The relationship between the Landlord and Landlady compliments the set’s passionless and dead perception. It seems as if the colour in their lives has drained away. The sleek combinations of grey grease, black and grime all trickle down onto the basement. There becomes a colour twist when analysing The Young Man’s room and the depressing vibe of the basement. A portrayal of brightness is depicted upon the upstairs rooms and is contrasted to the motionless basement. There are also green windows which separate from behind and in front of the audience’s position. They reveal the upstairs rooms with their obscure motion. They depict inconspicuousness and anonymity in the suburban life through a dreamlike portal. The windows are stylistically surreal. When the Landlady travels into the Young Man’s bedroom, it saw the two worlds of colour clash with one another.
The costumes for the play had a constant theme throughout. Costumes and clothes provide a characteristic and essential personality for the actor wearing them. The set is like a dull circus, and as such the costumes focus more so on exploring the depths of circus characters and the reoccurrence of this constant subject matter. The Young Man’s outfit seems to portray a poetic impression with the combination of his glasses and hat. He is our storyteller in riddles, and the costumes reflect his disposition. The set costume for Mr Lusty has a main influence from Dobell’s painting ‘Dead Landlord’ as he lays dead in his long johns on his bed. Mrs Lusty has two costumes in which she wears throughout the course of the show. Her first is a frumpy and un-fashioned outfit, but still managing to be sexy. She changes to a very dark and suffering, yet still managing to imbed her voluptuous quality upon it. Completing both costumes are pink, fluffy slippers. What is so significant about these slippers are that they represent the pinkness in the ham which is being eaten and sat on the table at the Landlord’s funeral. The Girl’s set of wear gives off the impression of an angelic and mystical being. A white dress is hung onto her body to represent her supernatural and ghostly self. The four clown relatives have an explosion of the traditional circus theme in their costumes. The clowns employ an entertainment value which is to contrast the happiness of the circus, but as they wear a black circus costume they are also influencing the mourning quality of a funeral.
Elements of the soundtrack and the track scores played a substantial role in the development and scene for the play. Effects in the basement were mainly used for dripping taps, twisting handles and pouring liquid into a solid cup. Though miming these actions, the sound effects give a sensual feel, leaving the viewers to use their emotive skills and put to use their imagination. The score was apparent particularly in the echo used for the mysterious Girl’s voice. This echo had furthered the additional supernatural thought that she is. Background music played either in the intermission or during the play itself, complementing the design of the set with its contrast between circus and gloominess.
The Ham Funeral is concerned with one central theme that is explored and presented throughout. Maturing is particularly inflicted on the Young Man. In his discovery of life, himself and something to write about, the pursuit for his soul and the endeavour for a muse are implicated through his highly abstract imagination. It isn’t until he has come face to face with the downstairs crowd and escaping from his dreamlike universe, that he discovers not only the personal suffering they too have in their lives, but something meaningful to write about.
In the discovery of life we must remember to not only seek development and change from your imagination, but to look outside the walls of our minds and discover the importance of realism. It is not until these moments when we get in touch of the most important thought of all, life itself.