1 Curious Incident Guide

GCSE
Play script Edited by Mr S Cox
The Curious incident

of the dog in the
night-time
About:
This booklet is designed to support you through the study of a modern play script for your
English Exam.
The work in this booklet can be used in a number of ways: a regular homework, revision aid,
class resource or even just a catch up material if you have missed a topic.
One thing this booklet is not however, is a quick fix. The exercises and information in this
booklet are not made so you can just skip through or answer a few questions and then move
on. If you do not read the instructions you will find that the work is not always correct and if
you do not take the time to answer carefully in full sentences you will probably find that you
dont practise your ability to answer questions as effectively as you would like.
The keys to success in English are:
1-Read lots, it honestly helps (there are studies into this and everything)
2-Start early, if you leave it all to the end you wont give it time to settle in your mind, the
things you are probably best at are those you practise every day for years, English is the same.
3-Work hard, it is no use just being smart because if you expect to coast through on your
intelligence you may be disappointed, and if not in your GCSEs then your A levels or Degree,
trust me when I say it comes back to haunt you!
Best of luck!
The works included in this booklet have been heavily influenced by the work of other teachers and academics. The textual samples are
from the play 'The Curious Incident of the dog in the Night time by Simon Stephens and Mark Haddon and the creator of this booklet
claims no credit for any of the textual or visual extracts.
Contents:
1. Key Terms
2. Context
3. Part 1-11 (the play divided into sections)
4. Review
5. Themes
6. Character/Structure
7. Analysis
8. Tasks
9. Revision
Also...
Within the play there are opportunities to read and to
watch. This booklet assumes you have a copy of the play
script to hand and also the internet.
By using YouTube and the national theatre website, as well
as the BBC learning clips, it is easy to find extracts of the
stage play and a huge amount of commentary by
directors, producers and actors on some of the issues within
their journey to bringing it to stage.
Other clips of interest could include materials from various
autism charities and groups as well as some clips on the
crime genre.
2
Before we start
For students and teachers:
Welcome to the guide for Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time. It is a fantastic play and one I hope you enjoy.
When this is written it comes at a time when the exam system changes. For students new to GCSE this will be useful advice
and for teachers, this will be some suggestions on how to get the most from this topic.
What are the goals?

We want to get you through your exams. You may study this play very early on in year 10 and then it might be a year or
more before you look back at it. Take a moment to think of what you were studying this time last year? How about year
8?
It is hard to remember exactly what you were looking at so long ago and since coursework was scrapped in English it
You should:
1. Make good notes. Remember that you will have to look back at these much later, so they must be clear and neat.
2. Learn your key terms now. If you learn them and start using them here, you can often use them throughout the year and t
becomes one less thing to revise because you know them well.
3. Do it right the first time. That is not to say you cannot make mistake, but if you try and find a shortcut through answering
questions, all that happens is it becomes one less thing you learn and one less note you can use, after all, you are not going to
check back over every question in this guide are you?
4. Think about what the examiner wants. You may understand the play but if they are looking for you to explore a particular
character they will expect quotes, insightful comments, knowledge of context and a clear structure. If those are not in your work
THEY CANNOT GIVE YOU MARKS. You cannot hope your will be the exception.
1 Making clear notes.

I recommend for every section or theme you devote a double page spread. Here is an idea of how you could lay it out in
your books so it is easy to review. It is also worth at the start of this topic having a clear bookmark or topic page.
Clear Title and Date Answer the questions or main task of the
lesson.
Summary of the chapter and starter work.
1
- This happens
2
- We meet .
3
Key quotes and notes. These could be as 4

bullet points. Make sure you explain them or
5
show why you may want to revise them.
- Quote - useful because...

What you have learnt about this scene or a
- Noteremember this because... particular character/theme or structural
device. 3 things a lesson is good.
3
Key Terms
2 Most pages will have a small green box of key terms, especially when looking at the sections of the play. There is a
glossary in the front of many of them but others are just good vocabulary to use. If you do that your work will sound
confident and sophisticated, which helps gain marks. In fact the better sounding your work is, the higher the level, even
if your ideas are similar, it is about clarity of expression.
I suggest: Every lesson when you come across key words add them to a list. Your homework will then be to place those
words into a sentence. If you then try and use them in lesson or as often as you can it will really pay off.
Doing it right
3 Think about when you have a question. Sometimes you dont want to answer in long sentences or with a paragraph,
but the problem is that when you then look at that answer later on, you have forgotten the question.
If you remember that you are here to do an exam at the end of year 11. If the notes are not clear, they wont help and
your time will have been wasted. Do it right, dont try and be the one who has done it first.
What the examiner wants
4 Later on is some more information on this. But think about this. The average examiner cannot spend more than 5
minutes marking a paper because they have so many to get through. They will look for key words, good structure and
confident writing. Once they see that it becomes easier to put a mark in and check to see if the rest of the work hits it.
That can seem a little unfair, but remember you can play to this. If you remember key words, set your work out clearly,
manage your time and ensure you show a range of skills. You can get a fantastic grade.
AOs
Assessment Objectives, these are the skills you need and how much they are worth
of your marks.
AO1 Using good quotes and finding meaning in them to answer the question. In a play over thousands
of words you may only need to find and remember 30 or 40 of the best, but remember you have to be able
to talk about those. (40% of the mark)
AO2 Talking about writers skill in your key words, things like metaphor, comic relief or flashbacks for
example are all things the writer does to create impact on the reader/audience. These can be pointed out in
the quote you use and finding meaning for. (40% of the mark)
AO3 Linking the text to ideas or context. That means a brief explanation of how some of the things in
the text show things in the wider world or are influenced by them. These could be history, locations, age, cul-
ture, health just about anything. (20% of the mark)
4
Key Terms:
These are key words which describe many of the parts of the play. They are essential
because by using them you will be able to secure good marks. If you dont you cannot
show a high level understanding, even if you know what is going on.
Alliteration- The repetition of consonant sounds, es- Denotation- The dictionary meaning of a word, not
pecially at the beginning of words. Example: "Fresh fish what we always think of when we hear that word.
fingers free for all.
Dialogue- The conversation of characters in a literary
Antagonist- A character or force against which anoth- work. In plays, characters' speech is preceded by their
er character struggles, general the main villain but not names.
always bad.
Ensemble- The performance of various scenes and ide-
Aside- Words spoken by the character directly to the as by a group of people who can switch out of their roles
audience, which are not "heard" by the other characters on and join the group or background of the scene.
stage.
Fiction- An imagined story, whether in prose, poetry, or
Character- An imaginary person that inhabits a liter- drama. Not real, even if it is based on real life.
ary work. Literary characters may be major or minor, stat-
ic (unchanging) or dynamic (capable of change). Figurative language- A form of language use in
which writers and speakers convey something other than
Characterization- The means by which writers pre- the literal meaning of their words. Examples include hyper-
sent and reveal character. Although techniques of charac- bole or exaggeration, litotes or understatement, simile and
terization are complex, writers typically reveal characters metaphor.
through their speech, dress, manner, and actions.
Flashback- An interruption of a work's chronology to
Chorus- A group of characters in a play which comment describe or present an incident that occurred prior to the
on the action. main time frame of a work's action. These can be used to
highlight a memory or link to events in the past.
Climax- The turning point of the action in the plot of a
play or story. The climax represents the point of greatest Foreshadowing- Hints of what is to come in the ac-
tension in the work. tion of a play or a story. Often shown by deliberate clues in
the speech/text.
Comedy- A type of drama in which the characters ex-
perience reversals of fortune, usually for the better. In com- Fourth wall- The imaginary wall of the box theatre
edy, things work out happily in the end. setting, supposedly removed to allow the audience to see
the action. The fourth wall is especially common in modern
Comic relief- The use of a comic scene to interrupt a and contemporary, it is broken if the audience is ad-
succession of intensely tragic dramatic moments. Some- dressed directly or the working of the play made appar-
thing funny occurring often when we do not expect it. ent.
Conflict- A struggle between opposing forces in a story Gesture- The physical movement of a character during
or play, usually resolved by the end of the work. The con- a play.
flict may occur within a character as well as between char-
acters. Hyperbole- A figure of speech involving exaggeration.
Its the end of the world!
Connotation- The associations called up by a word
that goes beyond its dictionary meaning. Rose is connoted Imagery- The pattern of related comparative aspects
with love and passion. of language, particularly of images, in a literary work.
Light and darkness for example as good and evil.
Convention- A customary feature of a literary work,
something we expect in that kind of piece. So with a stage
production we expect expect a certain amount of unrealis-
tic elements because of the limits of stage.
5
Irony- A contrast or discrepancy between what is said and Setting- The time and place of a literary work that es-
what is meant or between what happens and what is ex- tablish its context. So, where and when things happen.
pected to happen in life and in literature. In verbal irony,
characters say the opposite of what they mean. In irony of Simile- A figure of speech involving a comparison be-
circumstance or situation, the opposite of what is expected tween unlike things using like, as, or as though. An example:
occurs. In dramatic irony, a character speaks in ignorance of "My love is like a red, red rose."
a situation or event known to the audience or to the other
characters.
Soliloquy- A speech in a play that is meant to be heard
Literal language- A form of language in which writ- by the audience but not by other characters on the stage. If
there are no other characters present, the soliloquy repre-
ers and speakers mean exactly what their words denote. sents the character thinking aloud.
Metaphor- A comparison between essentially unlike Stage direction-
things without an explicitly comparative word such as like or A playwright's descriptive or interpretive comments that
as. An example is "My love is a red, red rose," provide readers (and actors) with information about the
dialogue, setting, and action of a play. Modern playwrights,
Monologue- A speech by a single character without an- including Ibsen, Shaw, Miller, and Williams tend to include
other character's response. See Soliloquy. substantial stage directions, while earlier playwrights typical-
ly used them more sparsely, implicitly, or not at all. See Ges-
Narrator- The voice or speaker who narrates (explains ture.
what is happening or gives details for the audiences benefit).
Staging- The way a play presents in performance, in-
Onomatopoeia- The use of words to imitate the cluding the position of actors on stage, the scenic back-
sounds they describe. bang or buzz for example. ground, the props and costumes, and the lighting and sound
effects.
Pathos- A quality of a play's action that stimulates the
audience to feel pity for a character. Subplot- A subsidiary or subordinate or parallel plot in a
play or story that coexists with the main plot.
Personification- The method of describing object in
living or human ways. The sea raged, for example. Syntax- The grammatical order of words in a sentence or
line of verse or dialogue. How we put words to make sen-
Plot- The unified structure of the events in a piece. tence and how that makes us sound.
Props- Articles or objects that appear on stage during a Theme Key ideas and events which are explored
play. through the topics and processes in the play or story.
Protagonist-The main character of a literary work. Tone- The implied attitude of a character or writer to-
wards other character or ideas.
Resolution- The sorting out or unravelling of a plot at
the end of a play, novel, or story.
Remember!
These are not every key word you need and you do
not have to use all of them all the time.
BUT
If you write an essay without any, you wont be likely to get
above a D. In a good C grade or higher you would find 2 or
three in every paragraph which are used correctly. That
means not just thrown in, but used properly.
6
Aims:
Autism

