Curious about Curious
19/08/2012
Saw what is a very strong contender for my play of the year for the second time - The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time - this time from the front row thanks to @jongilmartin1.
And it was just as wonderful, if not better than the first time. As a feast for the eyes there was so much more to notice and see.
Of course with more to notice it raises a few questions *spoiler alert, you have been warned*:
1. How does Luke Treadaway switch the live rat and the fake rat and back again during the travelling/tube scene?
2. Do the cast and crew play with the puppy back stage before the show and during, just because it's so cute and, well, a puppy?
3. How many times has the puppy peed on stage and has it done anything worse, after all you are never going to get a puppy to 'make sure it's gone to the loo' beforehand?
4. How many puppy's do they have?
5. With the rat and puppy, is it like the school pet with the cast and crew taking it in turns to take them home and look after them for the evening or days of no performance (I do hope so)?
5. Has Luke ever got the numbers wrong or gone to the wrong hatch to retrieve something?
6. Do the railway tracks have to be placed in certain order or is there flexibility and how hard is it for Luke not to play with the train once the track has been built (I bet he made choo choo sounds in rehearsal)?
7. And how long did it take him (and Nicola Walker) to trust the cast members he leans on and who carry him at various points (did they do that exercise where you have to fall backwards into someones arms, I can certainly picture it so I hope they did)?
Anybody else curious about Curious?
To be serious for a moment one thing I did notice more the second time is how little of Christopher's face you actually see. I don't know how conscious Luke is of that but it is particularly affective considering Christopher's extreme difficulty with social interaction.
Poly is convinced it will transfer to the Olivier, if it does we've already vowed to be there to see it a third time. Yes it is that good. Curious runs in rep at the Cottesloe until October 27