A dramatic glimpse into world of autism
‘Curious Incident’ looks at an overstimulated brain
Christopher is an odd duck. He’s better at calculating prime numbers than making small talk. He dotes on animals but fears people. He loathes being touched. If you violate one of his rigid rules of behavior, he will melt down into an epic tantrum, even though he is 15.
He is also the hero of a Broadway blockbuster, “The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime,” which opens a monthlong run at San Francisco’s Golden Gate Theatre on June 27 as part of a national touring production.
The tour’s arrival means Bay
Area audiences will get their first look at a character who has captured the hearts of critics and theatergoers despite his myriad issues. Empathy is a foreign language to him and he seems to walk about the world as if he has no skin, only raw nerve endings. Although his condition is never explicitly described in the story, he exhibits many characteristics associated with autism spectrum sisorder.
And the story is mostly told from his point of view.
Just how did the internal musings of an autistic youth get turned into a Broadway blockbuster? Certainly, there have been shows that grappled with difficult subject matter before, from “Assassins” (about people who have tried to kill U.S. presidents) to “Side Show” (about conjoined twins who became a stage hit in the 1930s), but putting autism in the spotlight is no mean feat in an industry often dominated by feel-good fare.
Legs on Broadway
Based on Mark Haddon’s hit 2003 novel, “Curious” went on to become the longest running play on Broadway in the past 10 years and it won five Tony Awards, including best play.
Insiders say the key to the play’s shuddering emotional impact is in making Christopher relatable to the audience. His behavior may be off-putting, but his struggle is universal.
“Its story of an autistic teenager striving for independence was profound, engaging and exceptionally touching,” says Robert Kelley, head of TheatreWorks Silicon Valley. When: June 27-July 23 Where: Golden Gate Theatre, 1 Taylor St., (at Market), San Francisco Tickets: $55-$275, 888746-1799, www.shnsf.com “The scenery, lighting and special effects were revelatory — a blend of traditional theater methods and high-end tech that was visually thrilling but also brilliantly suggested the world as experienced by an autistic mind.”
As the New York Times warned: “Be prepared to have all your emotional and sensory buttons pushed, including a few you may have not known existed … a production that re-tunes the way you see and hear.”
For actor Adam Langdon, who took on the role for the first time for this tour, it was imperative to make Christopher, who finds himself framed for the death of a neighbor’s dog, seem sympathetic instead of strange.
“You have to get them on Christopher’s side right away,” says Langdon, “so they can go on the ride with him. Otherwise they worry about being polite. They don’t feel like they can laugh when something is funny because he’s on the (autism) spectrum, and then the whole play doesn’t work. You have to connect with him.”
One of the most affecting aspects of the staging is the visual design, an electrifying box of sound and light, a sort of immersive laboratory that’s designed to evoke the inner workings of Christopher’s overstimulated brain.
“The set is such a critical part of the piece,” says Langdon. “It’s designed to disorient the audience completely and put them inside Christopher’s head so they can experience what it’s like to be him. He has to be so brave every day just to go out into the world.”
Spectrum research
Langdon dug into a ton of research into life on the spectrum but then tried to make the part his own. Initially, for example, he gave Christopher a monochromatic tone and a complete lack of eye contact, which are classic symptoms. But as he grew into the role, he relaxed his approach.
“You feel the responsibility to represent this community; it’s a community that deserves to be represented,” he says. “But ultimately you have to just dive into the deep end of the pool and let yourself sink into the role.”
Indeed, playwright Simon Stephens (“Heisenberg”) thinks the characters are so unusual and compassionate that they transcend clinical labels.
“Christopher’s autism may be the least interesting thing about him,” says Stephens. “I’m much more interested in his personality than in his condition. I think we fall in love with him because he’s brave and because he sees things that we don’t see and because he’s a kid from a workingclass town who wants to go to Oxford and study mathematics. We fall in love with him because he is Christopher.”
Even if it wasn’t “Curious Incident’s” intention, experts have praised the play’s portrayal of life on the spectrum.
“I feel that the stage adaptation of Haddon’s bestselling novel gives a general audience a rare chance to be immersed into the world of someone living with ASD,” wrote U.K. psychologist Stacey A. Bedwell about the play, “without being at all clinical or academic in content.”
For the legions of families grappling with autism who see the play, Christopher’s travails with the world strike a deep chord.
“Every time a mother or father or teacher comes up to me after the show and says that we told their story,” he says, “my heart just breaks.”