To define Autism
To gain an understanding of how it affects people
A disability, but what actually is it? To make connections into how this could impact on
the play
TO START: SUMMARISE
Autism is a well known disability, but many people still do not know much about it. Summarise what you know or watch a
short YouTube clip from the autism society and then summarise what you have learnt. You should focus on the points that
interest you and particularly what you are surprised or confused about.
Make your summary about 30 seconds of speaking, 200 words or 1/3 of a page length, whichever your teacher directs.
-This can be a class discussion, silent book work or paired/group work.-
ability to communicate, blue could be your social skills and

Autism, what is it? green could be how lazy or organised you are. An autistic
person may have their colours distorted so some of their
Autism is a disability which affects many (roughly 1 in 100)
traits are overactive and some dont even seem to be
people. It is a disability which affects the way people
there sometimes. Just like the rest of us they have different
process information and is therefore a mental disability.
strengths and weaknesses and it is generally that they are
just a little more extreme. In fact some people believe we
It is also often labelled as a hidden disability because
are all on the autistic spectrum but that most of the
many people with autism are not obviously disabled to
the rest of the world. In fact many people find that they people we think of as normal are just above a
learn to manage and control many of the symptoms of certain line on it.
their autism and that they can live completely normal and
productive lives. As a result there are many people with
undiagnosed autism or who simply choose to hide it
because they feel uncomfortable. This is a sad fact but Why is this important to the play?
very understandable as many people can be bullied for
simply being different. The central character of the story is Christopher, he is a
young teenager (15) who has quite an extreme form of
Autism also is very different in everyone. Some autistic autism which means he does not handle physical contact
people have poor social skills and struggle to recognise or extreme sensory overloads well. Nor can he understand
complex emotions, others are completely fine in a group of things like sarcasm, metaphors or complex emotions
people and can have many friends but perhaps struggle beyond things like happy or sad.
with language or even feel the need to have constant
routines. Some things like OCD habits, an excellent The play is based on a novel and both show the events
memory and a sensitivity to things like loud noises or which happen through his own point of view. This is quite
physical contact are all common symptoms but it is rare to important to understand because we do not always see
find any two autistic people who are the same. things we want to see because Christopher doesn't want to
see them. There is also a lot of dramatic irony because we
Many autistic people are of above average intelligence understand what other characters mean or do, yet
and actually perform very well in maths and science Christopher doesn't.
because they have a naturally comfort with patterns and
rules. This can also manifest in them picking hobbies such By telling the story in this unusual way we are able to
as building or models because of the way they can then be better understand his way of looking at the world and
constructed and controlled. most importantly we feel sorry for him through his bad
times and share his joy when he manages to triumph over
Autism is also described as a spectrum. This can be other parts of his life.
confusing to understand so imagine a colour wheel. Now
imagine each colour is a part of yourself, red may be your
1 Look at the 3 pictures on the right. Thinking about what you now know about Autism, what do you think in each
Task:
picture you could say helps to show that Christopher has Autism? Give full sentences and explain your ideas.
E.g A common feature of autism is a tendency to be good at maths, this could be shown by the use of shapes and diagrams in picture one
which suggest Christopher also likes maths.
Remember to think about what he is doing and why he might choose to do that.
2 Imagine yourself either as autistic or the family of someone who is. Imagine you or that person has
accidentally walked into a loud music party or a club. Describe how you or that person may be thinking or
feeling. Remember it is ok to struggle with this and that you can use this difficulty in your work.
7
AO3
Mental Affect Symptom
Key Words: Disability Spectrum Dramatic Irony
Character, theme and notes:

An important part of this text is that you may not be sitting your exam for over a year, therefore it is important to make
clear notes. With you teachers direction give a brief summary of:
-What is Autism -What is Dramatic Irony -Why is Autism an important theme
Picture A Christopher following a map.

Using Autism in the text
Picture A Christopher following a map

The play is set from the point of view of Christopher
and there are many things he is simply not interested
in or doesn't understand. As a result the play will
sometimes skip over details or present things differ-
ently. In many ways Christopher's understanding is
that of a small child and in others an adult.
The play in real life also uses a large amount of spe-
cialist lighting sound and set design. These are used to
also help show how Christopher is feeling, using flash-
Picture B Christopher with his Dad.
ing reds and screeching sounds to demonstrate the

confusion and discomfort he experiences.
The text is also very exact, we learn a lot about Chris-
topher because of the unusual way he speaks, he
gives a great deal of factual information which helps
us understand more about the story, even if not al-
ways what his emotions are.
Dramatic Irony
Dramatic irony is where the audience understands
something the main character does not. This is very
Picture C Christopher with his model trains.
important to the story as Christopher cannot under-

stand things like sarcasm and often does not appear
to care much about other people. As a result he will
often miss things which we understand.
This is a good use of dramatic irony and can be help-
ful in creating humour, shock or by simply filling the
audience in on other details which Christopher does
not know himself.
TO REFLECT: CONNECT
Taking on board what you now know about Autism and the way it can change how people see the world, you now have to make predic-
tions about the way this could affect the text. This is a hard question to think about because you are being asked to think about how writing
is put together as well as a challenging mental disability.
Create a small piece of writing or bullet point notes (what your teacher requests) which lists some of your ideas in detail.
-How might the relationships between characters be affected? -How could Christopher's points of view or feelings be shown on stage?
-What clues could the title give us about the nature of the story? -What situations may Christopher find himself in which could be hard?
Images sourced from the National Theatre

