Tough! Was written in 1993 by one of Canada’s most creative playwrights, George F walker. It was shown to young adults of that time as a cautionary story and is now portrayed as entertainment. Walker’s only play that is for “young audiences” is set in a city park, where three working class teenagers meet. The characters are Tina, Jill and Bobby. Tina confronts Bobby for cheating on her as he had been caught messing around with another girl at a party, and is backed by her tough friend, Jill. Tina is also pregnant so it is a test to see if he’s ready to take responsibility for his actions. Bobby tells her that he was planning to break up with her because he wants to see other girls and is blindsided when she drops that she is pregnant, to Jill
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This is the setting in Toronto playwright George F. Walker’s Tough! (2011) The cultural context behind it has a lot to do with social controversies that took place in the year. One of them being an anti-abortion activist murdered a doctor outside an abortion clinic (1993). Abortion at that time was banned in the US except to save the life of a woman. “Christmas Carol” closed after 22 performances and “Secret Garden” closed after 706 performances in 1993. There were many other plays also that were performed during that time such as "Catskills on Broadway" and "Gypsy Passion" (1993) and among them was Tough which had much to offer and received good reviews from …show more content…
Tina, on the other hand, is more realistic and moderately tougher than bobby. “Love is dangerous. I'll never love again. It's too dangerous. If I live through this I'm going into seclusion. Even at work. I'll ask them to take me off the counter and move me into the store room. I can do inventory. You hardly have to see anyone doing inventory”. This depicts that Bobby’s selfishness has made Tina think that she can never be able to love again and has made her believe that it is blind and dangerous. There are numerous times when Bobby tells Tina that he had other plans and that he is under a lot of pressure, but Tina keeps questioning him about what will happen to her and the baby. “Shut up. The hell with you. What about me. And the baby. What about the baby.” When the characters talk, they often talk out of the confusion with their turbulent emotions, their words are cutting and sorrowful but also natural and funny. This shows the audience the way youth is suddenly faced with the overwhelming responsibility of growing up.
Walker’s characters, Tina, Jill and Bobby are bluntly honest but also emotionally extreme for example when Bobby tells Tina that he wants to care about her but he really doesn't and another time when Bobby says that he uses condoms and even Tina knows that, Jill gets mad and warns him “We're going
This is the setting in Toronto playwright George F. Walker’s Tough! (2011) The cultural context behind it has a lot to do with social controversies that took place in the year. One of them being an anti-abortion activist murdered a doctor outside an abortion clinic (1993). Abortion at that time was banned in the US except to save the life of a woman. “Christmas Carol” closed after 22 performances and “Secret Garden” closed after 706 performances in 1993. There were many other plays also that were performed during that time such as "Catskills on Broadway" and "Gypsy Passion" (1993) and among them was Tough which had much to offer and received good reviews from …show more content…
Tina, on the other hand, is more realistic and moderately tougher than bobby. “Love is dangerous. I'll never love again. It's too dangerous. If I live through this I'm going into seclusion. Even at work. I'll ask them to take me off the counter and move me into the store room. I can do inventory. You hardly have to see anyone doing inventory”. This depicts that Bobby’s selfishness has made Tina think that she can never be able to love again and has made her believe that it is blind and dangerous. There are numerous times when Bobby tells Tina that he had other plans and that he is under a lot of pressure, but Tina keeps questioning him about what will happen to her and the baby. “Shut up. The hell with you. What about me. And the baby. What about the baby.” When the characters talk, they often talk out of the confusion with their turbulent emotions, their words are cutting and sorrowful but also natural and funny. This shows the audience the way youth is suddenly faced with the overwhelming responsibility of growing up.
Walker’s characters, Tina, Jill and Bobby are bluntly honest but also emotionally extreme for example when Bobby tells Tina that he wants to care about her but he really doesn't and another time when Bobby says that he uses condoms and even Tina knows that, Jill gets mad and warns him “We're going