Centreville High School has just had its first school play of the 2018-2019 school year with “The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time.” The play was directed by Mike Hudson the theater teacher, who was student assisted by Ricky Munoz. It is based on the 2013 stage adaptation of the 2003 novel of the same name. The play itself deals with 15-year-old Christopher Boone who is suspected of killing Mrs. Shears dog Wellington with a garden fork. He then searches his town of Swindon for clues on who actually killed Wellington, leading to an unraveling of his current and only world.

With regards to the acting, Danny Villalobos was superb in the role of Christopher. He genuinely seemed to have some form of Autism in the way he acted and jittered in the performance. His father, Ed, was played by Maxwell Leitch, who really seemed to want to continue with the lie he sold to his son in order to have a normal life as could not with his son’s condition; it is exemplified in the beating scene. His mother, Judy, is played by Lydia Burono who had died of a heart attack before the play is set. The overall acting drew me in, and it didn’t appear to be some half backed procrastinated mess.

Looking at the set, I was truly surprised by what they could with lighting, wood, and an inflatable mattress for most scenes. The use of lighting showed how Christopher was feeling in certain scenes, most notably when he was being beaten with the flashing red lights lighting up the screen. The ability to make the stage from an underground station to the porch step, in what feels like two seconds, is amazing work.

Villalobos portrayed Christopher in the way which the world views those with mental disabilities: as a baby who has a need to be coddled. His portrayal as Christopher disproves that, as he can defy societies expectations and show he is his own person. The play has mature elements with the beating scenes and signs of drunkenness affecting Chris personally. Additionally, it includes the big lie told by Christopher’s father, in which he lied about the death of Christopher’s mother.

Overall, the play was fun for me to attend.  It makes you reflect upon your own life and how you affect others with actions that are done for the right reasons but have a bad impact or outcome.