At first glance it is very difficult to feel any sympathy for Penny. All her actions point to the fact that: she is in the wrong, she took her mother's savings, she forged her brother's signature and she lied to her brother and mother. Stuart has every right to be angry. Penny has put them in an impossible situation. Just for starters, where are the funds going to come from to pay for their mother's nursing home? But if Penny's mother and Stuart know her track record, why have they made it possible for Penny to take advantage of the situation? As the saying goes -'you don't leave the fox in charge of the hen house'. Morally Bankrupt presents actors with strong dramatic material. Stuart has every right to be at the end of his tether. Penny is desperate and in so deep. She has lied, stolen and exhausted every aspect of her mother's generosity. Penny doesn't have a leg to stand on. Stuart is also desperate at the impossibility of the situation. The actor playing Penny will no doubt explore the emotional obligations of fear and regret. Going deeper to discover the possible causes of this type of behaviour she might look into the relationship obligation of mother/daughter and sister/brother.
What dependencies in these relationships have developed over the years, that informs the current predicament? Might Penny's mother's actions indicate some sort of compensation towards Penny? Does Stuart know deep down that he should have seen this coming and done something to prevent it? While the immediacy of the text might not require an over-examination of the past events in these relationships, there may be some kind of dysfunction that informs the subtext of the scene. And is probably worth exploring with some relationship improvisations. On the face of it - Penny has screwed up attempting to fix everything in one fell swoop. She trusted a so-called friend, gave him all the money and will never see him again. Part of Penny's character obligation is that she is totally gullible in some circumstances and completely rebellious and unthinking in others. Her actions indicate that she was extremely desperate to prove herself to her family. She took extreme measures to prove she wasn't a screw-up. And in doing, totally screwed up.
Does Penny just assume that her mother will keep bailing her out, just like she's done in the past? If she is so totally irresponsible does this indicate that Stuart identifies with being totally responsible? Has he held this space for a long time? While Penny has played out the role irresponsible daughter, has Stuart played the role of good son and responsible brother to his own detriment? Does this also fuel his anger? The actor playing Stuart will need to explore the inner conflict of the character in this regard. He loves his mother and he loves his sister - the situation is impossible. Each character has a strong set of needs - none the least of which is Penny's need that her brother, understand that although she knew she was doing the wrong thing it was so she could ultimately do good. She took another short cut and now the whole family is paying the price.
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