We have chosen to use a plastic bottle of cider as it is one of the cheapest form of alcoholic beverage you can buy, which symbolises the poverty both Eve and Jermaine are going through, and that with the little money they both have, they are wasting it on addictive substances such as drugs and drink. Also, we decided to show the characters drinking this bottle of cider in a park, i.e in a public place, which is both unorthodox and worrying, and brings along with it negative connotations and uses the stereotypical convention of youths drinking in public places.
Crucufix and Rosary Beads
We decided to include these in our production to capture the religious element, and the conservative, traditional nature of Eve's family. We decided to show Eve throwing these at her house to symbolise rebellion, and the freedom and liberation that this young female character feels once she is rid of this religion, her home, family and initially, her past. It also gives negative connotations to the Church, and shows her becoming detached from a faith that was never really hers to begin with.
Equipment to make Krokodil
We wanted to include these props and show the characters creating the Russian street drug, 'Krokodil' as it's the most important drug being used in our production. We will use flour as the Krokodil, and from researching the drug, we have found that the easiest way to make it is by heating the powder on a spoon with a lighter until it turns into an orange fluid, where you then add lighter fluid and other dangerous substances. We decided to use a pink lighter for Eve, as it connotes femininity and adds a more delicate and personal touch to this illegal act of making Krokodil. We also used a blue lighter for Jermaine as this contrasts with Eve's, and connotes masculinity and also defines the characters by their choice of lighter, both falling within their gender domain. We decided to keep these items as simplistic as possible to show the ease of making this illegal drug.
Syringe
We decided to use a syringe in our production, and have Eve using it to show a different form of drug use, other than melting the Krokodil on a spoon, and to show the seriousness off her addiction, and how injecting drugs into the body harms the outside of the body aswell as the internal, as it causes damage by flowing into the bloodstream, slowing down the central nervous system, causing the heart rate to slow, blood pressure to drop and initially causing heart and lung failure.
Theatre make-up
Make-up plays a vital part in our production, as we used it to create all of the wounds, briuses and withered looks on Eve's and Jermaine's faces. Make-up was the best possible way we could show the physical effects that Krokodil has on the body, as it could easily blend, build up and be removed. We wanted to emphasise the physical effects, as the rotting flesh is a metaphor for the Eve's life, which too, was rotting away and becoming non-existant. The fake blood we used was particularly for Jermaine's wound on his arm, as it gave more of a shimmer that blood would in dark lighting, and was easier to see against his dark skin. It was also used to convey the brutality of the character's lifestyle. The green eyeshadows and black eyeliner were used for his bruising, again to make it look realistic. The red lipsticks and pink/purple eyeshadows were used for Eve's wound on her arm, acting as different shades of blood and decaying muscle. These were very successful at blending in with the picture of the rotting skin and gradually incorporating the bruising around it. Finally, the brown and black eyeshadows and eyeliners were also used for the faces of the two characters, darkening under the eyes to give a more filthy and exhausted look.
