The Curious Incident of
the Dog in the Night-Time directed by Marianne Elliot is a play that is from the view of a
boy, Christopher, who has the Asperger’s syndrome. The play gives great insight
into the mind of a person with a different metal mindset than my own. Despite
this difference, I saw some similarities between Christopher and myself. For
example, we both get distressed easily. A cultural idea that I saw throughout
the play was that of heath and body, especially the internal and external
effects of a person with autism-like symptoms. Christopher's experience with
the outside world usually ended with him having an episode. He gets stressed in
unfamiliar places and around strangers. He does not like to be touched by
anyone, not even by his own family. The act of hugging can be comforting to
some people during a stressful time, but it is not for Christopher. Numbers,
machines, small spaces, and a lone time helps Christopher to calm down and be
able to thinking clearly again. Throughout the play, the story is suggesting
that the health of the mind and body is connected; even if a problem is in your
mind, it can physically effect your body. This can be seen when Christopher is
mentally stressing out, then his body goes into shock and he ends up on the ground
in a huddle. One can see that as Christopher's mind starts to race, his body
reacts by shutting down. The production showed this by having scattered and
fast moving lights, mixed with stressful noises. In addition to these visual
aid, the production used Christopher's staging to show his stress: he would
usually walk around in disorder until he stopped and tried to become as small
as possible. The stress and emotion that he is experiencing is projected onto
the audience because of the use of lighting, wild noise, and how the actor
playing Christopher acted during these times.
Showing
the view of the mind and body of an autistic-like person gave a unique and
extreme view of the internal and external struggles of the human body. The
struggles of a person with Asperger’s seemed to be similar to me, as a person
with no autism like symptoms, but Christopher's are amplified and last for
longer periods of time. I can be stressed and have panic attacks, but unlike
Christopher I can calm myself down while he needs the comfort of facts.
The
theatre featured a proscenium arch, so that the whole audience had one view of
the stage; it was slightly rounded so each audience member had a slightly
different view, but the angles did not allow the audience to see each other.
Even though I couldn't see the rest of the audience, unless I directly turned
to look at someone, I could hear their reactions to the play. Because I
couldn't see the audience I would forget that others were in the room, but
hearing the audiences reactions would bring me back to the real world. The
production did a great job of drawing the audience into the play and making us
feel like we were really there with Christopher. I am glad that others were in
the audience, because I would get wrapped up in the stress that Christopher was
going through; the people surrounding me reminded me that I was never alone.
Aesthetically
the stage was set up like a cube with it open at one side, so it was like we
were in the cube. The cube itself was strategically mapped out with symmetrical
squares. This set up seemed to be the inside of Christopher's mind: organized
to him, but confusing to the observers. The scenic design allowed for the
audience to experience Christopher's internal struggles, and the acting showed
his physical reactions to issues. The costumes were common everyday clothes:
the characters could have been in London or in America. The normal style of the
clothing showed that Christopher's struggle with Asperger’s syndrome was a
common everyday norm. The set and costumes are a modern day set up which shows
that Asperger’s is a modern day issue. The entire stage presence from the props
used to the blocking showed the internal and external experiences that
Christopher had with autism.
I
have had times where I feel like I have completely lost control of a situation
and shut down, similar to Christopher but not to the extreme. The play showed
me that even with different issues people can have similar experiences or
feelings. Even though Christopher showed the great suffering of his autism, he
also showed that he could do great things with it. This sent the message that
your issues are only as large as you let them become in your life. Christopher
struggled to calm down at certain times, but he still managed to get the
highest grade possible on his A level math exam. He taught me to not let my
weaknesses get the better of me, but that true strength is succeeding despite
your trials.
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