The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time- Knowledge Organiser The full title of the play: The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time. Where and when did you see the play? The Bristol Hippodrome on 14 th June 2017. It opened in 2012 began touring in 2017. Originally Arena in the round but changed to Proscenium Arch for the tour. Who wrote the play? Who directed the play? Which company performed the play? Written by Simon Stephens, directed by Marianne Elliott, Performed by the National Theatre. Any important points about the play? The winner of seven 2013 Olivier Awards and five 2015 Tony Awards, including Best Play. Production style Remember you need to justify this for the two scenes you decided to write about in the written exam *Narrative-The play uses several narrators: Christopher, Siobhan and the Ensemble. *Metatheatre-play within a play. *Elements of Physical theatre: when Christopher arrives home, in space, the train scene. *Elements of Epic Theatre: Direct address of the audience, multi-role throughout apart from Christopher, actors on stage for the entire time sat around the edge of stage. *Technical elements used inventively: LED screens on every surface of the stage, projection used (e.g outline of dog), lights used creatively (e.g strobe lights, torches operated by actors), sound was pre-recorded and was used to intensify the atmosphere. *Overall Production style: A creative adaptation of a novel utilising Metatheatre, Epic theatre and Physical Theatre as its primary tools Form The form is the means by which the story is told *Crime mystery-the play follows Christopher s investigation of the death of Mrs Shear s dog Wellington. *Monologue-Christopher uses monologues when telling Siobhan what has happened. *Narration-from Siobhan the teacher. Also from Christopher when he reads the letters. *Choral speech-used throughout. *Choral movement-used throughout. *Flashback-told through Christopher s mum s letters and shown in the beach scene *Direct address of the audience- it was mum who gave me the milkshake and sorry about this *Multi-role-all actors (apart from Christopher) with a gestus e.g Headteacher You need to include this within your answer whatever question you choose to answer Response to the performance as an audience member Did you enjoy the performance? Why/ why not? What was the best part of the performance and what part would you change/adapt? Did it successfully deliver a message about autism through movement/lighting and sound/voice/set and props? How did you react to the performance? How did the rest of the audience react?
Analyse and evaluate the use of movement in two key scenes to communicate meaning to the audience. In your answer refer to: In your answer use the below key words. Make sure you mention each area in detail. *Movements *Gestures *Facial expressions Physical Theatre Physical Theatre is used to see into the mind of Christopher Boone so an audience can see the world from his perspective. Physical theatre used to indicate movement and location. Remember to give specific detailed answers of how Physical Theatre and Stylised movements were used in the 2 scenes chosen. Physical Theatre is not realistic. Physical Theatre is stylised and allows things to be shown in a more physical way. Christopher can t always articulate things verbally so showing them with Physical Theatre shows his mind. When is Physical Theatre used? Whenever Christopher arrived home there is a Physical Theatre sequence where the other actors were the doors of his house etc. Used when Christopher was narrating his Space dream-the actors lifted Christopher and supported the anti-gravity effect of space. There were lifts and turns involved here. Physical Theatre and Stylised movements used when visiting his neighbours, at the train station and on the underground ( swaying to show movement on the train) The Ensemble/Multi-role Multi-role used by many actors, therefore stereotypical movement and gesture used like a gestus e.g Upright posture for police men/women, Hunched posture for old woman etc. The audience see the ensemble changing into another role. Majority of the actors remain on stage for the entire performance Christopher s movements Deliberate and purposeful movement and upright posture. He walked quickly and usually in straight lines and avoided eye contact. Sudden changes in the tempo of his movements show his unpredictable reactions and highlight his autism. Christopher often paced back and forth to indicate his agitation and frustration, especially in the build-up to an anxiety attack. He had exaggerated movements of his hands to show his nervous character evident when he found the dog, learnt of the truth if his mother and in the train station. He often played with the toggles of his jacket-a gestus for his role. He covered his ears with his hands and screamed when something became too much. His facial expressions were honest throughout. He does not have the ability to hide his emotions.
Analyse and evaluate the use of lighting and sound in two key scenes to communicate meaning to the audience: *The aim of the sound and lighting is to create something that could be from Christopher s head. *Sound, lights and music need to work together to compliment Christopher s mind. Lighting Use of ultra-violet (UV) light to give high contrast against the black background. Strobe light used when Christopher is having panic attacks. Use of LED screens or spot lights within the walls (back, sides and floor) used to pulse coloured lighting specifically to mark points on a graph, representing stars (space) and outline the dog. Back projection used against each wall giving effects of: chalk board, train movement (windows), city skyline (London) and outer space. General lighting state stark white light using floodlights red gel added on wide angle. Fresnel during panic attacks. Blue and purple gels added during space scene on wide angle Fresnels Warm colours added when remembering his mother. Orange/Yellow gels on wide angle Fresnel used. Lots of changes in the lighting so it is as Christopher is. Mothers house-very tight box of light. The dark surrounding the light=monsters/mr Shears show how Christopher is feeling. Tense moment when Christopher finds the letters from his mother-torches used so only small amount of light. Lights moving carefully at first to show Christopher is controlling things and as things get too much for him the lighting becomes more frantic. Sound The sound: How did the music contribute to the play s mood? How did the music enhance the play? Try to be as detailed as possible in your discussion and examples. Repetitive songs that were pre-recorded to highlight the repetitive nature of Christopher s life. Loud percussive and metallic sound used synchronised with strobe light during panic attacks made the audience jump. General ambient soundscapes used to represent location: Big city, summer in the country etc Leightmotif (a specific song linked to character) to refer to Christopher. Music is not used for sentimental reasons. Music and sounds for the majority of the performance, very rarely silent. Computer sounds and bleeps incorporated into the music and sound as Christopher likes machinery. Remember-Always refer to two 15 marks! Think of the play and be specific!
