Strange Fruit Play Analysis

Pre-Show opens on a group of protestors standing in a line with their arms up in surrender pose. They hold picket signs with the phrase “hands up don’t shoot” painted on. ‘Strange Fruit’ by Billie Holiday plays. As audience settle a blackout happens.

Scene 1
Scene opens on white officer, Darren Wilson, stood CSR facing a video camera on a tripod. DW is a well-dressed, confident looking man; however, his appearance is not one we trust. He looks comfortable in front of the camera as if he was with a group of his friends. All his actions are confident and large, his mentality ‘lad like’. He intermittently takes long draws of his cigarette. He has an extreme lack of manners: wiping his nose, spitting etc. He speaks to the camera as though it is his friend – like he

The audience must dislike this character, he is slimy and seedy. We do not trust him.

Darren: (bragging and gallous) Yeah I shot him. I couldn’t help it. He was like wolverine – aggressive hostile – as if my shooting was aggravating him (laughing and jeering) so of course I kept shooting. I had to keep shooting to tame him; he was a beast. I mean me shooting him isn’t a race issue it’s common sense. If he hadn’t died I would’ve. I was protecting myself. I mean, they all run wild shooting their guns, dealing drugs and breaking into cars what was I supposed to do? I assumed he felt threatened by me and so was out to kill me, that’s just an instinct and so I drew my gun. Allow him to kill me? Back down? They’re so wrapped up in a different culture – what I’m trying to say is – they’re in the wrong culture; the culture that promotes killing an officer. Young people use the legacy of racism as an excuse, it’s not a race issue at all. The fact is the brute attacked me, I couldn’t get my taser so I shot him and I had to keep shooting or else I would