8
Aims:
ON STAGE

To identify the conventions of stage plays
To explore how are structured
How does format of a play change the way To evaluate how these features will impact on the
we experience the story. story
TO START: NOTES
Stage plays work very differently to a novel. Create a brief spider diagram to set out some of these differences, you could al-
ternatively set this out as a table with two columns. Dont forget to look at things like: Set, props, text and structure. Remem-
ber to explore what kind of impact these things may have.
You should try to find about 6 key differences between plays and novels.
Heading
Accessing a script Introduces scene or
part of the play.
Scripts work very differently from
novels.
Setting Part of the
Scripts are intended to be stage directions to
performed as plays and as a help establish the
result many of the thoughts of location and the
the characters are hidden from
surroundings.
us, therefore the play either
needs to show us these emotions
or tell us them through a Character Name in
narrator or some other trick. bold and a
Plays can also have multiple description, also
events happening at once or the part of the stage
additions of music, costumes and directions.
lighting. This can make the play
more effective than a novel, but
sometimes you miss out on the
Stage Directions
inner thoughts and the closeness
of a character in a novel. In italics, not to be
read, show the
As a play is meant to be actions of
performed, many of the parts of characters.
the script are notes for people
other than the actors or the
director. These help us know not Dialogue The
just what is said, but what is words said by
done. characters
1 Using what you now know about stage directions and how scripts are written, use this to create an opening for the play
Task:
introducing Christopher. Remember to set the location, define the character, explore what actions are currently being
performed as well as the dialogue itself. You could try just introducing 1 character or 2. You could try a scene where
Christopher is eating tea with his dad or where he is playing with the neighbours dog. This should be about
half a page and laid out as you would expect a script.
2-Look at pictures A-D. For each image make a note of what is being shown on the stage and how this
could connect to the character of Christopher, you could use some of your ideas from the previous pages.
Then roughly draw/sketch the stage and annotate features (watch some of the videos from the national
theatre to help understand what is around, or look at the pack, also from the national theatre)
9
AO3/2
Set Stage directions Dialogue
Key Words: Props Character Establish
Ingredients of the stage.

Stage plays can be both very realistic and very unrealistic. That is because you have real, live people which is often a better
experience and more genuine than a pre filmed programme. However the stage is limited by what there is, the props and
things like lighting and sound which are used. These can help us picture the scene but are not as realistic as if we were
actually there.
The play Curious Incident is obviously NOT realistic in many ways. The use of the LED lights and projectors are very
obviously different to real life. However they are very effective at showing the main character, Christophers, emotions.
These emotions and the way he sees the world are different to us and the use of the lights and projectors help us to
understand when he is overwhelmed or calm.
The key parts of the stage production are: Lighting, Sound, Stage, Props, Actors and Costume. This play also uses projectors
and the lighting is especially advanced, using hundreds of LEDs in the background and the stage itself.
Watch one of the clips from the national theatre about the stage and how making the set was important to the play.
Picture A Christopher stargazing Picture B Christopher doing math and getting overwhelmed
Picture C The set Picture D Christopher in London
TO REFLECT: EVALUATE
Taking on what you now know about scripts and stage plays, evaluate how successful you believe it was to set the story as a stage perfor-
mance. Remember when evaluating you have to be able to explain what it does and whether this appears to be well done or poorly done.
Your teacher will hopefully show you a few making of clips on the board and you may have the national theatre pack in front of you. Use
these to help make a judgement.
This could be a class discussion or 2 paragraphs in your book exploring what is effective and not effective about the choice of staging.
Some starters to help:
-The use of a grid on the stage can be suitable because -By only using a few props the story is sometimes less...
10
Images sourced from the National Theatre
Aims:
Part 1

To identify the central storyline of the play.
To understand the way this is presented.
The opening of the play and introducing a To evaluate how effective this presentation is.
mystery. And also keep good revision notes for exams.
TO START: NOTES
This will be the opening of the play. Before you begin, consider how best it would be to read the play as a class. What risks are
there to some of these ideas and why are some better than others?
As a class, decide on a set of rules and conditions you will use when accessing the play. You may read it out loud, act it out or
even just watch something, however you need to decide how, as a class, you should behave and respond when this happens.
The play itself is divided into 2 parts, as we go through we are going to pause at key moments and explore various ideas
and extracts.
We will also collect key quotes and discuss characters and the overall themes of the play.
Synopsis Narration Monosyllabic

Key Words: Themes Mystery Patronising
Monologue Abstract Immature
Part 1: Section 1 From the start to page 13, where Siobhan asks how are you
today Christopher?
Synopsis: This is a section where more than one thing is happening on stage. Siobhan, the teacher, is reading from Christophers book and
talking to him. The action on stage seems to be parts of the book and Christophers memories. The two are connected but are meant to
have happened at different times. The reading is here and now, the events, in his past. It works a lot like flashbacks so we see Christopher
finding the dead dog, being arrested, being told his mother is ill and his father talking to him.
Characters: At this stage we meet Christopher, Ed (his dad) and Siobhan (his teacher). There are also minor characters and voices.
Themes: The ideas of mystery, crime, family and autism are all introduced here. The audience want to know who killed the dog, what
happened to the mother and we see it all through Christophers limited perspective.
Structure: The events of this section are in two parts and use a lot of flashbacks and voiceovers. This helps show a lot of information in a
short piece of time and gets us up to date with the key events in Christophers life and past. Many of the flashbacks are depicted through
changes on stage of characters and the set itself or sound effects, however importantly the other actors are still on stage (at the sides).
1 Summarise the key events of the play so far, this may only need to be a few sentences long.
Task:
2 What would you say are the key events or event in this section of the play?
3 Look at the following quotes, analyse them considering what the audience understand and what Christopher
understands, what impact do they create?
Christopher: Im talking to you
Ed: Its a bloody dog Christopher
Ed: Ill take it during the day when youre at school
4. EXTENSION During the scene the other actors are on set and sometimes reacting, why might the
director chosen to have included them in this way?
From what we have read of the opening of the play, what kind of person is Christopher and do we like him?
Be prepared to explain your answer and support it with events in the play so far.
E.g. I like Christopher because he is a caring person, we saw this when he wanted to find out who killed the dog.
11
AO1/2
Yes, I
http://www.canyon-news.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/The-Curious-Incident-of-the-Dog-in-the-Night-Time.jpg
always
tell the
truth
As it says, Christopher cannot lie. This is
partially due to his Autism and it is a mental
block he has against tell non truths. This
causes some difficulty in the play.
Page 9 from the Curious Incident of the dog in the night-time Play script
To Start: Imagine Duty Sergeant I dont think there will be any need for that.
Consider, if you could not lie, even telling white Ive spoken to your father and he says you didn't mean to hit the
lies or things you are not sure are true. How might policeman
that change your life. With a partner or on your Did you mean to hit the policeman?
own, give some examples of everyday life this
made make harder. Be prepared to explain your Christopher Yes
answer.
Duty Sergeant But you didn't mean to hurt the policeman?
Christopher No. I didn't mean to hurt the policeman I just wanted
Quite a key section of Part 1 is where Christo- him to stop touching me.
pher is talking to the Policeman, who probably
Duty Sergeant You know its wrong to hit a policeman dont
doesn't understand Christopher that well.
you?
When we see how he answers the questions
Christopher I do
we can very quickly forget he is a 15 year old
boy. He uses short repetitive answers and the Duty Sergeant Did you kill the dog Christopher?
questions seem quite patronising. Christopher I didn't kill the dog.
Task:
Duty Sergeant Do you know it is wrong to lie to a policeman
and that you can get into a very great deal of trouble if you do?
Christopher Yes
1 Read through the extract provided, or any dialogue Duty Sergeant Do you know who killed the dog?
in the play s far between Christopher and the police.
Christopher No
You need to explain how Christopher is presented in
this scene through the way he speaks. Duty Sergeant Are you telling the truth?
This looks at STRUCTURE and is very important. Christopher I always tell the truth.
We know he IS a 15 year old boy, but the way he talks
seems much younger.
In your book give 2-3 quotations and explore how they
use sentence structure, language and structural Christopher doesn't understand the impact of what he says sometimes.
elements like repetition and the lack of emotive
language to create the character at this point. When we see him talking very simply to the Police it can
create Dramatic Irony and we can find the scene funny,
2 EXTENSION look at the section (around page 7) why is this and do you think it right that we find it funny
where the Duty Sergeant is checking what Christopher because of how he talks?
has in his pockets. Use a quotation from here to
support your interpretation of his character. Analyse it Answer verbally or in your book, why do we laugh at the way
in the same way you just have in question 1. Christopher's autism presents itself at the police station
12
Aims:
Part 2

To identify themes of crime
The opening of the play and introducing a To evaluate how effective this presentation is.
mystery. And also keep good revision notes for exams.
TO START: NOTES
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time is partly a detective and crime story. In what ways do you think this is similar
to a crime story and what ways is it not?
Create a Venn Diagram,

-In one circle do crime stories, what do we expect to see in the crime genre.
-In the other circle write what we have seen in this play, think of everything so far.
-In the overlap include any parts of this story/play which are also in the crime genre.
Think about: What has happened so far? Who the characters are? Where is it being set? A Venn diagram
Genre Persistent Sub plot

