The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time
[Devin Dayley]
Review:
I quite liked this play. This is only the second actual play I’ve ever seen in my life and I thought it was entertaining and enjoyable. I didn’t enjoy it as much as a musical. A musical has more of an ability to tug at your heartstrings than a play does. There are certain elements of it that I really appreciated and enjoyed and then some elements that I did not like so much. So, let me start by rating this play a 8.2/10. I liked it but I wasn’t obsessed with it or I didn’t feel like it changed my life like I do with other theater-going experiences.
I saw this play in London, England, at the Piccadilly theater (which I’ve gotta say, is an OLD theater) on Monday April 8, 2019.
It is about an autistic boy, Christopher, who goes on a journey through London by himself. I had done research, learned that this play had been on broadway, read the book that it was shaped after, learned it would be playing in London this spring and simply had to go. So, I guess you could say that my trip to Europe was completely founded on seeing this play. That is an accurate conclusion.
First, the cast. Now, I am not familiar with the London, or West End, acting community. Regardless, the cast was very good. I am told that Christopher was played by the same actor that took this play on tour throughout Europe. With that being the case, he must be an acclaimed actor.
Something I enjoyed a lot is the modernity of this play. What is on stage is just lights and a graph lookin’ thing which means that you have to imagine the actual places where the events of the play are taking place. The music is also very modern and somewhat “techno” and futuristic which I liked. It makes you, as the audience, feel uncomfortable and like you’re experiencing something new which is the mood of the book. The story is of a boy doing something completely new and foreign to him and experiencing this world he never knew of before. So it is only fitting to cause the audience to feel a similar way with the music and stage set.
Something I LOVED is how mental handicaps are portrayed in both the play and the book. I am not claiming to be an expert in mental illness. I will say, though, that I have somewhat of an affinity for mental illness and an interest in it because of my life circumstances. The book does portray it a bit better than the play did. The actor playing Christopher was a little more dramatic and abrupt than I believe a real person with autism would be. The book was not this way. It seemed more smooth and thoughtful and not brash and automatic, like the play portrayed it.
This play does it’s fair share of breaking the fourth wall. For those who might not know what that is, imagine a wall separating the audience from the actors. This is common, movies are, mostly, all like this. Now imagine breaking that wall so that the actors can communicate freely with the audience. That’s what this play did. At first, I did not like it. I was like, this is out of place. The more I thought about it, though, I was like, oh, they’re trying to get us to feel like Christopher and feel part of the story. Once I thought of it that way, I liked it.
Regardless, this was a great play. One that deals with a “common” life event through the eyes of someone who is uncommon. It deals with important life subjects, and should be seen by everyone.
**As it is a British play, based on a British book, the language in it is extreme. However, the subject matter is important enough that I would suggest people over 12 see this play.
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