A small boy who stays up until his father returns home. He barely reaches his father's waist and finds himself swept into a clumsy, dizzying dance fueled by his father's drinking. He feels both affection and anxiety toward the imposing man, struggling to keep up with the erratic movements while hanging tightly to his father's shirt until he is finally put to bed.

A large, working-class man with a battered knuckle and hands caked hard by dirt. He arrives home heavily intoxicated and begins a boisterous, careless dance that sends pans sliding from the kitchen shelves. His physical stature and erratic movements make him a dominating presence in the home, completely oblivious to his son's discomfort as he beats time on the boy's head.

The maternal figure of the household who watches the chaotic romp unfold from a seated position. She maintains a rigid, frowning expression that she cannot or will not change. Despite the disruption to her neatly arranged kitchen shelves and the clattering of pans, she remains entirely passive, offering no verbal or physical intervention to stop the dance.