The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time at The Little Theatre

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time tells the story of neurodivergent teenager Christopher Boon (Tristan Olesiak), who sets about on a detective mission after his neighbour’s dog is killed with a garden fork.

Based on the novel of the same name by Mark Haddon, the play tells the story through the narration of Christopher’s own words read both by his teacher Siobhan (Karen Sales) and himself. This excellent story structure reveals not only how Christopher perceives a world designed for neurotypical minds, but also his thoughts on this.

The narration provides deep insights into what it is like to be neurodivergent. Particularly standout sections include moments how sensory overload impacts Christopher and a description of what he sees when he looks out of a train window and how that compares to what he believes others to see.

Olesiak delivers a phenomenal powerhouse performance as Christopher. His mannerisms and speech are nuanced and sympathetically played, bringing the audience into the interiority of Christopher’s mind. The characterisation is never overplayed, rather it is utterly compelling. It is clear that Olesiak has a deep understanding of the character. He has excellent range, able to elicit laughter when appropriate but switch to staggeringly visceral physicality with such emotional depth that it is easy to forget you are watching a performance at all.

As Christopher goes about detecting, he faces push back from neighbours and encounters strangers who aren’t as helpful or as understanding as he might need them to be. These interpersonal interactions are challenging for Christopher, who doesn’t understand the metaphorical way in which a lot of people speak. Again, this is brilliantly insightful and helpful, to the audience, in understanding how interactions many would find easy but can be confusing for Christopher.

Supporting Christopher is Siobhan, a teacher who works at the “special school”. Sales plays Siobhan with kindness and patience. Watching her interact with Christopher, you can feel the profound care and love she has for Christopher.

Ed (Chris Merricks) is Christopher’s father and primary care giver and it is interesting to see through Merrick’s strong performance the challenge that being a parent of a neurodiverse child can be. His love is never in question, but his patience is stretched as work and other life challenges pile on. Merricks and Olesiak perform well together, with several touching moments between the two.

Caitlin Mottram plays Judy, Christopher’s mum with care and understanding and is joined by  a cast of David Lovell, David Stevens, Luke Evered, Holly Matusiewicz, and Nadine Beasley who each play a range of supporting roles from neighbours to police officers. They also largely remain on stage throughout acting as Christopher’s inner voices and indicating changes in location.

Gemma Greaves’ set design is sublime. As if constructed from the pages of a maths exercise book, the gridded set clearly represents the mathematical lens through which Christopher views the world. This is supported by clever lighting and projection design by Jeremy Thompson which signposts where to look and indicates movement. Particularly striking is the use of light and sound (design and composition by Amanda Priestley) in the train and tube stations.

Paul Beasley’s direction results in a well paced, exhilarating exploration of what can be at times quite heavy topics. The ideas of the play are given space to breathe without overselling them.

This production is a stunning and touching work of brilliant theatre and should be required watching for everyone. It is playing at The Little Theatre in Leicester until 31 January.

Photo credits: Jonathan Pryke