Based on the international best-selling book by Mark Haddon, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time is a heart-warming story through the eyes of 15 year old Christopher John Francis Boone, whom on discovering the slain body of his neighbour’s dog and becoming the ultimate prime suspect, sets upon an investigation to uncover the truth about the murder. He starts to write his “crime investigation” as a school project with the assistance of his tutor/support worker Siobhan (Geraldine Alexander) which much to Christopher’s horror, she (Siobhan) suggests that he should turn into a play once completed. As he embarks upon his journey to solve the crime, he encounters a variety of new experiences - from getting on the wrong side of the Law, venturing out into his neighbourhood alone for the time (as he dislikes strangers, does not “do chatting”, likes to be alone and finds people “confusing). A highly skilled mathematician, Christopher is determined to take his A-level maths despite only being 15 and already predicts that he will get an A*.
He finds friendships in the unlikeliest of places - his elderly neighbour, embarks on the search to find out the truth about not only the death of Wellington, the dog, but with the help of his pet rat Toby, sets out on a journey to London to discover the truth around his mother’s disappearance.
However, he lacks social skills and finds interaction with others to be difficult and reacts badly to any physical contact. Christopher views the world differently to others and the story is mainly focussed on his struggles he has to understand the behaviour of those around him. The story is mainly told in the first person with a plot switching between past and present; it’s hard to imagine how you could tell this story on stage without seeing it.
With a spectacular set consisting of a giant grid box which comes to life to almost “draw out” Christopher’s thoughts and emotions, but also cleverly used as the main back drop to set the scenes from train stations to the London underground, the stage set is minimalistic but highly effective. Using a wonderful lighting set (Paule Constable) which is used to not only set the scene - from neighbours houses to London stations, but to show the inside Christopher’s mind.
Other lead characters also double up to form the ensemble & are also used to change the stage set. As Christopher sets out to find out the truth surrounding the suspicious death of his neighbour’s dog, Christopher himself goes on a rollercoaster journey of emotions, new friendships and unexpected surprises.
Chris Ashby gives an outstanding performance as the teenager Christopher, a role which calls on him to be hunched in a corner one minute and leaping across the stage with the grace of a ballet dancer the next minute, whilst Gina Issac and Stuart Laing are superb as his troubled parents.
From start to finish the play has you on the edge of your seat anticipating the outcome of Christopher’s detective work. With a mesmerising stage set, outstanding choreography and a strong cast it is easy to see why this production is still going strong in the West End and will no doubt continue to do so for a long time! Having seen both the West End production and now the tour production, it was interesting how the play was adapted to work in a much smaller theatre yet still have the same impact. If you haven’t read the book - go buy it now! If you haven’t seen the play - then do not delay - get booking your tickets now before they sell out! If you have already seen the play - go see it again! This show is so spectacularly adapted from book to stage that one could watch it over and over again as there is so much attention to detail that you see different things each time.
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time continues at the Lyceum Sheffield until Saturday 26th September. Full details at http://www.sheffieldtheatres.co.uk/event/the-curious-incident-of-the-dog-in-the-night-time/
Reviewer: Lottie Davis-Browne
Reviewed: 15th September 2015
