Sensory Overload

Review- The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time

Based on Mark Haddon's novel on a boy with Asperger's syndrome, Simon Stephen's adaptation of The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time configures Christopher's book into a school play. The metatextuality transforms the audience in a daze of entertainment as we learn about Christopher and ourselves. Christopher is a teenage mathematician with some behavioral difficulties remains a fixation of uncontrolled wonder.

Christopher repeats that he can only tell the truth. Christopher states "And this shows that sometimes people want to be stupid and they do not want to know the truth" while in pursuit for discovering who killed Mrs. Shears' dog. The irony of Christopher's actions and words lead to discovering that adults lie to each other, to children and to themselves to protect themselves from the truth of the world. 

High tech and high quality, Bunny Christie's design allows for an awe-inspiring and intimate performance due to her huge mathematical grid ser flaring with life. Maps, cities, trains, constellations, math, drawings, lights - Christopher's mind are pumped into something so exhilarating it brings a sense of uncomfortability that is memorizing. Equally, the tragedy of a torn up family due to Christopher's condition becomes clear through the messiness of the parents' lives as they have a child who cannot be touched.

The wonderous strange workings of Christopher's mind, an internal process, became an external experience that I was able to experience through this brilliant adaptation. The adaptation of Haddon's unconventional bestseller became alive. Depicting the world through Christopher's eyes, the world is intimidating, exciting and overwhelming, depicting that he is a hero.


Format and Review Inspired by: https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2013/mar/13/curious-incident-dog-night-time-review