The Curious Incident Of The Dog In The Night Time
Premiered in 2012, The Curious Incident Of The Dog In The Night Time has since been seen by over 2 million people and has won seven Olivier Awards and five Tony Awards including Best Play. I read the book years ago too - after all, it's one of the nation's favourite books.
The theatre's packed. I've brought a friend who's already seen it twice before. Here are some facts.
The set contains five tons of steel.
There are 2593 different elements in the 234 sound clues.
There are 892 pixel LEDs embedded into the walls and floor of the set.
The stage sees 11.6 million pixels of projection from the lighting and video rig.
Prime numbers, or the atoms of mathematics, were used as the building blocks for the music production of the show, as Christopher is a big fan.
I know right. This is a really big deal of a production, and unlike anything I've ever seen before - the set looks like something from Tron, the manic music that begins the play is incredibly loud for the theatre, and continues to be so throughout. The stage is set up with walls and flooring that Christopher, the main character interacts with through chalk scrawlings, building a working train set, using the wall as a floor, or drawers, or outer space, or to display London Underground stations, or a place to work out maths problems. It's completely unique and so innovative it blows my mind.
The moments of silence and calm in the play are so rare that they really catch you when they do happen - generally the music is loud, technology is intrinsic (there are no natural elements onstage at any point except for Toby and Sandy - you need to watch it to find out who they are), movement and action is frenetic and lights blastingly bright, helping us to gain a little insight into what the world might sometimes seem like to Christopher. I even cry twice, and that's most unlike me.
Christopher, played by Scott Reid has, we assume, Aspergers Syndrome, although it's never mentioned onstage by anyone. At the start of the tale, his life is pretty sheltered - living in the safe bubbles of school and home with occasional excursions to the garden centre. Through the play he begins to break through those bubbles, meet neighbours and even negotiate London on his own. This is a story about not only someone who struggles to communicate and understand others, but, as author Mark Haddon said, it's also about "mathematics, families, space, death, loyalty, maps, Sherlock Holmes, truth, bravery, Swindon, railways...and all of us". Because everyone has quirks - some people don't like using public toilets and some people don't like the colour yellow, so actually Christopher isn't that different after all. The relationship between himself, his mum and his dad is at the heart of the story, and really it's a very human and tragic tale that is easy to relate to. It's just seeing it all through Christopher's eyes that makes it so unusual and so magical.
The acting is superb. SUPERB. Scott Reid is obviously incredible, ending the play wrung out and soaked with sweat, but so are the supporting actors. They have to move the set around, follow complex choreography and take on multiple roles throughout the play, which they do without dropping a beat - they are so tight as a unit, and we are so impressed.
The best thing about this play is that it tells a gripping story in a way that I have never seen before - with electricity, and maths, and a mind very unlike my own. I'm rubbish at maths, and I have no logic whatsoever. So what makes Christopher the 'special needs' one instead of me, just because he finds people difficult? Every human is different, and sees things individually - and this is Christopher's take on things, not "a play about Autism". It's a play that makes you think, and feel, and learn (plus there's a super cute puppy in it, which draws huge awwwwww's from the audience).
Honestly. Go see it. Unforgettable.
