Theatre Outing: The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time

On the 24 and 25 November 2018, the year ten IGCSE drama students and the year sevens and eights went to the Theater on the Bay to watch a production of a play called ‘The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time’. The show has previously been performed on both Broadway and the West End. 

The plot follows an account of a 15 year old boy called Christopher, an amateur detective and mathematical genius with an autism spectrum condition. His neighbour’s dog was found dead, speared with a pitchfork, so he decides to try and figure out who murdered the dog, but he ends up discovering secrets from his past he didn’t know were hidden. 

I personally think that the show was incredible. The main character’s actor (Kai Brummer), was incredible, along with the actor of the mum (Jenny Stead) who I personally thought was the best. The set design was really clever too, as they used the bare minimum of a few white boxes on stage. They would then move and stack the boxes in different ways to create different pieces of furniture, objects and a train at one point. The backdrop was a simple white, padded board so that the actors could pass things on and off the stage as they pleased. The actors also stayed onstage for almost all of the performance, which was very interesting choice by the director. The script was also exceptional. The way that they capture the main character, the way he thinks and feels, and his actions are an amazing portrayal of the way someone with an autistic spectrum condition (the specific condition that he has isn’t mentioned in the play) would really think, feel and act. It was written in the style of a ‘play-within-a-play’, which is very inventive and creative, and all together helps it to be interesting and engaging. The costumes were also very simplistic which was nice as it helped the audience to focus more on the characters and the plot rather than the costumes, just like the set.

I would recommend this production to everyone who appreciates deep and meaningful plays, that contain hard topics. I think that it is an incredible piece production, with outstanding actors and an interesting interpretation of a great book. Just to note, the characters do swear a few times during the play, but you shouldn’t let that change your opinion of the play, because this is a production you can not miss. Take a few hours of your weekend to watch a play that will change your perception of the the world and the people in it.

Anonymous