The Policeman & Siobhan

The Policeman's Entry

Despite the horror of what has happened to Mrs Shears’ dog, Stevens creates comedy from the entrance of the police officer.

Humour - policeman's frustration

The policeman’s dialogue with Christopher contains several comic moments, particularly the officer’s frustrations when dealing with Christopher.
- E.g. the policeman’s sardonic (sarcastic) response to Christopher telling him that the dog is dead (“I’d got that far”) and the policeman’s ironic response to Christopher beginning to groan in distress (“Terrific”).
Such moments create dramatic irony as, while the audience can detect the policeman’s sarcasm, Christopher does not seem to.

Humour - literal responses

Christopher’s literal responses to the policeman’s questions also create humour.
- E.g. when Christopher is asked what he is doing in Mrs Shears’ garden, he responds by saying, “I’m talking to you”.
- When the policeman asks Christopher why he is in Mrs Shears’ garden, he responds to the literal meaning of the policeman’s question, another sign of his autism.

Climax - Christopher hits

The scene builds to an unexpected climax with a sudden moment of physical comedy – Christopher “hits” the policeman in response to being touched.
Both characters’ reactions to this moment, “neither entirely sure what to say”, adds to the awkwardness and therefore the comedy.

Humour - threatening Christopher

The policeman’s loss of dignity and composure creates a further comic moment, as he is unable to stop himself from threatening Christopher: “if you try any of that monkey business again you little shit I am going to seriously lose my rag”.

Relationship with adults

Already, Christopher’s behaviour has caused two adults to lose their temper with him.
Christopher’s relationship with the adult world will become a key theme of the play.

Christopher and Siobhan

After the scene in Mrs Shears’ garden, there is a short scene in which Siobhan addresses the audience, reading from Christopher’s notebook.

Purposes of these scenes

In these scenes, Siobhan’s reading from the notebook allows her to be used as a narrator, revealing Christopher’s thoughts to the audience.

"I find people confusing"

The key quotation in this short scene is Christopher’s opening sentence: “I find people confusing”.
It reveals Christopher’s difficulties in communicating with those around him because of his difficulty understanding and interpreting language that is not strictly literal and clear-cut.
Again, Stephens foregrounds a key aspect of Christopher’s autism: his difficulty ‘reading’, and therefore responding appropriately to, other people.

Fluid narrative

After a brief exchange of dialogue between Christopher and Siobhan, the scene transitions instantly to the following scene set in the police station.
As Stephens signals at the beginning of the play, “scenes run into one another without interruption” regardless of shifts in time or place, and Stephens now returns to the main plotline.

1Introduction & Context

1.1Novel & Play

1.1.1Mark Haddon's Novel (2003)

1.1.2Simon Stephens' Adaptions (2012)

1.2Christopher's Autism

1.2.1Christopher's Autism

1.2.2End of Topic Test - Introduction & Context

2Form, Structure & Language

2.1Dramatic Devices

2.1.1Writing About the Text as a Playscript

2.1.2Dramatic Devices

2.2Genre & Structure

2.2.1Genre

2.2.2Structure

2.3Language

2.3.1Language

2.3.2End of Topic Test - Form, Structure & Language

3Text Summary & Analysis

3.1Part One

3.1.1Discovering the Dead Dog & Christopher's Autism

3.1.2The Policeman & Siobhan

3.1.3The Police Station & Ed's Entry

3.1.4Mother's Death & Beginning the Investigation

3.1.5Ed's Frustrations & Revisiting Mrs Alexander

3.1.6Remembering Judy & "Fight" Scene

3.1.7Judy's Letters

3.1.8Ed's Confession

3.1.9End of Topic Test - Part One

3.1.10End of Topic Test - Part One 2

3.2Part Two

3.2.1Preparing to Run Away & Train Station

3.2.2On the Train & Arriving in London

3.2.3On the Tube & Arriving at Judy's House

3.2.4Policeman, Ed Visits & Tensions

3.2.5Back in Swindon & New Beginnings

3.2.6The End & Maths Appendix

3.2.7End of Topic Test - Part Two

3.2.8End of Topic Test - Part Two cont....

4Themes

4.1Themes

4.1.1Independence

4.1.2Parenting

4.1.3Order & Disorder

4.1.4End of Topic Test - Themes

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