There’s nothing quite like an exceptional stage show to enthrall and inspire. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time is a revolutionary show portraying an autistic boy, Christopher Boone, who has unbelievable mathematical powers but difficulty interacting socially.
The show follows Christopher on his journey to find out who killed his next-door-neighbor’s dog, and throughout the play he makes some more discoveries about his life, finding truths in the lies that he’s told.
Christopher can’t stand letting people touch him and doesn’t like interacting with most people, but he confides in his one true friend — his teacher, Siobhan — through a book that he’s writing. She helps him understand life and how to deal with issues, and she gives him advice on the problems that he faces.
On the family front, Christopher’s father struggles to raise him since his mother “died” a few years ago, leaving the two Boones on their own. The story develops through Christopher’s thoughts, so the audience sees things from his perspective. By the end, he not only discovers who murdered Mrs. Shears’ dog, Wellington, but he also learns about the secrets his family has been hiding from him, including the truth about his mother’s “death.”
Christopher makes you feel for him and establishes a great empathetic connection with the audience, even though he can barely comprehend his emotions himself. It’s amazing how you feel with him through everything that happens, and you better understand the reason for his feelings as the plot unfolds.
The show takes place in a blackbox, with white glowing lines making cubes and white dots at the corners of each of the cubes. Throughout the production, the blackbox is used along with other lighting techniques to portray what’s happening, even including walking on the walls and an escalator. There are almost no sets, instead using the actors, lights, and select props to portray scenes. The costumes are hardly elaborate, but the entire result of the interesting artistic choices is enthralling.
The current cast includes Alex Sharp and Taylor Trensch (Christopher), Francesca Faridany (Siobhan), Ian Barford (Christopher’s father), Enid Graham (Christopher’s mother) and many more talented actors. It was directed by Marianne Elliott, who is most known for this play, a production of As You Like It, and War Horse.
Overall, the show was amazingly refreshing, and the audience was watching with rapt attention every moment. It was memorable and will undoubtedly be revered by the theater community for many years to come.