Interview: Enid Graham Talks THE CURIOUS INCIDENT OF THE DOG IN THE NIGHT-TIME

Enid Graham plays the mother in the astonishing new play The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, the coming-of-age story of Christopher, an autistic 15-year-old.

This riveting and much-heralded play shines a klieg light on Christopher's perceptions of the near-unbearable reality around him. His heightened senses perceive his physical world as dangerous and terrifying, and he has a fear of being touched. Christopher (played masterly by Alex Sharp, just six months out of the Juilliard School) is also a genius when it comes to mathematics, especially prime numbers.

"It's mainly a story of a boy and his family," Graham said before a recent performance. "The production is told from Christopher's point of view - you get to see the world through his eyes and his unusual way of dealing with it."

The dazzling production has been adapted by Simon Stephens from Mark Haddon's best-selling 2003 book, which won 17 literary awards and was translated into 44 languages. The play originated in London, where it is still playing to sellout crowds. This iteration, tautly directed by Marianne Elliott, assaults the senses thanks to brilliant lighting (Paule Constable), video (Finn Ross), choreography (Scott Graham and Steven Hoggett), sound (Ian Dickinson) and set and costumes (Bunny Christie). The audience is taken on a visceral roller coaster that begins with the death of a neighbor's dog and ends with, well, no spoilers here.

Regardless of the bells and whistles, the heart of the story lies with Christopher's relationship with his imperfect parents, a devoted teacher Siobhan (Francesca Faridany) and the terrifying world around him. "Having a child with this disability makes it particularly hard to be a mother," said Graham, who plays Christopher's mother, Judy. The mother of three sons (ages 3, 7, and 9) Graham commiserates with her character. "So many things in the play speak to me as a mother," she said. "Judy is doing her best and failing a lot."

CURIOUS powerfully examines the machinations of a flawed family, she said. "I have experienced moments when I lose my temper and don't behave the way I should," she said. "I can understand the need to run away and escape to save yourself."

Judy's frustrations with Christopher and her husband, Ed (powerfully portrayed by Ian Barford), play out through Christopher's distorted viewpoint. His experiences, never more heightened than during a train sequence, are filtered through a fun-house prism that threatens to unhinge him.

"Judy doesn't have a lot of resources," Graham said. "It's really a story about relationships and with all the flash of the show, it has its own physical vocabulary." The talented ensemble works as a singular unit at times, hoisting Christopher up and over the stage where he "walks" on the walls of the set and somersaults in slow motion. The production calls for peak physical fitness in addition to mental acuity, she said.

"It's quite jarring at times," Graham said of the near-manic tone of some scenes. "It's not a gimmick, it's an integral part of the story," she said referring to the sensory overload. "I have a very good friend who has a son on the spectrum (of autism). He's a brilliant boy and a sweet, sweet person. But it's a challenge for him to navigate the world, like Christopher."

Graham and the cast met with parents and teachers of autistic children in order to better understand what life is like dealing with the disability. "We met with a group from a place that has a whole autistic program," she said. Children were taught socializing skills and learned how to deal with day-to-day situations. "And they all came to the show. That was exciting."

Music (Adrian Sutton) is another crucial element of the play, Graham said. "The music was composed based on prime numbers" - of which Christopher is a savant- "and practically becomes another character in the play.

"Music and choreography is usually based on an eight-count, and ours is based on a five-count, slightly jarring, not quite the normal way of doing things," she said. Every detail of the production reflects what it's like to have sensory issues. "It's not a gimmick," she said of the production's unique spin. "It's an integral part of the story."

The physical demands of the production called for extra rehearsal time, Graham said. "We had to learn a whole bunch of stuff we didn't know how to do. We had to learn lifts and flips and that was hard," she said.

"Then we worked on the text and slowly integrated both into the play. It takes a lot of strength and coordination," she said. "The good news is, it looks great. The bad news is no one will know how much work it takes."

Christopher's complicated relationships with others, especially his mother, is riveting. "Judy loves her son like crazy, but she doesn't know what's really wrong with him, why he won't let anyone touch him," Graham said. "She's being pushed to her limit as caretaker and isn't able to express love in a normal, maternal way."

Graham was first drawn to the dramatic arts when she was a child living in tiny Dickinson, Texas, near Galveston. "I was in community theater when I was 8. It was fun and I stayed in that vein; it was my after-school activity of choice," she said. "I think I'm the only one who came out of there being an actor. I was lucky I found something I loved to do."

Graham hopes audiences will gain a greater grasp of what it means to have autism or to live with someone who does. "I hope people come away with a better understanding of people with disabilities and how it's O.K. to have a different point of view."

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time is playing at the Ethel Barrymore Theatre, 243 W. 47th Street.