The Hedgerow reminds us what theatre is all about
For their 100th anniversary season, The Hedgerow Theater produced the world premiere of Juliette Dunn’s The Puzzle. This beautiful, beautiful, beautiful play both entertained me and opened my eyes to the experiences of others.
To begin, the space itself is beautiful. The historic building and yard, creek, and small waterfall surrounding it created the perfect ambiance. The venue’s interior was also just as notable as its exterior. Set in a historic barn, the walls are exposed inside the theater itself and, for this play, exposed at the back of the stage as well. This cozy and picturesque theater was a wonderful environment, and I was also excited to read about its rich history. The playbill, which shared some of this history and other valuable information, contained a profound letter which was written by Juliette Dunn, the playwright. She writes about the experience of her non-verbal son.
As I receive an education in theater, I have learned that one of the defining factors of a really “good” work is that it causes the audience to feel empathy. At its core, theater is supposed to open us up to the experiences of others and allow us to feel for and with them. Juliette Dunn and the entire team that worked on The Puzzle did exactly that. I laughed, I cried, and I left feeling profoundly affected. The Puzzle informed me about how many non-verbal people with autism struggle to be perceived as intelligent because they communicate in a different way. Dunn and the team who worked on this play did a fantastic job at showing this rather than telling it through many touching moments (and through some difficult ones) between the boy and the two clowns. One mode of communication which becomes a constant between the boy and the clowns was their game, “What is it?”. The game begins as the boy points out different things around them or in books and asks the question, prompting an answer from either of the clowns. The game then turns as one clown asks the boy what different things are. The funniest part about this scene is that the boy doesn’t name objects by their common names, but reveals his vast knowledge of the scientific names that those objects bear. By doing so, he reveals that he is far more educated than the other two men, and the actor’s delivery fills the theater with laughter.
Although there are many touching and comedic moments, one of the most powerful occurred toward the end of the play. The boy has been dropped off again and seems sadly unwanted from wherever he has come from. As the two clowns fight, the boy begins to yell what are possibly reprimands that he has received before and revolve around the fact that he isn’t “normal.” It was heartbreaking to watch someone so caring, intelligent, and hopeful be cast away for simply communicating in a different way. Although the boy doesn’t represent the experience of every non-verbal individual, it is made clear that many people have been ostracized for simply being the way they are. This powerfully awakens the audience to the effects that a judgmental society has on individuals who deserve to be loved and accepted.
To conclude, I’ve been having difficulty writing about this play because I know I can’t fully capture its essence in one small piece of writing. What I do have to say is that this is a must see. Juliette Dunn, the Hedgerow Theater, and everyone involved in The Puzzle did a really wonderful job at creating this beautiful piece of art. I can say that I left deeply impacted, denoting The Puzzle as a successful work of theater which not only captures the audience’s emotion but reminds them what theater is all about.
