BWW Reviews: THE CURIOUS INCIDENT OF THE DOG IN THE NIGHT TIME, Wolverhampton Grand, February 17 2015

Based on the 2003 novel by Mark Haddon, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time premiered at the National Theatre in 2012. By the following year, it had transferred into the West End and won a massive seven Olivier Awards including Best Play. As well as continuing in London, it is also playing on Broadway and is currently in the middle of a UK tour. Having seen it at the Gielgud Theatre, I was hugely anticipating seeing the touring production which I saw in Wolverhampton last night.

Simon Stephens' adaptation is superb and extracts all of the goodness out of the book. This along with Marianne Elliott's direction, Bunny Christie's design, Paule Constable's lighting and Finn Ross' video design makes for an extraordinary piece of theatre. Visually the best play I have had the pleasure of seeing. It must be a high budget tour as the touring show is exactly as I remember it in London. The grid style black box set, although simple in appearance, contains a multitude of hidden compartments which are frequently used for retrieving props; clever and slick. The relationship between the video and lighting is phenomenal and with the actors working so confidently with it, it makes for a compelling watch. It is very locational and often the performers have to anticipate their next move of which they do to perfection. The physical theatre element of the direction is very inventive and delivered assuredly by the company.

Joshua Jenkins makes an outstanding Christopher. Not only is it a very dialogue heavy role but also a very physical one. Every movement and thought process needs to be 100% committed and focussed as replicating a young man with Asperger Syndrome (AS). Although there are different levels and types of this condition, Christopher struggles in social situations and takes everything at its literal sense. He is incredibly logical and is ready at 15 to take his Maths A Level. Jenkins has evidently done masses of research into the role and his work has greatly paid off. Luke Treadaway, the original Christopher, won an Olivier for Best Actor in a Play for the role and an outstanding performance he gave; I enjoyed Jenkins' delivery equally as much.

Other strong performances come from Stuart Laing and Gina Isaac, as Christopher's parents Ed and Judy respectively. They both interact with their son on his terms and as an audience member, you feel very sympathetic towards them as they can't show their love for him in a physical way as Christopher does not like being touched. A moving gesture of touching hands is a representation of their connection. The 14 strong cast work impeccably as a team and support Jenkins' actions throughout; he would not be able to excel like he did without their backing.

We are very lucky to be able to see this production regionally and if you have the opportunity to go and see one play this year, make sure it's this one.

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time plays at Wolverhampton Grand until Saturday 21st February and continues touring until November 2015.

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