The End & Maths Appendix

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The End of the Play

Christopher receives his A-level Maths result and looks ahead to the future.

Christopher's results

In the final scene of Part Two, Siobhan hands Christopher the envelope containing his A-level Maths result.
Despite Christopher’s apparent lack of excitement, he has achieved an A* grade.

Christopher's plans

Christopher now looks ahead into his future, telling Siobhan of his plans.
He is very certain at first, using the modal verb “will” to tell Siobhan about his route from university to finding a job: “Then I will get a First Class Honours Degree. Then I will be a scientist.”

Christopher's confidence growth

Christopher has clearly grown in confidence, declaring that “I can do these things” and then lists the reasons why: “I can because I went to London on my own… I found my mother. I was brave.”
His list highlights how much he has grown during the course of the play.

Ambiguous ending

However, the final piece of dialogue in Part Two creates ambiguity.
Christopher repeats the question, “Does that mean I can do anything?” three times. Each time, the question goes unanswered by Siobhan, inviting the audience to reflect upon the answer.

Christopher's question

Audience members and readers may not be entirely certain about how to answer Christopher’s question.
On one hand, he has certainly proven himself to be determined and resourceful, capable of venturing out into the world and achieving his goals.

Christopher's question (cont.)

On the other hand, the audience and readers have just spent over two hours in Christopher’s company and are well acquainted with just how severely Christopher’s autism impacts on his daily life and on the lives of those around him.
They will be well aware of the challenges Christopher still has to face and the difficulties he will need to overcome as he continues his journey into adulthood.

Maths Appendix

Stephens includes a final scene in which Christopher talks through the solution to the difficult Maths problem on his A-level examination paper to the audience members who remain in the theatre.

"As much theatricality"

Stephens’ stage direction before this ‘extra’ final scene instructs his production team to use “as much theatricality as we can throw at it, using music, lights, sound, lasers…” etc.

Right-angled triangle

As Christopher solves the problem, projections or lasers are used to ‘draw out’ the right-angled triangle, again bringing Christopher’s thoughts to life.

Completes the proof

The moment Christopher completes his proof, “confetti” is released, creating an atmosphere of jubilation and celebration.

Deeper significance - metaphor

Some critics have seen a deeper significance in Stephens’ decision to end the play with Christopher solving a problem about a right-angled triangle, interpreting the problem as a metaphor for the three members of the Boone family.

Metaphor (cont.)

In the world of logic and mathematics, Christopher is able to solve the problem involving the three points of the triangle.
Christopher has learned that human relationships are messier and more complicated but, by the end of the play, Judy and Ed appear to be co-operating in helping Christopher take his first steps into adulthood.