Key Words: Detective Community
Part 1: Section 2 From page 13, where Siobhan asks how are you today Christopher? to
page 22 where Ed says where have you been?
Synopsis: As before, much of this is also being read by Siobhan in the book. We see Christopher announce he is going to investigate the
crime, we see him being told his mother has died and then we see him going to question all the neighbours.
Characters: At this stage we meet Siobhan (his teacher) in more detail. There are also minor characters and voices and we see a bit
more of Mrs Shears the owner of the dog. Lastly we meet Mrs Alexander who is another important yet small character.
Themes: The ideas of mystery and crime are big here as Christopher is being a detective however we also see his autism portrayed dif-
ferently as he knows he is doing something he is told not to.
Structure: The events of this section include a few minor flashbacks. Most critically where his mother dies. This is very brief and this can be
surprising that such a big event is not given more time.
1 Christopher is told in the last section stay out of other peoples business by his dad, Ed. Why does he seem to ignore this
and is he actually ignoring the instruction?
Task:
2 Look at where Christopher is told of his mothers death. Find his response and analyse it as a quote in your book. Why
do we think he reacts this way?
3 Christopher meets many of the people on his street. Make a subheading The Community and write
down, next to each person he meets name, what he learns from them and what kind of person they seem
to be. Why do you think the Director introduces so many different characters? Who are the most
important?
This last question should take a long time as you should look at 5 different people here and find relevant
quotes or examples to support what you say about them. If you like you could use a whole page and
present the work as a row of houses, however illustration is only to be done once the written work is
complete if you have time.
From this section and the work you have done so far, make a prediction as to who could have killed the dog or where the story may go
next, give 3 bullet points or 2 sentences to sum up your idea. You may discuss this as a class.
13
AO1/2
Well were meant to be writing stories
today, so why dont you write about
what happened to Wellington?
http://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/whats-on/arts-culture-news/actress-
One of the most interesting characters in the play so far is
Christophers teacher Siobhan. She takes on an almost
narrator like role in the play as she reads from Christophers
book. She also seems to act like a bridge between the
geraldine-alexander-curious-incident-8501896
audience and Christopher, sometimes pointing out things we
ourselves wish to know but Christopher doesn't.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/
programmes/p01jys2v
To Start: Profile
See extracts here!
In your book write the name Siobhan in the middle of a half page
(or suitable space for a spider diagram). Around this name (or
Christophers relation-
figure if you want), add some of the information we know or is ship with Siobhan.
implied about her. What kind of person is she? Why do we think
this?
You could add some quotes or even explore the lessons she seems
to try and teach Christopher.
Task:
Look at the extract on the right.
1 How does Siobhan seem to fit into this scene, is she actually there
with the policeman?
2 Siobhan praises Christopher, why might she do that?
3 Why might the director want to use Siobhans character in this
way? What does she communicate to the audience and how does
that help us?
4 Look through the rest of the text we have read so far. Find a
quote which show us about the relationship between Christopher and
Siobhan, annotate it, An example is done below.
She uses short direct sentences, she knows how

to communicate with someone like Christopher.
I like the details. They make it more realistic.
She praises him, this suggests she It sounds like she is reading about this
may be a teacher or someone who so she is someone Christopher trusts
cares about his development. to tell about his experiences.
Do you think Siobhan is an effective character in this story? Why? What does she do/not do to make you have this opinion.
14
Aims:
Part 3

To identify themes of family.
Looking at Christopher's family. To evaluate how effective this presentation is.
And also keep good revision notes for exams.
TO START: NOTES
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time is centred on Christopher and a big part of the story looks at the idea of
family. We have met Ed, Christophers father, now we must consider what kind of person he is.
Either as a class use hot seating or create a brief monologue from the point of view of Ed.
-Talk about the difficulties of raising a son alone and the challenges of Christophers autism.
Think about: What do we know about Ed, how does he react to Christopher's actions.
Allusion Revelation Juxtaposition

Key Words: Deception Tangent Protagonist
Part 1: Section 3 From page 22 where Ed says where have you been? to page 31 where
Ed finds Christopher's book on the table.
Synopsis: Christopher is talking to his father about his suspicions on who killed the dog, Wellington, his father reacts angrily to the men-
tion of Mr Shears. Christopher then goes on a tangent about being an astronaut, helping us understand his motivations. Finally Christo-
pher has another conversation with Mrs Alexander who explains to him that his mother is actually still alive and had an affair with Mr
Shears.
Characters: The scene heavily features Mrs Alexander, Ed and Siobhan as well as Christopher.
Themes: The theme of family and deception are key here as well as Christopher's own aspirations.
Structure: The key parts of this scene are the conversations Christopher has between Mrs Alexander and also with his father. However
they are broken by the scene where he talks about the stars, this helps divide the scene and also reinforce the idea we are in his head.
Task:
1 Christopher talks about being an astronaut, what does
Christopher say he likes about the idea of being an astronaut?
2 Mrs Alexander tells Christopher about his mother. How does
this make us look differently about what Ed said on
Christopher's mother being in hospital, why might he have said
that?
3 We meet Eds work partner Rhodri briefly, the way he talks is
juxtaposed to Christopher, find a line from each in their
conversation and compare it, think about the way they talk,
how it is structured, what expressions and emotive language
Christopher thinking about Space: littlelondonmagazine.co.uk
they use and what the tone may be?
4 This scene has a lot of information about Christopher's likes
and dislikes, find 6 quotes and explain what they show. For
example you may want to look at what colour food he wont
TO REFLECT: PREDICTION
eat or why he likes the idea of being an astronaut.
We are given a lot of information, in your book give at least
This last task will take a while and produce at
1 predictions of how the story may progress, look at.
least 6 short PEE paragraphs, you can find more
if you are able but you should conclude by -How will Christopher and Eds relationship change?
explaining what this reflects about his character
-How might Christopher react to the discovery of his mother?
and why he makes an unusual protagonist in the
story. -Who killed Wellington?
15
AO1/2
Your mother before she died was
very good friends with Mr Shears.
Christopher is told information by Mrs Alexander

which changes everything in the play, however he
doesn't always understand what is being said
because of his Autism. As a result he does not
understand inference or allusion.
To Start: Profile
In their conversation, Mrs Alexander says a number of
things Christopher doesn't understand, look at the
following quotes and consider how he has interpreted
Mrs Alexander talking to Christopher: Britishtheatre.com them and how they were meant to be understood.
This may be a class discussion or notes as directed by
Task:
Look at the way Christopher speaks. Create a conversation in your books
the teacher.
Mrs Alexander Really? A level maths?
Christopher Yes, I dont tell lies.
or acted out (your teacher will decide). Make one version as a normal Mrs Alexander Your mother before she dies was very
conversation and another where one character is like Christopher and good friends with Mr Shears,
cannot understand allusions. Christopher I know
Mrs Alexander Perhaps it would be best not to talk

You could look at a topic like: about these things Christopher
Christopher Why not
Someone has to tell they child that a pet has died
A person explaining they have a hidden past
Where a person has to explain that they have a crush one someone else INFER: To find a meaning in
something which is not
You could include sentence such as: expressly said but is suggested
You understand what I am saying, dont you? by tone and context.
When I say feelings I mean, feelings, ya know?
E.G. He is at peace now can
Gone to a better place.
be inferred as someone has
It was a dark time.
passed away.
I have something I want to say but I dont
know how.
You dont want to know.

How successful do you think the writer is at showing
Christopher as innocent or nave? Do you think it
would change the story much if he understood these
things?
16
Aims:
Part 4

Christophers mother and the letters of To evaluate how effective this presentation is.
revelation. And also keep good revision notes for exams.
TO START: CONSIDER
I remember 20th July 2006. I was nine years old. It was a Saturday. We were on holiday in Cornwall. We were on the beach
in a place called Polprerro. Mother was wearing a pair of shorts made out of denim and a stripy blue swimming costume and
she was smoking cigarettes called Consulate, which were mint flavour.
Look at the quote above.
How important do we think this memory is to Christopher? Why? Look at what is said and the detail. Copy the quote into
your book and underneath analyse why you think Christopher remembers this so clearly.
Think about memories you have from your childhood and why you remember some more strongly than others.
Abuse Structure Tone

