The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time - Review

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Tue 29 Mar 2022 - Sat 02 Apr 2022

It has been ten years since the world of Christopher Boone first came to the stage and this National Theatre production has now toured the world to great acclaim. The reasons are clear to see when you are sitting in the audience at Birmingham Hippodrome Theatre, where it plays until April 2.

Bringing together a wonderful story from the best-selling novelist Mark Haddon, the captivating character of 15-year-old Christopher, impressive set and graphics and some highly imaginative physical theatre, the show is a winner on so many fronts.



When Christopher discovers a neighbour's dog has been stabbed with a garden fork, he decides to turn detective and track down the killer - but in doing so he uncovers a series of mysteries and lies which are much closer to home.

At its core, this production depends on a believable Christopher who wins our hearts early on and retains our loyalty. While neither the novel nor the play ever explicitly label Christopher, he is portrayed as being on the autistic spectrum and that brings challenges for him and his family.

Connor Curren, who himself identifies as being on the autistic spectrum, has Christopher down to perfection. Here is a teenager struggling with so many obstacles – fear of stepping out of routine, a dislike of being touched and an overwhelming sense of not understanding when the world should be logical. And yet here is also a teenager who is honest to a fault, ambitious, loyal to those he feels make the effort to understand him, loving and protective of animals and desperate to uncover the truth.

The role depends not just on creating this very specific characterisation, it also calls on great physical efforts from recreating shaking fits on the floor to literally walking the walls. Created by Scott Graham and Steven Hoggett of Frantic Assembly, there's a lyrical poetry to the movement which blends dance and physical theatre.



Connor is given ample support from his fellow cast. Tom Peters plays his father, a man trying to do what is right by his son but muddling up both of their lives by making the wrong decisions. Then there's Kate Kordel as Christopher's mum, a woman who is afraid she can't be the mother her son needs her to be.

Christopher's one beacon of light in all this confusion is his teacher Siobhan who also acts as a narrator to the show. Rebecca Root is the voice of calm through all of the action, anchoring Christopher and giving him a reference point, somewhere to explore and explain his feelings and actions.



The production's success also rests very heavily on its design which brings us into the head of Christopher – from his mathematical calculations to the cacophony of sounds as he attempts travel on his own. Bunny Christie's box design is a canvas on which all of this can be recreated and, together with impressive lighting design by Paule Constable, video design by Finn Ross, music composed by Adrian Sutton and sound design by Ian Dickinson, the production is a sensory overload.

Adapted by Simon Stephens and directed by Marianne Elliott, Curious Incident plays to our emotions. All of its characters are fallible – we see them make very human mistakes and feel not only for how this affects them but how it also affects those around them.

It's this blend of storytelling with cutting edge production which has ensured the show has been so successful for the past decade and will no doubt continue to delight audiences into the next.

At Birmingham Hippodrome until April 2 see www.birminghamhippodrome.com for ticket information and for details of the current UK tour see www.curiousonstage.com

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!date 29/03/2022 -- 02/04/2022
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