BBC1 -Imagine...My Curious Documentary, 10 April '15

[Stanley Stewart]

I assume this series has been scheduled as a catchment area for viewers of the BBC1 22.00hrs News, although it seldom starts at the advertised time due to the usual quota of BBC promotional waffle - how much does this pestilence cost over a year? - but, this caveat apart, the Imagine...series has been worth the wait.
The programme is presented by Alan Yentob and last night's examination 'My Curious Documentary' was an intriguing look at the stage production of Mark Haddon's book, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time which tells the story of a 15 year-old boy with autism, has won seven Olivier Awards since in opened in 2012 and the film goes behind the scenes of productions in both London and New York. It is heart-warming and enlightening demonstrating the huge advances in staging and performance over the past fifty years - theatricality now secondary to 'in the moment' experience.

The play is a revelation, devoid of sentimentality, as it carefully examines the implications of Asperger's Syndrome, the sheer frustration of separation and alienation, yet provides many startling insights behind the suffering which the condition can bring. Lots of sharp humour in the reflective comment. Do seek out this documentary on iPlayer, it delivers a pithy tale in 80 mins.

[Stanley Stewart]

Heading, of course, should read 10 NOVEMBER '15, not April More fool me!

[Lat-Literal]

I assume this series has been scheduled as a catchment area for viewers of the BBC1 22.00hrs News, although it seldom starts at the advertised time due to the usual quota of BBC promotional waffle - how much does this pestilence cost over a year? - but, this caveat apart, the Imagine...series has been worth the wait.
The programme is presented by Alan Yentob and last night's examination 'My Curious Documentary' was an intriguing look at the stage production of Mark Haddon's book, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time which tells the story of a 15 year-old boy with autism, has won seven Olivier Awards since in opened in 2012 and the film goes behind the scenes of productions in both London and New York. It is heart-warming and enlightening demonstrating the huge advances in staging and performance over the past fifty years - theatricality now secondary to 'in the moment' experience.

The play is a revelation, devoid of sentimentality, as it carefully examines the implications of Asperger's Syndrome, the sheer frustration of separation and alienation, yet provides many startling insights behind the suffering which the condition can bring. Lots of sharp humour in the reflective comment. Do seek out this documentary on iPlayer, it delivers a pithy tale in 80 mins.

Yes. Regrettably it is difficult not to hear the name Alan Yentob without thinking of the unaccountably fashionable political cause that was Camilla Batmanghelidjh but "The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time" is a remarkable and extraordinary book as well as a play. I think it bears comparison with Salinger's excellent "The Catcher in the Rye" along with other very fine Salinger books including "For Esme With Love and Squalour". With the "Imagine...." series Yentob has delivered some very memorable programmes over the years. The one on the modern history of guitars, ie post-war, managed to include Sister Rosetta Tharpe which was very unexpected but the inclusion of her was wholly justifiable.

Sister Rosetta Tharpe in the North West of England with a Bunch of Hip Youngsters, One Year Before Bob Dylan Went Electric:

1964 - Didn't It Rain (Children) - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SR2gR6SZC2M

(Have just had jacket potatoes with tuna mayo at a garden centre and bought our wallflowers; weather kept nice and dry for us)

[Stanley Stewart]

Thanks L-L. Mr Yentob is also known at the Beeb as Botney!

I've recorded the current series of Imagine...and my favourite, until The Curious Dog, last night, was Shylock's Ghost which, apart from the fine Venetian locations also provided an acute study of Shylock and the rabid anti-semitism of his time. Interesting to compare this with the Sher/Doran conversations on C4 (8Nov).

The imagery of The Curious Dog has addled my brain all day. Fascinating to hear the discussions between the stage characters and their real selves. Disturbing, too, to hear the mother of one of the boys - Christopher? - talk about his screams of terror when he was around four years of age when she took a wrong turning in the car. He'd graphically memorised the route and was stricken by fear at the diversion. Familiarity in later years provided the emotional memory for him to identify every bus stop between Finchley and Victoria. But it is the cases of clear isolation from the confidence of being part of this world, the consequence of alienation from others, which make the experience heart-rending. This programme deserves a peak-time scheduling on BBC 2 or BBC4.

[johncorrigan]

I'm afraid I'm one of those who can't abide Mr Yentob. I was disappointed to miss the programme about Anthony Gormley last week but I find AY so sycophantic, he just makes me . Indeed it was one of the attractions of last night's very interesting programme that Yentob seemed to be nowhere in sight. The mixture of film of people on the Asperger spectrum and stage production, and actors talking about bits they had stolen from young people was fascinating. I thought Christopher was a real star. The pieces talking about different kinds of wiring most interesting. The parts where the young people were preparing for the Underground trip to the theatre was fascinating. Personally speaking, more AYless Imagines would suit me down to a T. I also thought the book quite fascinating but hadn't thought of the Salinger comparison before Lat. I'll think about it.

[Lat-Literal]

I'm afraid I'm one of those who can't abide Mr Yentob. I was disappointed to miss the programme about Anthony Gormley last week but I find AY so sycophantic, he just makes me . Indeed it was one of the attractions of last night's very interesting programme that Yentob seemed to be nowhere in sight. The mixture of film of people on the Asperger spectrum and stage production, and actors talking about bits they had stolen from young people was fascinating. I thought Christopher was a real star. The pieces talking about different kinds of wiring most interesting. The parts where the young people were preparing for the Underground trip to the theatre was fascinating. Personally speaking, more AYless Imagines would suit me down to a T. I also thought the book quite fascinating but hadn't thought of the Salinger comparison before Lat. I'll think about it.

Thanks John.

All without overt sentiment and with objective overview. The messages are universal:

Haddon:

"In July 2009, Haddon wrote on his blog that "The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time" is not a book about Asperger's....if anything it's a novel about difference, about being an outsider, about seeing the world in a surprising and revealing way. The book is not specifically about any specific disorder. Haddon is not an expert on....... disorder."

Salinger:

"Holden is naive and..........resentful of the adult world. He is very caring and respectful, which really shows throughout the story. One of Holden's most striking and quintessential qualities is his powerful revulsion for "phony" qualities, a catch-all term for the perceived hypocrisy that irritates Holden. It is this cynicism that causes him to distance himself from other people, despite wanting connection as well. Holden is very much a character of contradiction; at seventeen years of age he is six feet two-and-a-half inches tall, and already has some grey hair - though he himself admits that he sometimes acts more like a 13-year-old than an adult. He continually fails classes and calls himself "dumb," yet he shows intelligence through his exceptionally articulate narration. This idea in the book may be Holden's criticism of a society that is unable to acknowledge his hidden intelligence".

Morrison:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jwOvU8Y2T3I

Handke who wrote the wonderful lyrics of the song regrettably as an individual epitomises how the adult condition is more complex....or perhaps even a socially required complex!