Key Words: Emotive Pace Tempo
Part 1: Section 4 From page 31 where Ed finds Christopher's book on the table to page 40
where Ed says Youre soaking,.
Synopsis: Ed discovers Christophers book and confronts Christopher, they have a physical struggle and Ed shakes him hard. Christopher
has a flashback to his mother and then goes looking for his book which his father has hidden. He finds the book but also letters from his
mother who he finally realises must still be alive.
Characters: The scene heavily features Ed and Judy as well as Christopher and Siobhan.
Themes: The theme of family, memory and violence occur here.
Structure: The key parts of this scene are the flashback, the struggle and Christopher finding the letter. Each of them are portrayed dif-
ferently so as to demonstrate the different emotions prevalent in each part.
Task:
1 What do we know about Judy. Find 5 things (as quotes) we
learn about her. Underneath them all give a brief explanation
of what this shows us about her character and what kind of
person you think she is.
Christopher discovering the letter from the stage production 2 There is a lot of anger in this scene. Find 2 quotes and
analyse the way they portray frustration.
TO REFLECT: PREDICTION 3 How is humour created through the
Why did she go? structure of language when Christopher
looks for his book? Look at the long
What reasons could there have been for his mother
leaving?
speech on page 36.
Do you agree or disagree with her choice? 4 How does Siobhan react to
Christophers bruise? Why might that be?
Prepare this as notes or as part of a class discussion.
17
AO1/2
Christopher, do you
understand that I love
you?.
Christopher with his father
The scene has a variety of different tones,
structural changes and pace. Most notably
between the scene where Christopher and
his father struggle, and the scene where he
finds the letters.
The way the text is written and performed,
along with punctuation and vocabulary
help us understand these changes and the
emotional changes as well as the tempo of
the scene.
To Start: Consider
Intesne
Look at the section of the play. In your book draw a rough graph like this (ignore the blue line,
Emotional Tension
that is just an example) . Plot on the graph 5 points on the scene, label them and draw a line.
Remember, to make sure you use quote of explanations to clearly label the points on the graph Mild
e.g. the part of the scene where Siobhan questions Christopher on his bruises might be around the
Calm
middle because there is some tension there but not much.

Start Middle End
Extract
This should take half or a third of a page and you should use a rule.
Task: http://
Look at page 36 and page 34. www.bbc.co.uk/
1 Summarise what happens on page 34, in your summary you should
mention.
How long are the lines on average on page 34?

programmes/
How many stage directions are there?
How would you describe the way Ed talks and the language he uses?
Give two quotes. ship with his mother.
What mood and tempo do all of these things create in the extract
and how?
2- Summarise what happens on page 36, in your summary you should
mention. How does the scene effectively change tone through
use of structure and language?
Where is repetition used in the speech? Include an example.
Answer the question with examples from your work on
How are Christopher's sentences structured, look at punctuation? the extract, use quotes to support your reasoning. Focus
on one thing at a time.
How is humour present in the scene?
You may need to turn this into a piece of extended
What mood and tempo do all of these things create in the extract
writing if your teacher directs you to.
and how?
18
Aims:
Part 5

Christophers mother and the letters of To evaluate how effective this presentation is.
revelation. And also keep good revision notes for exams.
TO START: CONSIDER
During the scene Christopher is building his train set. The stage direction
states,
His building becomes frantic. At times almost balletic
What do we think the importance of the train set is as he makes it on
the stage?
Think about: Metaphors, Foreshadowing, Staging

This can be a class discussion or a brief paragraph/mind map as di-
Christopher and his train set. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time from
rected by the teacher. the National Theatre.
Paternal Monologue Abandonment

Key Words: Foreshadowing Physical Soliloquy
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p01jykhc Watch the first half of the clip on
Part 1: Section 5 From page 40 where Ed

says Youre soaking, to page 47 where
Ed says Christopher Christopher?
Synopsis: Ed has to go out on a job as his partner is unavaila-
Task:
1 Christophers mother Judy talks about a series of
ble. He leaves Christopher at home and Christopher begins to
read the letters left by his mother. She explains how she had an events up until the time she leaves. Starting with the
affair and left. During this time Christopher is building his train train set he gets for Christmas, plot these in a flow chart
set while Siobhan and his mother read out the letters in his place.
down a page. By each event you need to explain what
Characters: The scene heavily features Christopher Judy and it was, include the quote and a brief explanation (2
Siobhan. sentences) of how this may have contributed to Judy
leaving.
Themes: The theme of family and separation occur here.
The first part is done for you as an example.
Structure: The key parts of this scene are Christophers building
of the train set, the monologues from Judy and Siobhan and the Christopher gets the toy train.
way these create intensity in the scene. I found a photo of that train set we bought you a
couple of Christmases ago
National Theatre.
Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time from the
Christopher and his mother. The Curious
This shows one of the happier times in their relationship

where she felt like a good parent. However she was also
distant because his interest was the train, not her.
You will need to put into order and look at: these events
Huge argument, realising she wasn't needed
TO REFLECT: PREDICTION Spending time with Roger
Shopping together
Christophers father is about to walk in and find him.
Ed being cross with Judy
How do you think he will react to Christopher reading the letters?
Leaving when Roger asked her to
Why do you think this?
Christopher throwing food
Support your ideas with what you know about Ed from earlier in the
play.
19
AO1/2
Christopher moves to the middle pf the track.
He crouches down. He rolls himself into a ball. He
starts hitting his hands and feet and head
against the floor as the letter continues.
Christopher reacting to the letters. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time from the National Theatre.
This extract from the scene is important to show tension.

Christopher does not react in the same way that normal
characters do and his responses can sometimes be very physical.
http://
This is very effective for a visual production.
To Start: Explore
www.bbc.co.uk/
Look at the image above.
What is being shown here?
Is this an effective way of showing how Christopher is feeling about the
programmes/
letters? Why? What do the falling letters and his position represent?
ship with his mother.
Task:
Look at the letters in the extract.
TO REFLECT: SHOW OR
In your books divide a page into 6 boxes. Leave space at the bottom of each of these. EXPLAIN
In each box pick a part of the scene and at the top of the box use a quote to show where this As a group or a pair (no more
is in the extract. than 3) re-create 1 or more
Under the quote (but leaving space at the bottom) draw an image of how you would moments from your storyboard.
present that moment on stage, you can use stickmen if you wish. Or some of the ideas from Be prepared to explain what
previous images and clips we have seen. you chose to do and feedback
to others.
Underneath explain the stage directions you would give and what they would show.
This is a storyboard and will show your ability to visualise the tension in the play.
20
Aims:
Part 6

To identify themes of betrayal and crime.
Christophers reaction and Eds revelation. To evaluate how effective this presentation is.
TO START: CONSIDER
What can show pain in the way someone speaks?
Think about these symbols and what emotions
they can show.
What other structural techniques are there?
! Long
sentence, Short Sentenc-
es, Repetition, ?
Onomatopoeia
Conclusion
Key Grief
Revelation
Words: Subconscious
Dilemma
Ensemble
Christopher and his mother, the end of part 1. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time from the National Theatre.
Part 1: Section 6 From page 47 where Ed says Christopher Christopher? to the end of
Part 1 on page 52.
Synopsis: Christopher is discovered by his father after reading the letters. His father explains the pressure he was under and admits to
killing Wellington. Christopher decides he cannot stay with his father as his father is now a murderer. Christopher decides he can stay
nowhere else than with his mother.
Characters: The scene heavily features Ed, though many other characters chip in at the end as part of Christopher's subconscious.
Themes: The theme of family and honest.
Structure: The extract focusses heavily on Eds speech and Christophers dilemma.
Task:
1 Eds speech to Christopher is full of pain and quite emotional.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/
programmes/p01jyf8r
How is this shown through.
The use of punctuation
The use of language

See extracts here!
Sentence structure
Ensemble acting.
You can answer this in three separate short paragraphs or by
annotating the extract from the text.
2-The end of the extract uses ensemble
TO REFLECT: JUDGEMENT
acting. Why do you think this is used?
Who is wright or wrong?
3 What is going on in Christopher's head?
Consider what we know about Ed and his decision, do we think he
Either draw Christopher or mind map
has done the right thing hiding the truth like this?
around his name all the things he will be
thinking about right now. Make the more Why?
important things bigger and link and
questions he may be asking himself.
21
Practise Question:
How is Siobhan presented as a
teacher to Christopher?
Look at:
How Siobhan and Christopher are presented together 30 marks
How Stephens presents Siobhan (Roughly 30 minutes to answer and 15 to
This is a sample question based on the questions provided in the papers from AQA. Questions tend to focus on characters or
themes and if you divided up the time fro the exam you would have about 30-45 minutes to answer (a good amount would
be 5-10 minutes of planning and 25-30 writing).
Part 1 What do I need to talk about?

