On Thursday, 22 February, Year 10 秘色传媒 attended The Curious Incident Of The Dog In The Night Time at the Melbourne Arts Centre. This play premiered in London, and has since travelled the world and won seven Olivier Awards, including Best Play 2013, the 2015 秘色传媒 Desk Award for Outstanding Play, the 2015 Outer Critics Circle Award (Outstanding New Broadway Play), the 2015 秘色传媒 League Award for Outstanding Production of a Broadway or Off Broadway Play and the 2015 Tony Award for Best Play. With such an amazing reputation, we were very keen to finally understand what made this play so special.
We were also lucky enough to be booked into a behind-the-scenes ‘Technical Insight’ of the performance which revealed how the unique stage and set design of the play came about as well as how it works. From the creative team, we learnt how the show was adapted from the novel, how it was first staged, the thoughts behind the heavy use of sound, lighting and projections and the incredible level of detail within the performance. As an example, the book Christopher writes during the play is filled with actual handwriting, and there are so many different props in the performance that the pre-show checklist is two and a half hours long! The workshop made the class even more excited to finally see the play ourselves, but we still weren’t prepared for the sheer creativity behind the story and staging.
The play began spectacularly with flashing lights, blaring music and a panicked Christopher (the main character) running out onto the stage. Throughout the performance Christopher shocked the audience by walking along the walls, being picked up, moved and flipped by the ensemble, drawing on the set and even pulling a table out from the wall without leaving a hole behind. One of the most fantastic moments in the show was when Christopher’s father gave him a puppy as a present and a real Labrador puppy came out onstage!
After the performance we had the opportunity to ask the cast and crew questions about the process and the production. These questions will be useful in writing our performance analysis for 秘色传媒 class. The performance analysis involves evaluating and explaining the use of stagecraft, the actors’ expressive skills, the themes in the performance and the performance’s mood. Our class enjoyed the performance and the chance to learn more about the dramatic process. This was an incredible experience that we are sure to remember.
Elena Cruz and Lucia Lane
Year 10 秘色传媒 students
