The Curious Incident of the Dog
in the Night-Time
has many features exclusive to British culture that may seem different to
Americans or those of other nationalities. One aspect I found particularly
interesting was the role and functionality of neighborhoods and those who live
in them. Compared to the one I live in, the neighborhood of Christopher Boone
(Graham Butler) represented in The
Curious Incident seemed to be for the most part more close-knit and personal,
and although there are some similarities between English neighborhoods and my
own in regards to trust, there are also many differences.
The
play brings into question the relationship between neighbors. Even though Mrs.
Alexander doesn’t appear to know Christopher personally very well when she is
first introduced in the play, she still invites him inside for tea and biscuits
and consistently tries to help him. He protests that she is a stranger, and he
is not allowed to talk to strangers. Her reply is that she is not a stranger,
but a friend—even though they have just met. This is an exchange that continues
for the rest of the play, and brings to mind a question: are neighbors friends
or strangers? Mrs. Alexander appears to think it makes them friends, because
she has seen Christopher walk to school every day and has a clear view of his
bedroom window from her home. But Christopher does not seem to recognize her,
and thus considers her a stranger in his mind. Americans seem to be torn on
this issue, as well; some parents will tell their children not to talk to their
neighbors unless
it is an emergency, while other parents have no issue with their children
exploring the neighborhood and talking to the people who live nearby. When I
was growing up, there were certain people I could talk to, and the rest of the
neighborhood was off-limits to me. Christopher does not seem to have this
limitation. Additionally, this points back to an issue that I felt was an
important part of the play: trust. Which neighbors are trustworthy, and which
ones aren’t? My parents made that decision for me, but Christopher must
determine this on his own.
The set
itself begins to create the feel of community before any acting is done on
behalf of the neighbors. The houses are displayed using LED lights and projections
of the house numbers onto the open box used as the stage. The houses are close
together physically, as well, which appears to be due not only to limited stage
space, but also because that is how homes are situated in many English towns.
This is quite different from my neighborhood; we tend to like to have a little
bit of distance from our neighbors—so much so that most of us have built high
fences and have quite a bit of extra space between our properties. Perhaps this
is a part of the issue of trust; English neighbors might have more trust
between them, so their “houses” (as representations of themselves) are closer
together and have no walls.
This
close proximity in physical space in English neighborhoods also leads to a
closeness in emotional space. Many in the neighborhood already know about the
death of Wellington, the dog, when Christopher does his “detective work” and
asks his neighbors about the incident also seems to be common knowledge within
the community that Christopher’s mother (Emily Joyce) and Mr. Shears (Daniel
Casey) left because they had an affair. People whom Christopher has never even
spoken to know his name and even a little bit about him, including Mrs.
Alexander (Gay Soper) and No. 40 (Vivienne Ampcheampong). Christopher mentions
having played with Wellington quite often, and no one seems to find this
unusual. The set design also helps create this sense of community; the choice
to use lights and house number projections in lieu of barriers and physical
numbers make the houses seem much less separate and more like a common place
for the neighbors. There is some of this togetherness to be found in American
communities, but in my neighborhood, we tend to “mind our own business” and
leave our neighbors to themselves.
There
is also a sense of openness in Christopher’s community that, at least in my
experience, is absent in America. Although some of Christopher’s neighbors
appeared slightly standoffish, they cooperated and answered his questions for
the most part. Walking up to neighbors’ houses and inquiring about a dog isn’t
likely to receive a warm response in my neighborhood, not because my neighbors
are rude, but because they value their privacy and like to remain unbothered. The
stereotype of the English being more standoffish and less friendly than
Americans is obviously broken here, as the opposite seems to be true.
There
are some other similarities between American and English neighborhoods. “Outsiders”
who don’t have much to do with the rest of the community are represented in the
play, as well as the typical elderly lady, Mrs. Alexander. Both of these groups
are also present in my community. There is also a sense of knowing everyone’s
name; when Christopher goes to ask questions, he knows the name of every person
in every house. This is also similar to my neighborhood because, although we
may not speak to each other, we know everyone’s name.
The Curious Incident of the Dog
in the Night-Time
gives a good glimpse into the workings of a “typical” English neighborhood,
which has some very large differences to American ones. In general, there
appears to be a larger amount of trust and friendliness between neighbors in
English communities, whereas American neighborhoods tend to be more isolated.
The comparison between the two has helped me to change my views on how the
English live and their relationships with those around them.