Away

            Drama is a genre that is deliberately written for performance, and therefore, the reader's understanding of the characters and issues is always improved by its staging.
             "Staging" in Drama means the process or manner of putting a play on stage. This refers to the positioning of the characters and props, the way the actors move, the way they use their voice and how the character looks. Gore Vidal once said, "A talent for Drama is not a talent for writing, but an ability to articulate human relationships." By this, Vidal meant that to convey a play properly, association between the characters has to be real, dynamic action that captures the attention of an audience.
             Away is a charming play that deals with family, relationship, life, growing up and death. It depicts the final months leading up to the disintegration of the condition of Tom, a boy dying from Leukaemia. In the final stages of his life, he is desperate to achieve all that a normal person would in his short lifetime. Emily McPherson of the Age newspaper says, "This moving play prompts us to consider what is ultimately most important in our lives," and also considers how relevant it is to Australians, even today, noting that "Every Australian can relate to this play and learn about the deeper meaning to life".
             One factor of staging is Stage Directions. These are the way the playwright communicates with the director in regards to movements and actions of characters, positioning of props, and types of sets. These aspects affect the way the audience views a scene, as they can reveal issues, power relations, social positioning, and relationships between characters. In the last Act of Away, an entire scene is performed only through Stage Directions, yet it is a major scene in the conclusion of Away. This scene depicts the returning of Coral to her husband, Roy, and the subsequent resolution of their differences. Jim and Gwen are reconciled as well.