The 2003 award-winning, children’s mystery novel written by Mark Haddon, THE CURIOUS INCIDENT OF THE DOG IN THE NIGHT-TIME, revolves around Christopher, a fifteen year old boy, on the autism spectrum with very challenging behaviour as well as being obsessed by his mathematical genius. He cannot bear to be touched, and has other behavioural problems similar to high-functioning Aspergers Syndrome. Christopher’s closest companion is not a fellow human being but his coddled pet rat Oscar!
This stage version, the winner of seven Olivier Awards in 2013 including Best New Play, provides spectacular and innovative storytelling, as adapted by Simon Stephens and directed by Marianne Elliott (War Horse).
The play’s opening image is mid stage where we see what appears to be a heap of purple boa feathers. When the lights go up the feathers transmogrify into a dead white dog carcass with a garden fork protruding. Quite a formidable shock for the audience!
Christopher makes this gruesome discovery of his neighbours deceased dog. Unfairly suspicion falls onto him. Distraught, and determined to clear his name, Christopher resolves to become a private detective in order to solve the case himself and to this end creates his own case book.
Christopher’s detective work is forbidden by his dad. We become part of the internalised world of this very isolated boy, and follow his forbidden detective work during his journey to discover the whole truth with Christopher uncovering some dark and disturbing family secrets.
Joshua Jenkin’s wonderful performance as Christopher, especially when trying to navigate the sensory overload of travelling on the London Underground, unassisted and for the first time, in its overcrowded peak-hour version, is just one of the many memorable visual experiences seen during this very visceral play.
The play reveals that for children, when they are alone, the world can actually be a surreal and frightening place. The imaginative adaptation of the book with its unique staging and memorable design is startling and original.
It is very challenging to be parents of a child with a severe disability. Stuart Laing and Emma Beattie give very convincing performances as his frazzled parents, Ed and Judy. A case in point of Christopher’s obsessiveness is that the family toilet has to be meticulously clean otherwise he won’t use it.
Julie Hale plays his school mentor, Siobhan, who is something of an intermediary between Christopher and the audience. In the first act she reads aloud his diary like notes. At the beginning of Act 2 she persuades Christopher to turn his story into a play which he is quite chuffed about it,
Many of the cast play multiple roles. In their main roles Oliver Boot and Amanda Poesner play Mr and Mrs Shears. Debra Michaels plays a kindly, grandmother like figure to Christopher, Matt Willman gets to play a compassionate London policeman, Danielle Kassarate provides a lot of comic relief in her tongue in cheek role as a stern teacher and Bruce McGregor plays a village Reverend who avoids Christopher’s prying questions on mortality. There is a very cute walk on role by a baby labrador.
There is some extraordinary work by the creative team featuring designer Bunny Christie, lighting designer Paule Constable, video designer Finn Ross, music designer Adrian Sutton, movement directors Scott Graham and Steven Hoggett, and sound designer Ian Dickinson. The show features a lot of impressive special lighting and video effects which were often used to give the audience insight into the chaotic world inside Christopher’s brain.
Highly recommended, this very poignant and provocative National Theatre of Great Britain production is playing the Ros Packer Theatre until the 28th July.
