THE CURIOUS INCIDENT OF THE DOG IN THE NIGHT-TIME transferred to London's West End, following a sold-out run at the National's Cottesloe Theatre in 2012. The production received seven 2013 Olivier Awards, including Best New Play.
Fifteen-year old Christopher has an extraordinary brain; he is exceptionally intelligent but ill-equipped to interpret everyday life. When he falls under suspicion for killing his neighbor's dog, he sets out to identify the true culprit, which leads to an earth-shattering discovery and a journey that will change his life forever.
The production is designed by three-time Olivier Award-winner Bunny Christie, with lighting by Tony Award-winner Paule Constable, video design by Finn Ross, movement by Scott Graham and Olivier Award-winner Steven Hoggett for Frantic Assembly, music by Adrian Sutton and sound by Ian Dickinson for Autograph.
There is more movement in The Curious Incident-the choreography is by Scott Graham and Steven Hoggett-than in many a musical. All the technical elements, from lighting (by Paule Constable) to sound (by Ian Dickinson) are world-class. Yet no matter how brilliantly done, the choice to highlight the workings of Christopher's unusual brain onstage through narration and illustration comes with trade-offs. You fret over his confusion and follow his reasoning, but after a while they threaten to smother the drama.
For Christopher Boone, the hero of Simon Stephens' extraordinary new play The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time (***½ out of four stars), such experiences are part of everyday life. A 15-year-old who lives with his father in Southwest England, Christopher shows symptoms associated with Asperger's syndrome; he has a great affinity for math and anything involving the processing of data, but is uncomfortable around people and has a hard time understanding them, with their constant use of metaphors, incomplete answers and other strategies for evading difficult subject matter.
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