Review: THE CURIOUS INCIDENT OF THE DOG IN THE NIGHT-TIME, Festival Theatre, Edinburgh

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time opens with Christopher, aged 15, standing beside a dead dog, named Wellington. It has been speared with a garden fork, it is seven minutes after midnight and Christopher is under suspicion. He records each fact in the book he is writing to solve the mystery of who murdered Wellington. Christopher has an extraordinary brain: he is exceptional at mathematics but ill-equipped to interpret everyday life. He has never ventured alone beyond the end of his road, he detests being touched and he distrusts strangers. But his detective work, forbidden by his father, takes him on a frightening journey that upturns his world.

The 2012 National Theatre adaptation by Simon Stephens of Mark Haddon's best-selling novel won seven Olivier Awards and five Tony Awards, including Best Play, and this second UK tour - which for now runs concurrently with the production at London's Gielgud Theatre - continues the success story.

Engaging the audience from start to finish and even beyond the final curtain call (tip: do not rush out of the theatre at the end), the play gives a thought-provoking insight into Christopher's world, and brings vivid life to his experiences. Whilst it doesn't come as too much of a surprise that Christopher finds the crowded London Underground daunting, the scene where he arrives at the comparatively quiet Swindon train station is particularly effective in conveying just how many alerts, messages, instructions and pieces of advice our brains have to filter.

The cast of ten (many of whom play multiple parts) all excel, but there is no escaping the fact that much of the success of the production rests on the portrayal of the central character of Christopher, and Scott Reid is nothing short of exceptional. Whether reciting lists of cubic numbers or displaying his own styles of emotion in scenes with his mother, father and teacher, Reid completely makes the character his own, barely leaving the stage throughout, and is utterly convincing.

Marianne Elliott's direction and Bunny Christie's design ensure that the more domestic scenes of the story never become ordinary - the three-dimensional coordinate grid set contains many surprises, high-tech and otherwise - and particular mention must be made of Paule Constable's lighting design, which adds the finishing touches to what is a faultless adaption. Whether or not one is familiar with the novel, this production really does fall into that rare must-see category.

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time runs at Edinburgh's Festival Theatre until 25 February, and continues on UK Tour.

Read our interview with Paule Constable

Picture credit: Brinkhoff/Moegenburg

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