There are 3 assessment objectives the examiner will be marking for AO1, AO2 and AO3, AO3 is worth half the marks AO1 or AO2 are
worth and you cannot get all your marks from just 1 AO. That means you need to cover them all in your work.
AO1 Interpretation supported by quotes: here you look at your key quotes about the topic and explain how you believe they create
meaning to the audience. An example could be the way Siobhan speaks Christophers thoughts and this could be used to portray her as
his conscience.
AO2 Analysis of language: Within the quotes you explore you would look out for examples such as Direct address, narrative,
metaphors, emotive language, sentence structure and also with a script you could explore staging.
AO3 Context: this is where you can bring in your background knowledge about families, stage plays and autism and link these to
your ideas. You should only include these as a brief sentence on each paragraph or indeed in your introduction.
Part 2 How do I structure my answer?

For a 25/30 minute answer you have enough time to produce 5-6 good paragraphs with a clear conclusion and introduction. There is no
right or wrong length but you need enough opportunity to talk about a range of ideas.
Intro This should be SHORT, no more than 3-4 sentences. You need to briefly; introduce Siobhan and her character, set out what you
wish to explore, mention what you know about autism and stage plays in relation to her character. An example could be Siobhan is
Christophers specialist teacher, because of the needs of his autism she is shown as having a more personal relationship with him and is
used to clarify many areas to the audience which Christopher himself is incapable due to his Aspergers syndrome
Core Paragraphs Three key paragraphs (more if you can), which are centred around a key quote or section of the play. Each
paragraph should: Introduce the quote, give the quote, analyse the language, talk about what meaning this creates in the play and then
where relevant, link to context.
Conclusion Summarise your earlier points and come up with an answer (or alternatives) to the question. E.g. Siobhan is shown
not just as an educator but a moral teacher to Christopher and in many ways is the link between him and the audience, hence her role as
a narrator at times.
Over a lesson of at least an hour or a double.

1 Spend 30 minutes looking at the character of Siobhan, in your book use a page and collect as many relevant quotes or ideas for your
work. You will NOT be able to look at them for your writing so you will have to spend some of this time focussing on a few key ideas and
learning them.
2 Close that page or on a separate piece of paper you have 10 minutes to now plan your work for the question above.
3 With 30 minutes, attempt to answer the question using your plan in 2 to help.
22
Aims:
Part 7

To explore ideas and themes surrounding confusion.
Opening to Part2 of the play and the To evaluate how effective this presentation is.
journey to the station. And also keep good revision notes for exams.
TO START: BLURB
Christopher can find the world confusing.
What situations in every day life could Christopher find hard and confusing which other may not. List 5-15.
Why are they hard for him to deal with?
Independence Montage Authorities

Key Words: Navigate Perspective Ignorant
Part 2: Section 7 From the end of Part 1 on page 52 to page 59 where the station
policeman says Christopher caught you just in time
Synopsis: Christopher is asked if the school can put his story into a school play, he tries to leave his pet rat with Mrs Alexander and he
goes to find the station. He buys a ticket and gets to the train.
Characters: The scene features a number of characters briefly. Mrs Gascoyne the head teacher is shown as a rather comic character and
we understand Mrs Alexanders concern for Christopher. We also see the Station policeman who is a minor character.
Themes: The theme of growth and community.
Structure: The extract contains a number of events happening in brief scenes, this reflects the events which stand out to Christopher,
rather than a normal person trying to leave home.
Task:
Answer in full sentences and paragraphs.
1 The scene is very confusing to Christopher.
Explore 3 things which cause him confusion, and find a
quote which demonstrates this for each.
2-The station is a hectic place, how is this shown in the
script? Look at the voices on page 57/58.
3 Imagine you have met Christopher and are having
to explain to him the process of reaching the station
and boarding the train for his journey.
Give him a guide and advice on this.
Remember: How can he handle crowds? How can he
find out the cost? How can he find the station?
Christopher navigating his way to the station.
TO REFLECT: STRUCTURE
How effectively is confusion shown in the scene?
Why does Christopher find it hard to follow directions?
Why can the station be a confusing place?
Do you think Christopher will be able to cope with this journey?
23
AO1/2
Aims:
Part 8

To conflict within enviroment
A train journey. To evaluate how effective this presentation is.
TO START: OUT THE WINDOW

Look at this image. What do you think of when you
look at it?
Now look again and try and imagine what Christopher
would notice? Remember his love of detail, maths and
his inability to think in metaphors or his difficulty with
emotional connections.
What are the differences? Is there a right way to look at
a picture?
Part 2: Section 8 From page 59 where the station policeman says Christopher caught
you just in time to page 70 The tube line appears
Synopsis: Christopher goes through his train journey to London, he hides from the station police in order to carry on. Along the way we
see a bit more about he deals with situations in his own unique way.
Characters: The scene is almost solely Christopher and the Station Policeman, though the other actors play passengers on the train. We
also see Ed later on as an extension of Christophers inner voice.
Themes: The themes of autism and behaviour.
Structure: The extract uses a good amount of humour and Christophers monologues help us understand more of his character. His
conversation with Ed and the way London is presented are also powerful.
Task:
Answer these in full sentences or paragraphs, your work should make sense without having to re-read the question.
1 Give an example of how humour can be created in the scene?
2 London is shown as very busy, how could you use the actors on stage to help demonstrate this, refer to a particular
moment or line in the play.
3 Christopher talks to an imaginary version of Ed in his head, what do you think this shows abut their relationship and
how Christopher thinks about his father?
4 Christopher knows he is different from everyone else, but how does he show this in the extract?
TO REFLECT: STRUCTURE
How effectively is confusion shown in the scene?
Why does Christopher find it hard to follow directions?
Why can the station be a confusing place?
Do you think Christopher will be able to cope with this journey?
24
Aims:
Part 9

To consider aspects of staging for effect.
To how staging impacts audience.
Christophers struggles through the To evaluate how effective staging can be.
London Underground. And also keep good revision notes for exams.
TO START: DISCUSS
Image A
Word association. Look at image A,B and C. What do you think of when
you see these images?
How do you think Christopher would respond to being on the
Underground.
Atmosphere Navigating
Key Words:
Image B
Commuting Choreographed
Chaotic Congestion
Part 2: Section 9 From page 70 The tube line

appears to page 79 where Ed says Im talking to
her whether you like it or not
Synopsis: Christopher goes onto the London Underground he arrives at his Image C
mothers home and sees Judy.
Characters: The scene focusses on Christopher but still uses the entire cast to
portray the chaos of the scene. Another key character is Judy.
Themes: The of confusion and autism.
Structure: The scene is notable for the use of chaotic ensemble acting to show
the London Underground.
Task:
Draw 4 plans of the stage, they can be a birds eye view. Include on them the way you would show these key moments in the
play, include the description of this section underneath. -Where characters are
-What they are doing
Annotate with at least 5 annotations which talk about -What is the lighting
-What props
-Any special effects

EXTENSION:
1 How does Judy respond when she finds out Christopher thought she was dead?
2 Christopher is not suited to travelling on the underground, give an example to support this view.
3 How does Christopher manage to cope through the journey? What does he do to help himself manage?
4 How does Roger respond to the situation? Why do you think that is?
5 How is humour created in the extract? Find an example?
TO REFLECT: DISCUSSION
Christopher believes the world revolves around him?
What arguments could you make for or against this as an idea?
How does this link to the way the play is staged?
25
AO1/2
Aims:
Part 10

To explore how Character is presented on stage.
To understand how character can be influenced.
Christopher and his mother find a solution. To evaluate how effective this presentation is.
TO START: OUT THE WINDOW

Christopher often reacts badly when he doesn't get his way, he screams or groans or lashes out. What do you think this shows
us about him and how does this affect what we think of him?
How would you describe the way he behaves? Give more than 1 interpretation.
Part 2: Section 10 From page 79 where Ed says Im talking to her whether you like it or
not to page 91 Mrs Shears youve got a nerve
Synopsis: Christopher decides he needs to go home to do his A level, meanwhile Roger does not deal well with the change in his life and
having Christopher around and Judy struggles to cope. They eventually run back to Swindon in Rogers car.
Characters: The scene is focussed on Christopher, Roger and Judy.
Themes: The themes of change and adaptation are shown here which obviously conflict with Christophers autism.
Structure: The extract is not always happening at a pace and jumps in time. We are also reminded that this is a memory and Siobhans
appearance helps us to understand that Christopher is struggling to cope.
4th wall
The fourth wall is an idea that when you act something we imagine a
fourth wall on the stage where the audience is, as if they are looking
into a box.
Things which clearly are used to show this is not real are said to be
breaking the fourth wall. So if the actors slip out of role or we are
told stage directions. The less realistic it is, the more the wall is broken
Task:
Answer these in full sentences or paragraphs, your work should make sense without having to re-read the question.
1 On page 82 Christopher says it was mother who gave me the milkshake and later you need to shout more loudly at him look at
how the characters react, do we think this is real and why do you think it is included in the play?
2 How can we see that Judy struggles to look after Christopher?
3- someone was going to get hurt who was Judy talking about and why?
4- I cant see any stars here how does this line suggest Christopher does not belong in London? Read the lines around it
for more support here.
TO REFLECT: CHARACTER
We dont know much about Roger, but is he a bad person? Either as a class or individually create a brief mind map around his name and
decide what you think of him as a person. Remember to support your ideas with your knowledge of the play so far.
26
Aims:
Part 11

