THE CURIOUS INCIDENT OF THE DOG IN THE NIGHT-TIME Heads to The Court Theatre Next Month

By: BWW News Desk Feb. 27, 2017

After taking Broadway and the West End by storm, the celebrated theatrical adaptation of Mark Haddon's award-winning novel The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time is heading to The Court Theatre's stage.

The story follows fifteen-year old Christopher Boone, who sees the world differently. He knows every prime number up to 7,507, he doesn't tell lies and his favourite colours are not yellow and brown. When the neighbour's dog is murdered, Christopher's investigation leads him far from home and changes his life forever.

Director, Lara Macgregor, who is currently performing in Ropable at The Court Theatre, has assembled a stellar cast who are being put through their paces in the rehearsal room.

Taking on the lead role of Christopher is former Court Jester and Toi Whakaari graduate, Tim Earl. Behind Tim, every step of the way, is a dynamic ensemble made up of some of New Zealand's most prolific actors - Mark Wright (Terry Teo), Claire Dougan (Rain), Serena Cotton (Shortland Street), Steven Ray (The Hobbit), Roy Snow (The Shannara Chronicles), Keagan Carr Fransch (Pete's Dragon), Matt Hudson (The Producers), Kathleen Burns (Educating Rita; Ropable), and Margaret-Mary Hollins (Artistic Director of TAPAC).

The Court took extended time over casting the show, as a strong ensemble is vital in the playing of this fluid script which follows Christopher's journey from Swindon to London and back again. Macgregor's challenge in bringing this production to life is to guarantee the magic that is Christopher and the unique way in which he views the world are clearly played out on The Court's stage.

"Mark Haddon is quoted as saying, 'Christopher is a character whom if you met him in real life you'd never, ever get inside his head. Yet something magical happens when you write a novel about him.' All I've aimed for in his production is to capture that magic," says Macgregor.

Joining Macgregor in bringing this production to life is movement director Shane Anthony. Macgregor and Anthony trained together at the National Institute of Dramatic Art in Sydney ten years ago. They have a second language when working on the floor with the actors. Anthony's lateral and fluid way of working with the body to create imagery merges seamlessly with Lara's attention to psychological and emotional mining of characters.

"This production's magic is due, in part, to the use of sophisticated collaborative moments to expose the simplicity and beauty of Christopher's journey. Every component of this process feeds the next; AV, music, lighting, sound effects, movement and set are all working together to achieve our desired result."

Each of the departments working behind the scenes on this production are combining their incredible talents to create a seamless immersive stage experience, which celebrates Christopher's uniqueness in the most beautiful of ways.

Mark McEntyre (Constellations; Waiora) has created a grid formation as the base for his set, with as much attention to detail as Christopher's world dictates. Andrew Todd (AV design), Giles Tanner (sound design) and Joe Hayes (lighting design) support Christopher's world with projections, sound and lighting techniques, along with original music compositions by Henri Kerr that transport you directly inside Christopher's head.

The Court's production of The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time, a South Island première, opens on March 18th and runs until April 22nd.

#curiousincident #courttheatre

Additional Information:

Cast:

· Tim Earl: Christopher Boone

· Claire Dougan: Siobhan

· Mark Wright: Ed

· Serena Cotton: Judy

· Margaret-Mary Hollins: Mrs Alexander, Posh Woman, Voice Six

· Keagan Carr Fransch: Mrs Shears & Ensemble

· Roy Snow: Mr Shears & Ensemble

· Matt Hudson: Policeman 1 & Ensemble