The Fantastic Case of the Neurotypical Creative: The representation of Autism in the character of Newt Scamander

As a neurodiverse individual diagnosed as autistic, Harry Marciniak dives into the world of Fantastic Beasts to explore the character of Newt Scamander. Though the film franchise neither confirms nor denies the notion, Harry believes the wizarding protagonist shows behaviours characteristic of autistic individuals, and that the character is a landmark example of representation. In this online event, Harry talks with Dr Tom Payne about the process of undertaking this thesis and what his subjective and personal analysis of Newt Scamander might mean for the development of autism depictions in performance and storytelling. #AutismRepresentation #AutismNewtScamander

Dissertation Research by Harry Marciniak

About Harry Marciniak

Besides choosing a dope pen name, Harry has learned valuable creative skills during his time on the Performance degree, from translating classic and contemporary works to the stage and working individually and collaboratively alongside others. Harry is now pursuing his special interest in writing stories - currently, he is writing his first novella manuscript.