The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time

When visiting Southport drama club, I am always excited to see what they have produced, for our entertainment and this time they gave us “The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time”, which was, as one of my colleagues commented, “A captivating modern production with a lead actor who took complete command of the stage and it was a true night of real theatre”. The play is based on a novel by Mark Haddon and is adapted for the stage by Simon Stephens, first performed at the National Theatre in 2012 then it transferred to the West End of London in 2013 and was nominated for several awards winning 7 Olivier and later 5 Tony Awards when performed on Broadway in America. The play centres around a boy Christopher Boone who as a neurodiverse child, struggles to connect with people although he does have a special connection with animals, which include his neighbour’s dog Wellington, and a pet rat named Toby. One night Christopher finds Wellington dead in his neighbour's garden, he had been killed with a garden Fork which upsets Christopher who decides to investigate and is determined to find out who killed the dog which was out of his comfort zone. During his investigation, the information he gets is confusing and troublesome and family secrets surface, which all has an irrevocable effect and changes Christopher’s life.

Director Jonathon Plunkett had gathered a stellar cast led by Orlando Campolucci-Bordi as Christopher Boone. Orlando ‘s performance in this role was superb; he was on stage the whole of the production constantly moving about the stage which he owned. Although the play does not say that Christopher has had a diagnosis Orlando was spot on with the mannerisms and behavior often associated with autism or neurodiversity, from constantly playing with the ties of his hoodie, his difficulty looking directly at people, his reaction to loud noises and crowds, to his reaction when someone said something he didn’t like. Christopher was unable to filter what he says, and his frank and honest conversations could be quite comedic, triggering honest responses that may not have been forth coming in other circumstances. All these idiosyncrasies gave us an insight into the daily challenges faced by people with autism/neurodiversity, which at times resulted in some tense situations but also in some very poignant and moving moments 

This play is an excellent example of an ensemble piece of theatre and the strengths it can bring to a production. All the cast are present on stage for the majority of the performance so it was imperative that they work together as a team because they were constantly moving around the stage with surety and ease following  the wonderfully choreographed movements devised by Movement  Coordinator Victoria Harrocks, it was fascinating to watch and I should imagine one wrong move by one of the actors would have resulted in consequences for everyone’s performance and the production as a whole.The ensemble were ready and available to become the many different interesting characters Christopher interacts with on his adventure, they also turned into crowds and, passengers on a train and they expertly lifted Christopher into the air as the story required it even helping him walk horizontally along a wall. The talented members of the cast that performed multiple roles and produced many different characters between them included Jonathon Plunkett, who also played Christopher’s mother’s partner Mr Shears, Chris Gerring, Gail Whitfield, Cath Dunne, Summer Molyneux and Gary Simpson. There were other members of the ensemble  who had larger supporting roles and these included Ben Muso as Christopher’s father and Joanne Wasilew as his mother, they both produced outstanding in-depth performances which showed how their characters had boundaries and developed strategies when dealing with their son and they expertly allowed the audience to see their frustration and the helplessness they felt as parents while they tried to help their son through this life changing experience. Christopher also had support from his teacher Siobhan sympathetically played with lots of feeling and understanding by Jen Corcoran, Jen played Siobhan as a calming influence, willing to help Christopher navigate the complicated and alien world he found himself in, she provided a safety net for a troubled and sometimes confused young man as he tried to interpret and understand all the new things and experiences happening to him. All dialogue by all performers could be heard clearly meaning the story and the action could be followed easily which is very important in any performance but especially in this type of sometimes emotive dialogue heavy production.

The set was basically an empty black stage with a rise for standing and walking on along at the back and sides with a projection screen also at the back.The screen was used for projected images applicable to the action and the dialogue which was very effective and helped the audience visualise the settings for the story and emphasised and categorised what was happening on stage. Well, done to the Stage Manager,Assistant Director and lighting designer Tom Ashcroft, the S.D.C. construction crew for building the set and Scenic Artist Bob Jessamine, properties were by Phil Povey, and Fiona Billington with special mention of prop maker Imogen Walkden-McGrady for making Wellington  and Toby (the dog and the rat) There was excellent technical input from Chris Ratcliffe for Sound Design and operation, Andrea Shacksmyth-Claire and Rob Murtagh for lighting design and operation and Scott Crawford for VTX design and Operation. Costumes were every day modern casual clothes except when playing some identifiable characters, a cast member would don attire applicable to that character for example a policeman they would add a policeman’s vest and hat which were easy and quick to put on and take off.

This was an outstanding production with excellent acting, direction and coordination of movement which was expertly performed. It was informative with lots of heart, it had drama, poignancy and humour, and tries to understand and explain the experiences of a neurodiverse teenager going through a tough time.

Congratulations to everyone who was in anyway involved in bringing this wonderful production to the stage. Thank you for inviting me we had a very enjoyable evening.

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