Flashback
The past is important in this play and through flashbackA scene enacting something that happened in the past; the enactment of a character's memory of a past event. we see Gar reviewing the significant events that led to his decision to emigrate. He remembers his love of Kate Doogan, but also his interview with her father - the superior Senator Doogan - and how he bottled out of asking him for Katie’s hand in marriage.
He recalls too when his aunt, Lizzy Sweeney, visited and how she was desperate for Gar to come to Philadelphia so she can mother him. She cries “My son, Gar, Gar, Gar …” as she throws her arms around him.
These two incidents are re-enacted, with the action of the play shifting between past and present showing how they are linked. Lizzy’s visit coinciding with Kate Doogan’s wedding day brings all Gar’s emotions together, overwhelming him so much that he decides to emigrate.
Stage directions
The stage directions are the part of the script. They are often in brackets or italics.
Stage directions tell the actors how they are to move or speak their lines. While they do not form the dialogue of the play, they are obviously important as they inform us what the writer intended the audience to see on stage.
For example, the stage directions in Philadelphia, Here I Come! often show us that the dialogue is not what it seems. This is apparent when S.B. seems unconcerned about his son’s impending departure, but the stage directions indicate his real feelings may be different when they inform us that the newspaper he has been concentrating on “has been upside down” all along.
Silence
Friel’s use of silence between the characters emphasises the distance between them. Because of Gar Private’s incessant commentary, it is often easy to forget that there is actually silence on stage if you remove what are essentially Gar’s internal thoughts.
Private’s long monologues often hide the lengthy silences when father and son are on stage together. These awkward silences contrast with the memories S.B. has of when Gar was a child and S.B. “couldn’t get a word in edgeways with all the chatting he used to go through” – showing that there used to be much affection and companionship between them.
Here S.B. poignantly echoes Madge’s sarcastic comment earlier in the play that “A body couldn’t get a word in edgeways with you two!” – highlighting how little they say to each other these days.
