Buried Child

Buried Child, by Sam Shepard may appear to be realistic at first glance. However, as the play progresses, the audience is thrown for a loop when some things that occur are very out of the ordinary. The overall tone that I got was that most of the occurrences were possible, but the lining up of certain events is very ambiguous.  The play opens on a house with two characters, Dodge and Halie. They seem “normal” but as the show goes on, we realize that they are not living in a normal world.

 The characters Dodge and Halie have lines of communication that are blurry. Often, they talk but it appears that they aren't actually hearing what the other one is saying. Even at times other characters do not seem to acknowledge them, even if they are their own family.
       It is definitely a theatrical production, though it might not come off that way at first. Everything is just slightly off reality. Several things when I read the play I found “fishy.” Some things that the characters said were directly contrasted by something else in the show later on or previously. The ambiguity for me caused some confusion, but I think I would understand better if I saw the show.