GUV:Take a seat, Kathy.
KATHY:What, here, with you?
But I’m a clone Miss, we don’t usually mix with humans.
GUV:I’m aware of that Kathy.
SHANE:Interview recording with Ruth, surname unknown, haven’t pressed record.
PC GREEN:Interview recording with Tommy, surname…
(to Tommy)
Ooh. Wanna make one up?
No surname. Previously from Hailsham, and now a donor.
Tommy. Whaddagawan?
TOMMY: Sorry?
PC GREEN:Whaddagawan? Why did you used to go so wild, so cray cray?
TOMMY:I’m sorry I don’t understand.
PC GREEN: (straightening up) Sorry, I’m proper nervous.
PC BENNETT:I’m glad I got you. The cloned ones give me the heebie-jeebies.
MISS LUCY:That’s the kind of prejudice we’re trying to combat. You mustn’t underestimate them. They’re made of all the same bits and bobs as us, just created in a different way.
PC BENNETT:Righto. If you say so.
Interview recording with Miss Lucy Wainright, Guardian at Hailsham.
MISS LUCY: Ex Guardian.
PC BENNETT:It’s going to be a long afternoon, innit.
GUV:Ok you said…
“being a Hailsham student is enough by itself sometimes to get people’s backs up” Why do you think that is?
KATHY:Hailsham was a special place which I feel extremely privileged to have attended. I think some of the other donors who went to different places were a little resentful of that.
GUV: How so?
KATHY:It wasn’t until I left the Cottages to be a carer that I fully appreciated how lucky we all were to attend Hailsham. Many of the other donors I treated wouldn’t like to discuss, or even think about their own pasts.
GUV:Why? What do you think might’ve gone on in those places?
SHANE:(nervous, with kindness) What sort of person do you think your possible might be?
RUTH:I wanted it to be the lady in the office in Norfolk, I wanted it more than I let on to Kathy and Tommy. But the truth is, the sort of people who’d sell their DNA are most likely trash. We’re modelled on junkies, wino’s and prostitutes.
That’s what I’ve heard anyway.
PC BENNETT: Kathy H described you as being the “most sporting of all the Guardians”, I suppose she thought you were a good egg. Why do you suppose that is?
MISS LUCY:I think because I cared, and talked with, rather than at them. I wanted to be more honest with them than I was truth be told.
PC BENNETT:Telling them they were organ donors is being pretty honest.
MISS LUCY:Yes and it got me in trouble.
PC GREEN:Why did you use to throw those crazy tantrums? Tommy considers this.
TOMMY:Frustration. People tried to wind me up, perhaps because I couldn’t offer anything at the exchanges.
PC GREEN: What were the exchanges?
TOMMY:Our art was like currency. We were awarded tokens for it, or we exchanged it for other students’ artwork. My art wasn’t good enough,I didn’t get to exchange anything. The bullying got to me, especially as I was already so sensitive about not being creative.
GUV:Do you enjoy your work, as a carer?
KATHY:I think I am a good carer. Hardly any of my patients complain about feeling agitated.
GUV:That’s not what I asked.
KATHY:I enjoyed looking after other Hailsham students, and it meant I could be reunited with Ruth and Tommy. But it feels just about right to be finishing soon.
GUV:Do you not worry about donating your vital organs so other people can live?
I mean, you know more than anyone how terrifying being a donor can be, you’ve watched your friends go through it - and all the others - having your organs taken out one by one… Must frighten you, no?
KATHY:Did I mention Hailsham had a wonderful Pavilion?
GUV:You can’t put it off forever.
TOMMY:Kath had a theory, about my tantrums.
PC GREEN:Aw, you were the only one who called her “Kath”.
TOMMY:I was very close to her, even before we got in a relationship.
PC GREEN:So what was Kathy’s theory?
TOMMY:That I instinctively always knew that our fate was out of our hands.
SHANE:Kathy H was your best friend at Hailsham?
RUTH:Yes. We went our separate ways for a while after we left the Cottages -
I wasn’t always kind to her, looking back, I think I just cared too much what other people thought of me.
SHANE:Do you have any regrets?
RUTH:That I, that I purposely kept Kathy and Tommy apart, even though I knew they’d be great together. I think I was just jealous of their connection.
GUV:Why do you think yours and Ruth’s friendship survived all the knocks?
KATHY:There were two sides to her, the thoughtful side, and the side of her desperate to fit in. In the end, when she was a donor, she showed me more of the former.
PC BENNETT:Now, Miss Emily referred to you as being “idealistic”, and that you had “no grasp of practicalities”.
MISS LUCY:I wanted them to know what path they were on, so they could try and lead decent lives with the time they had.
GUV:Ok, that’s all thank you.
It’s ok.
PC GREEN:What a day! You know, what struck me was that, despite everything, they all really cared about each other. And you know, it got me to thinking, as it’s my birthday, why don’t I take you all out for a special meal.
PC GREEN: Happy Birthday…happy birthday to me…
Some of the key characters in Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro are explored through police interview-style dramatisation.
The four characters of Cathy, Ruth, Tommy and Miss Lucy are interviewed separately by police officers.
They respond to questions designed to explore their respective motivations for their actions in the novel and gain a deeper understanding of events from a variety of different perspectives.
This short film is from the BBC Teach series: LIT P.D.
Teacher Notes
This short film could be used as part of an exploration of character and theme, either after an initial reading or as part of a revision activity.
Students could use this film as stimulus for their own presentation on a different character from the novel, or as the basis for an essay-style response to one of the characters explored in this film.
Curriculum Notes
This short film is suitable for teaching English literature at GCSE in England, Wales and Northern Ireland and National 5 and Higher in Scotland.
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