An evocative parable of crashing into the unknown and accepting the unknowable, God’s Middle Name is a compelling tale of one mother’s journey through the uncharted territory of raising an autistic child.  God’s Middle Name is a two-person 90 minute play without intermission.

 

The central figure, Jennifer, is the mother of the child with autism.  A second actor plays the various other characters that interact with her, including her son Nicholas and husband David. The structure of the play is an episodic journey over the course of 10 years, from confusion prior to a life-altering diagnosis, through stages of denial, anger, depression, bargaining and finally acceptance.  Along the way are flights of fancy and a great deal of humour, found both in Jennifer’s own approach to the challenge, and in Nic’s perception of the world around him.

 

The title of the play is a reflection of the literal mindedness of many autists.  Nic is fascinated with God and seeks answers to the simplest of questions one might ask about any ‘real person’.   Jennifer and David humourously provide a last name for God:  “Almighty”, but they fail to provide a simple answer to the question of God’s middle name.  Through the course of the play variations on the possibilities for God’s middle name creep into the action.  At times it is ‘patience’, at others it is ‘punishment’, sometimes ‘love’.  By the end of the play, no one is in any doubt as to the ineffable quality that constitutes God’s middle name.    

 

The image of the game show Jeopardy, as it appears projected at the top of the play and in marketing materials, reflects Nicholas’ overriding fascination with game shows.  This fascination is again not unique to Nicholas; the predictable scripting of these shows, the colourful elements, the combinations of numbers and letters make game shows a strong draw for many autists.  In many ways Nicholas filters all of his life experiences through a game show format.

 

The play is comprised of nineteen scenes; some naturalistic, some direct audience address; there is a parody of detective fiction and a dance marathon, a meditation on heredity and genes, and five times in the play, Jennifer visits ‘God’s office’ – the rocks at Peggy’s Cove.  Here she battles hungry seagulls as she mourns the loss of the dream life she expected, and embraces the more rewarding reality of raising her special child.

 

                Written with sensitivity and lightness of touch, the play does not flinch from describing the grief involved in parenting an autistic child, yet the overall sense is one of joy in Nicholas’ accomplishments.