Written By: Mr. Christopher MarkerMorse, The Poly Theatre Arts Director
ANOTHER POINT OF VIEW: Read the response to Mylo Ortega’s article “Questionable Aspects of Poly’s Choice to Perform The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime Production by Poly’s theater art’s teacher, Mr. Markermorse. Click here to go to: MYLO ORTEGA’S COUNTER ARTICLE .
We are in the middle of mounting our Fall production ofThe Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime, and, as the producer, one of the directors and the advisor for the project, there are controversies and legitimate concerns and criticisms of the play, our choice of producing the play, and how we have addressed those concerns.
With a close family member, and their partner, who are both on the spectrum, the subject of autism, the autism spectrum and neurodivergence is close to my lived experience and my heart. When I read The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime in 2002, now 20 years ago, the story riveted me. I recognized so much of my family in the book, and the struggles experienced by the characters.
When the play version was created by National Theatre in London in 2012, I could not imagine how they could present a novel that occurs in the main character’s head and present it on a stage. I was utterly stunned when I saw it. It was, and is, a triumph of story, acting and presentation. By 2012, there was already a concerted effort being made to address the flaws of language, representation and the continually evolving understanding of the world of neurodivergence. Though not perfect, I appreciated the changes made, and our production continues to find ways to better present the story while supporting current scientific literature and developing ideas about these conditions.
Poly Theatre Arts chose to embrace the story, and stage this challenging theatrical production, in part to celebrate, embrace and give focus on the family and personal struggles and triumphs of people living divergently. By performing this play, we intend to give a respectful and intimate look at one character, and one family, as they work through the process, pain and joy of living in this world on the spectrum. One show or production can not paint the picture of neurodivergence, but it can explore the story of a slice of that life.
This is not a true story. It was not created by someone who had lived with, or was touched by, the world of neurodivergence. The creators used neurodivergence as a plot device to tell a story. One of the flaws of the book, and the play, has been the exclusion of authentic voices and lived experiences in the story and presentation. We have placed our presentation as part of a larger Poly Autism Spectrum and Neurodivergence Awareness Festival, running November 3-10 here at Poly. We are hoping that this forum will allow those who have lived experience with this family of conditions to have a place where their stories, their voices, can be heard.
We also have added cast members and crew to the production who have a direct connection to the successes, struggles and experiences of neurodiversity.
Art is never perfect; we push forward with our creative endeavors to make both a window to see into a world and a mirror to see ourselves. We hope we have made strides in making The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime closer to both a window and a mirror, for ourselves and our audiences.
LINK TO MYLO ORTEGA’S COUNTER ARTICLE