.1Character

5.6Music & Lyrics

5.6.1Music & Lyrics

5.7Accent & Dialect

5.7.1Accent & Dialect

5.7.2End of Topic Test - Literary Techniques

5.7.3End of Topic Test - Literary Techniques 2

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