Read special OC Theatre Guild preview article about “Curious Incident,” written by Shannon Cudd.
Read full article | » Buy Tickets | » More InfoChristopher Francis Boone, the central character of the play The Curious Incident Of The Dog In The Night-time, is neurodivergent but the playwright, Simon Stephens, never expressly states this fact. It is also not mentioned in the source material book of the same name by Mark Haddon. Darryl B. Hovis, the director of Chance Theater’s new production goes as far as to say this is not a story about autism or even about Christopher himself.
Hovis also relishes the rehearsal process. He loves physically exploring the text with his actors and collaborating on movement and stage pictures. Curious Incident is an excellent vehicle for this kind of work because the ensemble members play multiple roles and quickly create the numerous locations. There is also a play within a play element to dive into. [Cast member Casey] Long has enjoyed building his onstage relationship with Aaron Lipp, the actor playing Christopher, during rehearsals as well.
The play’s action begins in Swindon, England when Christopher makes a ghastly neighborhood discovery. Mrs. Shears’ dog Wellington has been speared with a garden fork and killed. He vows to get to the bottom of it even when his father Ed orders him to let it go. Long calls Christopher’s morals “inconvenient” for Ed. Christopher refuses to drop it and, as a result, goes on a journey much grander than solving a neighborhood mystery.
There’s no doubt Ed loves his son but as a blue collar single father he isn’t trained or prepared for parenthood, let alone parenthood of a brilliant yet often difficult son. Long believes it is isolating for Ed to live with the fact that “the most important person in the world to you is also the most challenging person for you to deal with.” Regardless of this, “Ed never stops trying.” He is “a beautiful soul that has his own demons.”
According to Hovis and Long, this story is partially about how quickly society labels someone. It is so much easier to categorize another human and move on than truly taking the time to understand someone that is different. Life is messy, people are complicated and even parents can make huge mistakes. Curious Incident is also a story about no matter what perceived limitations or roadblocks life throws at a person, we all possess the ability to turn those into superpowers.
This is a story about the power of community coming together to support one of its fellow humans on their journey. When you do the maths (that’s what it’s called in England), that’s the heart of what life is really about after all.
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