Theatre Royal & Royal Concert Hall Nottingham – Until Saturday 12th February 2022
Reviewed by Amarjeet Singh
5*****
The Curious Incident of The Dog In The Night-Time is an astounding piece of theatre. Layered and multi-faceted the Simon Stephens’ play based on Mark Haddon’s book of the same name, directed by Marianne Elliot and performed by an exceptionally talented cast is in a word, breathtaking.
At the center is Christopher Boone, an immensely intelligent 15-year-old who has a condition on the autistic spectrum. Upon discovering a neighbour’s dog has been killed, he sets out to discover who is responsible, which leads him to embark on a journey of many more discoveries, uncovering other mysteries, recording his investigations and adventures in a diary and sharing his findings with you via an immersive and dynamic experience.
The tale is told in a beautiful, poignant, heartbreaking, hilarious and really clever way. You are invited to join Christopher as he traverses many obstacles he faces when seeking the truth, with his frequent sensory overloads. He learns how to use his brilliant mind to not only solve the case but deal with the harsher realities of the adult world. Things are not black and white, there are many shades in-between. In this production, colour, light, smoke and other spectacular effects combine to help us see the world the way Christopher sees it. Sounds bombard him. Visuals overwhelm him. Our line of sight is taken to many places as actors come into play from different directions. Numbers fly across the screen, bright lights flash, then darkness. Oftentimes the effects are at once both wonderful and terrifying.
The stage is Christopher’s mind, a computer. Four connected interactive screens. Chalk diagrams at times, black and white blocks at others, flashing lights, concealing brilliance that do not make sense when we are first presented with them, but once Christopher works it out, writes it out, narrates it to us via his teacher Siobhan, it clicks and we understand and it becomes magic. The innovation of the set design does not trump or deter from the brilliance of the acting, rather they combine to add more body to the story.
The Curious Incident of The Dog In The Night-Time is very much an ensemble piece. The entire cast transition effortlessly to create the various characters in Christopher’s rapidly expanding world and their unified execution of the movement sequences is seamless. Walking along walls, dance-like, trance like it’s surprising how small the cast is but they bring to life so many characters, so many scenes with fluid like shifts. You are not confused at when or where an event is taking place. The story is easy to follow but so detailed. You feel like you are on a train, in the London underground, walking around a station. Sights, sounds, senses engaged, you would swear you were there with Christopher, every step of the way.
The Curious Incident of The Dog In The Night-Time is a momentously moving piece of movement theatre. Emotionally engaging and thought provoking, it has the power to change the way you think about the world and how you view it. An immensely powerful experience that deserves no less than 5 stars.