Preparing to Run Away & Train Station

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Christopher Prepares to Run Away

Part two opens with Christopher preparing to run away to London in order to track down his mother.

Notebook - "performance"

Part Two opens with a playful scene in which Siobhan, Mrs Gascoyne and other cast members ‘decide’ to turn Christopher’s notebook into “some kind of performance”, an in-joke for the audience who are currently watching the story turned into a dramatic performance.
There is also humour in Christopher’s complaint that he doesn’t like “acting” because it is “pretending”.

Christopher "hides"

However, this scene ends on a more sombre note as Ed shouts out Christopher’s name in an attempt to find him but Christopher “hides”: a moment which symbolises their estrangement (separation) from each other.

Visiting Mrs Alexander

Christopher visits Mrs Alexander to ask her to look after his pet rat, Toby.
Mrs Alexander is uncomfortable with this and advises him to talk to his father.
However, Christopher ignores this advice and instead takes Ed’s cashpoint card, memorising his pin and then setting off to find the police station.

'Lady in Street' interaction

Christopher’s brief encounter with ‘Lady in Street’ is the first example of a motif which Stephens will employ throughout Part Two: Christopher interacting with an adult stranger.
This structural device will create many of the most comedic moments in Part Two as Christopher embarks on his quest to find his mother.

Christopher at the Train Station

Christopher’s arrival at the train station is the first time the audience sees him in a completely new environment. Stephens uses a range of dramatic devices to capture Christopher’s feelings of disorientation.

Christopher's disorientation

The first dramatic technique is the succession of voices which bombard Christopher, and the audience, with information.
The voices represent the signs Christopher sees as he makes his way onto the station concourse and the successive list of commands (“Dogs must be carried”) and warnings (“No smoking… No alcohol…”), one after the other, helps to capture the sensation of being over-stimulated and confused.
Christopher is described looking as if he is in a “complete trance”.

Projections

In some productions of the play, the commands, warnings and advertisements called out by the succession of voices is also projected onto the walls of the stage setting, providing a visual representation of Christopher being overloaded with information.

Dialogue with the Policeman

Christopher’s extended exchange of dialogue with the Station Policeman maintains the pace of the scene, with their dialogue made up of quickfire questions and answers.
This is then continued during Christopher’s exchange with ‘Man behind Counter’ as he tries to buy a ticket to London.
The literal nature of Christopher’s responses again causes frustration for the adult characters (and comedy for the audience).

Barking

We see Christopher use a new tactic in dealing with the outside world, barking “like a dog” at someone who accidentally bumps into him.

Siobhan's presence

Stephens also uses Siobhan, who is not actually with Christopher in the train station, to act as a metaphorical guide, talking him through the way to get onto the train, literally step by step (“Left, right, left, right…”).
These ‘appearances’ (by Ed, Siobhan and Judy) will be used further by Stephens in Part Two as Christopher tries to overcome the obstacles in his path.