The Curios Incident Of The Dog In The Nighttime
Communication is a life skill that is central to most everyday conversations and interactions and through the reinforcement of this skill, individuals can find themselves growing more as a person and leaving their comfort zones more often. In the play “The Curios Incident of the Dog in The Nighttime” there are several moments where the protagonist, Christopher, finds himself struggling to deal with his autism and pushing himself in new ways he didn’t know possible of achieving. The protagonist constantly has trouble conveying his true thoughts and feelings to others especially when they don’t know he has a disability. This point is shown throughout the play with several dramatic techniques to further convey a message of communication. Through
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the group stills produced it is clearly identifiable that the theme of communication is portrayed by the struggles of the protagonist and those around him.
In the first still the protagonist is portrayed as being unable to communicate freely with others, this is achieved through the contrast between the people waiting for a train and Christopher. He is shown to be the brightest person out of all of them but he is the most restricted in who he can actually communicate with, this is shown by Christopher looking a bit bewildered and confused while looking around for someone he can communicate properly with. This problem isn’t exclusive to Christopher either, everyone in the play encounters time when they find themselves struggling to deal with the idea of conveying their true thoughts and feelings to the people around them. In the still there are a variety of different people around Christopher but none of them take the initiative to go up to this obviously confused and lost child and offer to help them. This might be another example of people struggling with the idea of communicating with their peers. With communication being a life skill that is central to most everyday conversations and interactions, when people are lacking in this skill then it can lead to people being left out of conversations and sometimes not having a single person who they can lean on in tough times and confide in. This is not only a problem in the play but is also relevant in our society and this play helps to educate and raise awareness about this issue.
In the second still the protagonist is found lying on the floor surrounded by a collection of letters addressed to him but never delivered to him.
This is the first time in years that the protagonist hears from his mother and he has no other way of responding than curling up in a ball and crying out. This is different from the first still because rather than showing people neglecting Christopher and not talking to him it shows how those closest to him have been cutting off the contact he has with his family for his own sake. Since Christopher has autism then his father, who loves him above everything else, doesn’t think it possible for Christopher to understand why his mother has left so he tells Christopher that she had a heart attack and die. Several other events eventually lead to Christopher making this discovery and choosing to go out and find his mother. This still really helps push the point of a lack of communication leading to misunderstandings in both relationships and how people view themselves and others, the latter being the lengths people will go to to protect those that they love from the sometimes harsh truth. The misunderstandings that can come from a lack of communication can go from something as simple as not knowing the grades your son/daughter got in their latest test to something as cruel as not trusting someone with telling them one of their loved ones has passed. The message of miscommunication in this play is strongly conveyed in this particular
scene as it is the beginning of the breaking down of different relationships because of miscommunication.
In the third still the protagonist’s father, Ed, is shown placing his hand against Christopher’s which is a sign showing that Christopher is willing to communicate. The plane of glass that is shown in between their hands symbolizes the communication barrier between these two and the daily struggles of people whose loved ones are struggling with autism. Props and costumes are used to portray the characters in the story and the restricted amount of time Ed has to talk to his son. These dramatic techniques along with the contrast between Ed and Christopher and the plane of glass in between them help convey the message of miscommunication leading to the destruction of relationships. The fact that Christopher is not in the shot fully shows his unwillingness to be anywhere near his father and how uncomfortable he is with the prospect of interacting with him. This helps to express the feelings of family and love that have been all but destroyed due to Ed killing Wellington and the lack of communication between him and his son.
Simon Stephens was successfully able to adapt the book “The Curious Incident of the Dog in The Nighttime” into a play through the exemplary use of dramatic techniques such as actor blocking, costumes, props and lighting. Through these techniques the idea of lives struggling with communication was effectively portrayed, individuals who have experienced troubles with communication in their own lives are able to relate to the struggles faced by the protagonist and those around him who care for him. However, it also shows how by working on building up strong relationships with those around you an individual can go through positive changes in both themselves and their attitude towards communicating with others. Through these dramatic techniques and through the stories of the characters in this play the notion of the importance of communication during an individual’s life and these notions were able to be clearly acknowledged through the whole of the play.
the group stills produced it is clearly identifiable that the theme of communication is portrayed by the struggles of the protagonist and those around him.
In the first still the protagonist is portrayed as being unable to communicate freely with others, this is achieved through the contrast between the people waiting for a train and Christopher. He is shown to be the brightest person out of all of them but he is the most restricted in who he can actually communicate with, this is shown by Christopher looking a bit bewildered and confused while looking around for someone he can communicate properly with. This problem isn’t exclusive to Christopher either, everyone in the play encounters time when they find themselves struggling to deal with the idea of conveying their true thoughts and feelings to the people around them. In the still there are a variety of different people around Christopher but none of them take the initiative to go up to this obviously confused and lost child and offer to help them. This might be another example of people struggling with the idea of communicating with their peers. With communication being a life skill that is central to most everyday conversations and interactions, when people are lacking in this skill then it can lead to people being left out of conversations and sometimes not having a single person who they can lean on in tough times and confide in. This is not only a problem in the play but is also relevant in our society and this play helps to educate and raise awareness about this issue.
In the second still the protagonist is found lying on the floor surrounded by a collection of letters addressed to him but never delivered to him.
This is the first time in years that the protagonist hears from his mother and he has no other way of responding than curling up in a ball and crying out. This is different from the first still because rather than showing people neglecting Christopher and not talking to him it shows how those closest to him have been cutting off the contact he has with his family for his own sake. Since Christopher has autism then his father, who loves him above everything else, doesn’t think it possible for Christopher to understand why his mother has left so he tells Christopher that she had a heart attack and die. Several other events eventually lead to Christopher making this discovery and choosing to go out and find his mother. This still really helps push the point of a lack of communication leading to misunderstandings in both relationships and how people view themselves and others, the latter being the lengths people will go to to protect those that they love from the sometimes harsh truth. The misunderstandings that can come from a lack of communication can go from something as simple as not knowing the grades your son/daughter got in their latest test to something as cruel as not trusting someone with telling them one of their loved ones has passed. The message of miscommunication in this play is strongly conveyed in this particular
scene as it is the beginning of the breaking down of different relationships because of miscommunication.
In the third still the protagonist’s father, Ed, is shown placing his hand against Christopher’s which is a sign showing that Christopher is willing to communicate. The plane of glass that is shown in between their hands symbolizes the communication barrier between these two and the daily struggles of people whose loved ones are struggling with autism. Props and costumes are used to portray the characters in the story and the restricted amount of time Ed has to talk to his son. These dramatic techniques along with the contrast between Ed and Christopher and the plane of glass in between them help convey the message of miscommunication leading to the destruction of relationships. The fact that Christopher is not in the shot fully shows his unwillingness to be anywhere near his father and how uncomfortable he is with the prospect of interacting with him. This helps to express the feelings of family and love that have been all but destroyed due to Ed killing Wellington and the lack of communication between him and his son.
Simon Stephens was successfully able to adapt the book “The Curious Incident of the Dog in The Nighttime” into a play through the exemplary use of dramatic techniques such as actor blocking, costumes, props and lighting. Through these techniques the idea of lives struggling with communication was effectively portrayed, individuals who have experienced troubles with communication in their own lives are able to relate to the struggles faced by the protagonist and those around him who care for him. However, it also shows how by working on building up strong relationships with those around you an individual can go through positive changes in both themselves and their attitude towards communicating with others. Through these dramatic techniques and through the stories of the characters in this play the notion of the importance of communication during an individual’s life and these notions were able to be clearly acknowledged through the whole of the play.