The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime

March 2019 

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime 

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime.  Adapted by Simon Stephens, Directed by Marianne Elliott. National Theatre.  Feb. 2019. Piccadilly Theatre, London. 

Theatre is at its best when it is telling the stories of those who are voiceless. Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime bravely entered the mind of an autistic teenager in a way that audiences empathize with him, and learn to better understand those with mental disabilities. Christopher, the protagonist, has been accused of killing the neighbour’s dog and his autism makes him an easy target for the ridicule and accusations of people who don’t bother getting to know him. Eager to clear his name and prove that he is careful with animals, Christopher begins to investigate the murder of the dog and unravels a family secret in the process. 

The nature of Christopher’s disability makes him hard to understand, and harder to relate to, but the set and staging of the play offer a way in for the audience. The set is a simple grid of lights that constantly change to show what is going on in Christopher’s mind. At some points in the production it is full of numbers and lines showing a well ordered and organized thought process. Other times the light became totally overwhelming and it became clear that Christopher was unable to process a new situation. These moments of overwhelming chaos were emphasized by the choreography of The Frantic Assembly, which embodied Christopher’s chaos into stunning movement. These movement pieces, the set, and the monologues where Christopher explained his thinking processes taught me a little about autism, and I hope that this play has helped me understand the difficulties that a person with this disease go through. Evidence of the power of stories to bring people together.