To explore structure.
To understand how this can be presented.
Ending the play, where next? To evaluate how effective this presentation is.
TO START: DISCUSS
We are nearly at the end of the play. What has Christopher achieved over the course of the play?
Give 5 challenges he has overcome.
What has he learnt from these?
Resolution Pathos Comic Relief

Key Words: Accomplishment Triumph Literal
Part 2: Section 11 From page 79 where

Ed says Im talking to her whether you
like it or not to the end of the play.
Synopsis: Christopher sits his exam and he and his mother
move into a flat/hostel. There is some resolution between
Christopher and his father.
Characters: The scene focusses on Christopher, his family and

the school.
Themes: Resolution, autism and family.
Structure: As an ending the play leaves us with an open

ending though there is some resolutions and stability returned
to Christophers life.
Christopher and his father.
Task:
1 Is this a happy ending, give two supporting points to explain your answer.
2 How is humour created an the fourth wall broken? (see previous page for more on fourth wall), remember to support
your answer with quotation/s.
3-This ending shows Christopher's personal achievements and his journey, what has he overcome?
4How does Christopher feel about Tobys death. Do we think his words give us an accurate
understanding of how he feels?
5- How is pathos (emotional concern) created in the scene?
6 What is the significance of the appendix scene to the staging? Consider what it tells us and how this
has been used throughout the play.
TO REFLECT: DISCUSSION
The use of the final scene (in the appendix) ruins the ending, do you agree or not?
27
AO1/2/3
Aims:
Review Quiz

To review knowledge
To apply knowledge
Some questions and a brief essay to see how much To apply appropriate knowledge
you have remembered. And also keep good revision notes for exams.
Questions on plot and content Questions on structural elements

1. What is the name of Christophers mother? 1. What is ensemble acting?
2. What does Christophers father say happened to his 2. Who acts as a narrator like figure?
mother?
3. What is a soliloquy?
3. Who owned the dog?
4. Where is Pathos in the play?
4. What kind of thing does Christophers father do for a
living? 5. Explain comic relief?
5. Who is Siobhan? 6. What is the fourth wall?
6. Where does Christopher live? 7. What is tempo?
7. What is Christopher building at the second half or part 8. What is a protagonist?
one?
9. What is an example of conflict within the play?
8. What does Christopher do instead of hugging people?
10. What is dramatic irony?
9. Who does Christopher ask to look after Toby?
10. Christopher tells his father he would make a very good
what?
You have 10 minutes to look through any notes you have on the theme of autism or conflict.
Question
How do Characters respond to conflict within the play?
Before you begin. You have 40 minutes in total for this question.
Look at the Assessment Objectives earlier You are only allowed the notes you can make at the start of that
on, think about what the examiner time.
wants to see. You will not be allowed the text.
Take time to plan, about 5-10 minutes in Up to 4 marks (AO4) will be given for quality of spelling and
any form you like (that you could do in grammar, but remember that if spelling and grammar stop the
exam conditions.) examiner understanding you, you could lose out on more.
The question is worth 30 marks with an additional 4 for AO4
Decide on 3-5 key points/quotes to use
and focus only on them.
Remember to read the question again,
what is it asking? Does your idea/plan

link to this?
Dont rush and remember, quality mat-
Good Luck
ters most. Avoid simple mistakes. It is not
just a test of how much but how well.
28
Aims:
Themes

To identify themes in the play.
Some key themes and quotes to support To apply this knowledge.
them. And also keep good revision notes for exams.
TO START: DISCUSS
Identify the key themes in the play. See if you can find up to 10 topics or ideas this play is about and set it out in a spider
diagram. It is ok if some ideas are very similar or linked.
Task:
Some examples of the major themes and key quotes are provided for you below. For each themes you
must:
1 Copy or find 3-4 quotes which you can learn.
2 For each quote include a brief summary of what it shows about this theme.
3 Rate the quote out of 10 as to how good you think it is or if you could use it in the exam, remember
the exam is closed book so you will need to remember a lot of these.
AUTISM AND DISABILITY

-Christopher's ability to fixate on other details, he does not reactive with emotion and this marks him
out as different to the audience. There was a garden fork sticking out of the dog. The dog was called
Wellington. It belonged to Mrs Shears who was our friend.
-Christopher is shown to cope by using repetition and patterns, this highlights his struggles and
alienation, this contrasts the chaos around him. left, right, left, right, left, right.
-Christopher is often portrayed as quite childish which is a harmful stereotype of autism, like when
talking about the ice-lolly, this is also shown by the simplicity of the statement. yes please because
thats red
LOVE AND SUPPORT

-Christopher's gesture of an outstretched hand touching another's fingertips represents intimacy
Christopher, touch my hand.
-Eds frustration represents the harder side of love after he and Christopher struggle and how he feels
distant from his own son. Christopher, do you understand that I love you?
-The way Christopher pictures Ed when he is on the Underground represents his deeper feelings of love
for his father. Try not to let it [scare you],
29
GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT
- By the end of the play we see Christopher has pride in what he achieved and now feels more able, he
has grown in confidence. This is suggested by the assertive language. I can because I went to London on
my own.
- Christopher is shown with high aspirations but this conflicts with him wanting success for all the wrong
reasons, to be away from others and his own selfish interests, this suggests immaturity. I think I would
make a very good astronaut
CRIME, DECEIT AND MYSTERY

- Christopher is shown to be juxtaposed to the typical crime/mystery character as he is unable to deceive.
However it also suggests a greater awareness to the audience and shows he is not necessarily innocent or
handicapped by this, I do not tell lies. Mother used to say that this was because I was a good person.
- Ed deflects Christopher and takes advantage of Christopher's trusting nature so as to not admit the
truth. This creates sympathy for both characters as the audience recognise the painful situation and
there is a level of dramatic irony that Christopher cannot see it. Ill take some to her during the day
when youre at school
- We see Ed struggle to regain Christophers confidence, this is a juxtaposition of their roles and gives
Christopher the power in the situation. I want you to know you can trust me
CONFLICT, VIOLENCE AND ANGER

- Ed shows is anger and frustration through his use of strong language. This portrays him both as aggres-
sive but also caring as a father. Christopher is getting a crap enough deal as it is
- Mrs Shears reaction to the dog displays clear shock, emphasised through the use of swearing and pos-
sessive pronouns. This creates a shocking conflict at the start of the play. What in fucks name have you
done to my dog
- Christopher is shown as responding to conflict visually. His behaviour of curling up portrays him as
weak and vulnerable, contrasting with other, more aggressive, characters. He remains in his ball/ He
doesn't stop moaning
TO REFLECT: QUIZ
Your teacher or partner will give you a random theme. Your task will be to give the quote you picked for that and explain
why from memory! You can take a few minutes to try and learn the quotes.
30
Aims:
Characters

To identify characters in the play.
To understand the way they are presented.
Getting to know the key characters. To evaluate how effective this presentation is.
TO START: HIERARCHY
Most
Using a pyramid with at least 3 levels, place the characters where you believe they go in order of
importance. Be prepared to justify your answers.
Remember to use a rule and plenty of space for your diagram, about half a page should do.
Least
CHRISTOPHER:
A 15 year old boy with Autism. Christopher sees the world differently and is the central character in the
text. He loves space, maths and all things with a clear logical order. He has many unusual traits, he
wont eat yellow food, he doesn't like physical contact and he cannot lie. In all of these cases if he has
to do those things he will get very upset and traumatised.
He has a pet rat called Toby and at the start of the play he lives with his Father. The entirety of the
play takes place from his point of view.
SIOBHAN:
She is Christophers teacher. At the start of the play she is reading Christophers experiences from the
book he has written, talking to him. She also takes on a role like his conscience and the narrator.
Translating aspects of the story for the benefit of the audience and giving us an opportunity to
understand Christophers thought processes.
E D:
Ed is Christophers father. He works hard to care for Christopher but sometimes loses his temper. This is
in part because he is a single father and struggles to look after his son. His role in the play shares with
us the difficulty experienced by families who struggle with disability.
JUDY
Judy is Christophers mother. At the start of the play Christopher believes she is dead and only has
memories of her being happy of care free. He later discovers the truth, that she was deeply unhappy,
stressed and having an affair. Christopher latter runs to London to live with her. She tries to be a good
parent but does struggle and ends up coming back to Swindon.
WHO ELSE IS THERE?

