a delicate balance characters

Harry is something of a reflection of Tobias, but he is even more reserved.

All in all, it is genuine and bravura at the same time, one prolonging the other. And instead of trying to reach it, she has done everything to live her life in a diametrically opposed manner.

Of all the characters in the play, whether it is due to the alcohol or not, Claire has the loosest tongue. After asking Tobias for a drink, she announces that “there is no point in pressing” the issue of Harry and Edna. Who would take care of things? Reid would also play roles for which Stanley was original choice in This Property Is Condemned (1966) and Atlantic City (1980). She tells her husband that she has suffered far more than her daughter. Agnes then asks Tobias if he has made a decision whether he will let Harry and Edna stay with them indefinitely. She is also the mother of Julia and the sister of Claire. Claire's relationship with Julia is closer than her relationship with anyone else. Albee admits that the character of Tobias is based on his adopted father. As his characters try to figure out what to do about the Harry and Edna, they have a series of discussions or debates that slowly rise in emotional temperature. She avoids her daughter's temper tantrum, assuming that her daughter will eventually work things out on her own. Now.”Act II begins the following evening with Julia’s petulant complaining about the crowded household she has come back to in her desperation to separate from her most recent husband. Kate Reid replaced Kim Stanley during rehearsals due to Stanley's erratic behavior. Ultimately, the characters in A Delicate Balance must face the reality of their lives in Act III. Three times divorced, she has just recently left her fourth husband and has returned home. In the end, Harry and Edna decide to go back home, thus solving, or at least releasing some of the tension of the dilemma. While the other characters either hide their emotions in alcohol or avoid confrontations by smothering their feelings in banal talk, Julia brings matters to the forefront. For an enhanced browsing experience, get the IMDb app on your smartphone or tablet. Albee’s directing almost every line of dialogue demonstrates that he has very specific psychological meanings behind his words. At one point in the past, Harry and Tobias, coincidentally, had an extramarital affair with the same young woman.

He also has the tendency to repeat himself; at one point he repeats the same line four times when he tries to explain how fear has driven his wife and him out of their home. “The Theater: ‘A Delicate Balance’ at the Martin Beck.” Porter, M. Gilbert. Harry and Edna, Agnes and Tobias's best friends, arrive and ask if they can stay there. He constantly is asking people to talk more kindly about one another. It was incorporated into the RWBY: Volume 6 Soundtrack. Gates, Anita. "In a Suburban Home, Some Unwelcome Guests". Julia blocks him from the bar and insists that he stay away from it. Even though she suspects that her husband had an affair, she only asks the people whom she knows will not confirm her suspicions. It is not clear if she is really Agnes's friend or if she and Agnes know one another only because their husbands are friends. Julia also embarrasses her mother. He is aware of the characters’ thoughts and the emotions behind their words and wants to make sure that the actors understand them. She and Julia identify with one another in their roles as the “other”—people on the periphery of Tobias's and Agnes's lives. A Delicate Balance characters breakdowns including full descriptions with standard casting requirements and expert analysis.

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Claire, Julia, Tobias, and Agnes all discuss their versions of why Harry and Edna are there and what they should do about it. Middle-aged, upper-class, and delicately-balanced couple Agnes and Tobias maintain a financially comfortable but emotionally uncomfortable existence in their suburban empty nest, along with their … For one of Claire's lines, Albee suggests that the actor speak, “ (to Agnes’ back, a rehearsed speech, gone through but hated)”. She is woman in her 50s, well off, and married to Tobias. The play ends with Agnes once again contemplating the loss of her sanity.

When Claire insists that she is not an alcoholic, Agnes states sarcastically, “that’s very nice.” Then she lists times that Claire has vomited, fallen down, and called from the club to have someone come and get her. Tobias has stayed up all night, and is making himself a morning cocktail.

Julia is disgusted with her mother's desire to control everyone's conversations and emotions.

Harry tells Tobias that if the circumstances were reversed, he and Edna don’t think they would allow Tobias and Agnes to live at their house in spite of the fact that they are best friends. In some ways, he even encourages it or at least does not discourage it. The most obvious thing that she wants in this play is her bedroom in her parents’ home. Although he is tolerant of people around him, he, like his wife, tends to avoid emotional topics.