Returning to The Lowry as part of a new 25 city tour, The National Theatre’s multi-award winning production The Curious Incident of the Dog in The Night-Time, is as spellbinding and incredibly moving as ever.
Adapted by Stockport born Simon Stephens and directed by Manchester’s own Marianne Elliott, Curious introduces us to a very, very special person, the utterly extraordinary, Christopher Boone.
The story follows fifteen year old Christopher (Scott Reid) upon his alarming discovery of the murder of his neighbour’s dog Wellington, whom he has found speared with a garden fork. Christopher, wrongfully under suspicion makes it his mission to solve the mystery of the murder by documenting the facts he discovers through his thorough and detailed investigations. Christopher is a complex yet truly remarkable boy, like many autistic people Christopher sees the world very differently to perhaps you and I, for one he truly ‘sees’ the world, he notices each and everything around him, he observes and processes every physical detail in his environment, colours, sounds, textures, everything Christopher sees is in exact and minute detail. His brain is as complex as it is fascinating, metaphors don’t make sense and people are generally confusing.
Scott Reid as Christopher is fantastic, he makes such a physically and emotionally challenging role appear effortless, he is hugely likeable and engages the audience from his very first scene, you quite literally fall in love with Reid’s Christopher, you want him desperately to succeed and to be happy, safe and secure. The relationship he has with Siobhan (Lucianne McEvoy) his teacher is beautiful; she calms and soothes Christopher when things get too much and he stops being able to process the endless information his brain is constantly receiving, more importantly she totally and utterly believes in him.
As the story develops we soon realise that Christopher like many people on the Autistic spectrum is uncomfortable with touch, the amount of physical contact he will engage in is minimal and must be on his terms, this is beautifully directed and makes for some of the most poignant and emotional scenes in whole production as we witness Christopher’s parents battle to simply comfort their child.
Director Marianne Elliot along with Movement Directors Scott Graham, Steven Hoggett and Adrian Sutton have created something truly unique with their cast, from weightlessly floating through space to the trauma of using the unwelcoming and chaotic underground the way the cast move is mesmerising. The organisation and exact movement of the cast is outstanding, their fluid movement so intricate.
Complementing the brilliant cast is a truly stunning set, it is in effect part of the cast as it is so involved in every aspect of what happens on stage, the cast and the set at times almost become one, moving fluidly together to astonishing effect. Designer Bunny Christie, Lighting Designer Paule Constable, Video Designer Finn Ross and Sound Designer Ian Dickinson have created something truly magical here.
Curious is a production that leaves an impact, at times heart-warming and very funny it is also through provoking and incredibly moving, without doubt an absolute must see.
On at The Lowry until Saturday 4th February
thelowry.com/event/the-curious-incident-of-the-dog-in-the-night-time