Mrs Shears, Mrs Alexander, Police officer, Roger (Mr Shears) , Reverend Peters, Mrs Gascoyne, The people on the
street, people at the station, voices, Rhodri.
31
Aims:
Structure

To identify structure within the play.
To understand the techniques used here.
How the play is constructed, what key terms do To evaluate how effective their use is.
we use and how do we explain it?
Flashbacks A moment in the text where we look back at the memories of a character.
Climax A critical point in the play where things reach a natural peak in tension.
Montage Selection of moments, scenes or events put together to create meaning.
Chronological In order of time.
Tangent/Digression Where the topic or action changes direction suddenly for no reason.
Plot/Subplot The main storyline or a smaller storyline within the main one.
Protagonist Central character who we feel support for.
Pace The speed at which events are occurring.
Narrator A character who communicates events to the audience.
Tension The building of feeling of fear or anxiety through the scene.
Scene The events happening at a location and time in the play.
When we look at the play we must remember that, like a story it follows many of the rules of storylines. At the same time it is
a stage play and uses many features which are not often found in a novel.
In your exam AO3 can be linked to structure as you will often need to talk about writers craft this is language features but
also it can be structural.
Do we write about structure?

HOW? Example PEE Paragraph:
Within the play, Stephens (Director) emphasises
If we look at this paragraph we can that Christopher is a stereotypical immature
see they use a range of language teenager. The world is perceived through his point
features as well as structure and that of view. As a result he uses flashbacks and
they come up with a very clever
digressions to change the direction of the story to
point.
better suit Christopher. A good example is where
This would be an example of A grade
in the middle of the conversation Siobhan says (As
work, but could be improved by
looking at audience impact or con- Christopher) I think I would make a very good
text. astronaut. The simple imperative language and
topic is completely at a tangent to the
TASK: conversation so far and shows that Christopher
Use the features shown in the table above. Find a has lost interest and now wants
quotation or moment of the play which support or to go back to talking about
demonstrates the use of each one. (Find an example
of where we see it in the play.) himself.
Create 2 PEE paragraphs based on the examples

you have found and linked to the points above.
32
Aims:
Analysis To be able to confidently analyse aspects of the
play.
The language and techniques in analysing To know the key terms.
the play and the characters speech. And also keep good revision notes for exams.
Fillers Words used to create pauses or thinking time, like, you know, um
Pauses A pronounced gap in the speech.
Repetition Repeating words or phrases for impact (deliberate or not)
False Start Where a person restarts their sentences because they trip over their words.
Direct Address Where one characters speech is directed toward another.
Monosyllabic Words with one syllable yes, no
Imperatives Words which deal in absolutes I will, You must, Shall, they often leave little room to argue.
Immature A childish or youthful act or speech.
Tone The way in which someone's speech sounds, e.g. angry, mournful.
Literal To take something as it is directly communicated.
Intonation The rise and fall of a persons speaking pattern.
Sarcasm Something said whereby the opposite may be the case, often bitter and cutting, used for humour.
Slang Use of local words or phrases.
Emotive Words or language which elicit an emotional response.
Metaphor A word or idea which is described as being something else e.g. He was a lion (to suggest he is brave
and strong).
!
Within the play you are likely to look at themes, characters and also staging, structure and
language.
Language, structure and staging are the TOOLS the director and writer
use to create an effect.
Character and theme are the TARGET of these tools which the director/
writer shapes.
IMPACT is the effect these have.
In your writing you should look at what TOOLS the director uses Key
to shape the TARGET and create IMPACT. Content
Example PEE:
When he speaks to Christopher after the discovery of the letters, Ed speaks with a large amount of pauses and
fillers indicated by the ellipses. QUOTE, This is used to suggest his stress and anxiety. This is further reinforced
when he uses exclamations with slang Jesus Christ. This suggests that he struggles to handle conflict well and
is both frustrated and desperate. This heavily contrasts with Christopher's own more physical responses and
helps draw a distinguishing line between the two, despite them being so close up until now.
This is an effective example because the writer communicates a range of strongly supported ideas backed up by evidence
in the form of terminology and completes it all with strong analysis.
33
Lighting Set Design
Props The object used on stage
Spot light light set on one person
Setting The location, often created through
Strobe bright flashing light
designed backgrounds.
TintedLighting with a given colour
Sound Movement/Actions
Voice over A voice from a speaker, often Ensemble Groups of actors working together.
pre recorded. Choreographed A routine which is planned
Sound effects-Various noises played over out, often a dance.
speakers, often show location.
As this is a play, other really important lan- Example PEE:

guage is that of staging techniques. Above When he speaks to Christopher after the discovery of the letters, Ed speaks with
are a range of the more common methods of a large amount of pauses and fillers indicated by the ellipses. QUOTE, This is
staging. By including these in your explana- used to suggest his stress and anxiety. This is further reinforced when he uses
tion you can enhance marks. exclamations with slang Jesus Christ. This suggests that he struggles to handle
conflict well and is both frustrated and desperate. This heavily contrasts with
Look at how we can enhance the paragraph
Christopher's own more physical responses and helps draw a distinguishing line
earlier. between the two, despite them being so close up until now.
This conflict could be further emphasised by the use of

spotlighting or tinted red lights to emphasise the
intimacy or conflict of the situation.
TASK:
Look at the moment in the play where Christopher is reading the letters from his
mother. Make a mind map of this scene and give as many examples of staging and
language which is/could be shown here.
Construct 3 PEE paragraphs using a range of language and staging features within
each one. Underline each one you use. You should include 3-4 in each paragraph.
TO REFLECT: WHY
DO WE USE KEY
TERMS?
Consider why we use

those key terms. Which
ones are coming up a
lot and which ones are
hardest to spot. Why
do we need to use
them and how often
should we be using
them in our work?
34
Revision
What to review and how. A Checklist.
1. Learn EVERY key term you can. Particularly

about language and staging.
2. Make sure you can summarise the key events
which happen in the book.
3. Have a range of quotes for each character and
theme, 3 for each character and theme ideally.
4. Practise your paragraphs, make sure you use 2/3
key terms at least in every paragraph and you
use the most suitable quotes.
5. Repeat mock questions, you can use the mark
scheme over the page to help see what kind of
things to talk about. The question was based on
How is Ed shown as a parent?.
6. Read the question twice. Remember to answer it
and not just list everything you know about the
story or character.
7. REMEMBER ITS A PLAY, dont treat it like a
novel, think about structure and audience.
35
36
Notes:
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37

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GCSE

Play script Edited by Mr S Cox

The Curious incident

What are the goals?

1 Making clear notes.

Key quotes and notes. These could be as 4

- Quote - useful because...

What the examiner wants

ability to communicate, blue could be your social skills and

Character, theme and notes:

Picture A Christopher following a map.

Picture A Christopher following a map

ing reds and screeching sounds to demonstrate the

important to the story as Christopher cannot under-

Images sourced from the National Theatre

Ingredients of the stage.

Picture C The set Picture D Christopher in London

Synopsis Narration Monosyllabic

Create a Venn Diagram,

Genre Persistent Sub plot

She uses short direct sentences, she knows how

I like the details. They make it more realistic.

Allusion Revelation Juxtaposition

Christopher is told information by Mrs Alexander

Mrs Alexander Perhaps it would be best not to talk

A person explaining they have a hidden past

You dont want to know.

Abuse Structure Tone

Themes: The theme of family, memory and violence occur here.

middle because there is some tension there but not much.

How long are the lines on average on page 34?

Think about: Metaphors, Foreshadowing, Staging

Paternal Monologue Abandonment

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p01jykhc Watch the first half of the clip on

Part 1: Section 5 From page 40 where Ed

This shows one of the happier times in their relationship

This extract from the scene is important to show tension.

Themes: The theme of family and honest.

The use of punctuation

The use of language

Part 1 What do I need to talk about?

Part 2 How do I structure my answer?

Over a lesson of at least an hour or a double.

Independence Montage Authorities

Themes: The theme of growth and community.

TO START: OUT THE WINDOW

Themes: The themes of autism and behaviour.

Part 2: Section 9 From page 70 The tube line

mothers home and sees Judy.

Themes: The of confusion and autism.

-What they are doing

-Any special effects

5 How is humour created in the extract? Find an example?

TO START: OUT THE WINDOW

Characters: The scene is focussed on Christopher, Roger and Judy.

Resolution Pathos Comic Relief

Part 2: Section 11 From page 79 where

Characters: The scene focusses on Christopher, his family and

Themes: Resolution, autism and family.