Analyse and evaluate the use of voice in two key scenes to communicate meaning to the audience. In your answer use the below key words. Make sure you mention each area! *Pace *Pauses *Pitch *Volume/projection *Intonation/Tone *Accent The play is set in Swindon and the accents represented this. The characters that multi-role deliberately adapt their voices to assist effective multi-role. Christopher-15 years old Mum (Judy) Dad (Ed) Siobhan (teacher) Throughout- Swindon accent. Deliberate speech pronouncing and exaggerating every word. At the beach and in flashbacks- Swindon accent. Happy, relaxed tone. Pauses when inhales from her cigarette. Change of dynamic when he becomes more agitated, shouting when upset, scared or threatened. Shopping flashback (read in letter)-faster pace, frustration at Christopher s behaviour but then apologetic tone for blaming Christopher. Throughout- Swindon accent. Calming direct voice when talking to Christopher shows he is trying to be mindful of his condition. Mostly patient and caring. However, dad often used pauses to show he struggled to deal with Christopher. Throughout- Irish accent. Overly happy, false enthusiasm, encouraging teacher voice towards Christopher. Gently mocking at times creating comedy for the audience maybe you can explain the maths question at the end? Throughout-Matter of fact tone, never using slang and speaking in full sentences, linked with autism. Throughout-When answering questions, explaining himself and using lots of dialogue Throughout-Repeats words with the same accent when first learning them Battenberg -Doesn t mean to be rude but his autism takes things literally. At end of play-more confident tone after he was able to travel to London alone. Overly optimistic for the future. I found my mother. I was brave. "Then I went up to my bedroom and turned on my bedroom light and played six games of Tetris and got to level 38 which is my fourth best ever score." Matter of fact. Helps the audience realise that Christopher remembers precise details. When Christopher arrives at her house in London- Shocked, stuttering, but excited high pitch and fast pace. She is shocked to see her son. Argument with Christopher s dad- Shouting, angry, low pitch. At end-more optimistic. Calmer tone indicating she was never calm when in London. Hopeful for Christopher s future. "I'm not like your father. Your father is a much more patient person. He just gets on with things and if things upset him he doesn't let it show." Remember mum left Christopher as she struggles to deal with his autism When arguing with Christopher before he hits him-shouting, fast pace as he is speaking before thinking. Genuine anger and frustration at tone. Ed: "I ask you to do one thing for me, Christopher. One thing." Dad becomes frustrated towards Christopher when he hasn t followed instructions. At these times he tries to pause before he speaks. At end when he bought Christopher a puppy- Talking through a smile, higher pitch, hopeful tone. "Christopher, do you understand that I love you?" Ed is open about his feelings. No, It s an ordinary hospital. She has a problem a problem with her heart Ed is lying. The pauses hint towards this. When narrating Christopher s play-slow, deliberate speech. Engaging tone. Slow pace to ensure understanding. When Christopher tells Siobhan of the dead dog and his dad s involvement-shock, but trying to hide this so Christopher remains calm. When Christopher gets an A* in A Level maths- Happy, high pitch, fast pace, pleased. "In your head imagine a big red line across the floor. It starts at your feet and goes through the tunnel. And walk along the line. And count the rhythm in your head because that helps doesn t it?" Siobhan is sometimes the narrator and other times a calming voice in Christopher s head.
Analyse and evaluate the use of set and props in two key scenes to communicate meaning to the audience. In your answer refer to: Set Non-naturalistic, minimalistic, moveable set. Highly imaginative, abstract, stylised set to show the inside Christopher s mind. The stage is configured as a box or cube with graphs on each wall used to represent Christopher s mathematical brain and that he is trapped with his autism. The stage is similar to an incident board in a crime room in a Police station-graph paper. The play jumps across timelines and locations very quickly so brining on realistic set would slow the pace. Props The technical elements create the location rather than physical set. This is mostly projected on the back wall, side walls and floor including: Projected placards e.g Paddington Station, and maths equations that Christopher solves. Projected locations such as London maps, outline of the dog on the floor and stars Change of location represented through physical theatre and mime rather than actual set. The scene transitions are key and very much a part of the play often accompanied by music. Multi-functional white blocks used as all the furniture, including the train and different houses on the Christopher s street. Orange chair used by Siobhan when in school. There are more props than set used within the Play. Some of the key props include: Model of a dog with fork through it centre stage during opening. This is replaced by a projected image of the dog for the remainder of the play as a constant reminder of what the play is about. All props are kept in concealed storage areas built into the walls of the stage. This is where the train set is kept that Christopher builds at the end of Act 1. The train set is used to represent Christopher s train journey to London. It is also a prop used to show that Christopher enjoys playing with model trains. Container/cage used to represent pet rat. Held close to Christopher to show his affection towards his pet. Letters that fall from the ceiling are used when Christopher finds the truth about his mother. Very useful resource! www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize Home GCSE English Literature AQA Modern Prose and drama The Curious Incident of the dog in the Night-Time (play)