The curious incident of the dog in the nighttime review

July 26, 2015

Having primarily dealt in children’s books, Mark Haddon’s debut novel, which was immediately adapted into a hit Broadway play, came as a bit of a surprise. Unless, of course, you’ve read the novel, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime. One of the most interesting and provocative books of this day, Haddon writes a tale that doesn’t follow any particular genre. At times, it’s sad and emotional, exploring the mind of its young, autistic protagonist. At other times, it’s charming and brilliantly funny, using the logic-based view of the hero to make witty observations of the world.

At the start, the book presents itself as a mystery novel, about a boy’s search to find the killer of his neighbor’s dog. As the novel unfolds, however, it reveals itself as a unique coming-of-age novel about a boy with a mental condition and the challenges his parents face while raising him.

It’s hard not to love Christopher, the narrator and protagonist. He is hilariously blunt and far smarter than the average fifteen-year-old. It’s also hard not to feel a twinge of pity for this kid when you have such an honest insight into his mind. He describes things factually, but this makes it even more emotional for the reader because what he sees as normal is far from what average people face in their everyday lives. For example, because Christopher hates the color yellow, when he sees four yellow cars in a row on the way to school, that day is a Black Day. On Black Days, he doesn’t speak to anyone for the whole afternoon, instead sitting in the corner of the library, groaning, with his head pressed into the joint between two walls to calm himself down.

Christopher’s dad is also easy to sympathize with, although the reader may not face the distinctive challenges he has to overcome as a parent. It’s obvious that he tries his hardest to patiently care for his son, even when Christopher presents struggles where most kids don’t. He loves his son and asks whether Christopher understands this. To this, Christopher replies he does because “loving someone is helping them when they get in trouble, and looking after them, and telling them the truth, and Father looks after me when I get into trouble, like coming to the police station, and he looks after me by cooking meals for me, and he always tells me the truth, which means that he loves me.”

While most authors lack the experience and knowledge to write from the perspective of an autistic child, Haddon is highly qualified to write such a novel. Shortly after graduating college, he worked with autistic individuals. The experiences he gained from this gave him insight and compassion toward those with this mental condition. He warns, however, not to treat his novel like a textbook towards treating those with behavioral issues.

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It has been a 10-year journey for this production of The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, still packing in audiences across the country to see the theatrical retelling of the best-selling Mark Haddon novel.

It's an achievement on many levels, not least because it's not the conventional sort of bums-on-seats show that we are more used to seeing at a venue like the Opera House in Manchester.

It's also not a particularly easy watch - confronting as it does the painful and agonising heartbreaks of family life that all parents will be familiar with in one way or another.

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But in this vivid and magical National Theatre production, adapted for the stage by Stockport's Simon Stephens, we get a challenging and visceral retelling of the simple beauty of the 2004 novel, a book so well-read that it is now deemed "the nation's favourite".

For those unfamiliar with the story, it is narrated by 15-year-old Christopher Boone, a young boy who has an extraordinary brain and loves maths and space, but finds the norms of life that most take for granted a little more of a challenge. We learn he does not like to be touched and he has rarely ventured beyond the confines of his Swindon cul-de-sac.

The action starts with his shocking discovery of the neighbour's dog with a rather large garden fork in its side. And it sets into motion his detective-like quest to discover exactly what happened, while we, the audience slowly unravel the complexities of the Boone family life.

A drama like this holds its audience with the skill and dedication of the actors, and in this production we have a consummate ensemble production - with flashes of magic and comedy from the sidelines as much as from the leading roles.

Also, of course, there's the rather brilliant technical production on stage that manages to convey both a childlike simplicity with a space age hi-tech matrix.

On opening night David Breeds performs the role of Christopher with both the innocence of childhood and the physically and mentally bruising torment of a young adolescent.

We go with him on the most important journey of his life in this show, seen to dazzling effect in the second half when the ensemble merge together to invoke the mayhem and thronging hordes in London's Underground making the audience feel as if it is our first time, just as it is for young Christopher.

His father Ed, wrestling his own torment and love for his son, is brought to life on stage in a masterfully contained performance by Tom Peters, allowing the occasional eruption of rage.

Rebecca Root brings a lovely, measured and soothing tone as Siobhan, Christopher's teacher and also as his over-arching inner voice and calming force. She manages to truly convey the magic of a good teacher-pupil relationship, through to the moving finale of Christopher finally getting to celebrate his academic goal that means the world to him.

It might not be the usual all-singing and dancing finale we have become accustomed to in this theatre - but here it is the raw and searing beauty of the drama that ensured a standing ovation on opening night for a deserving cast.

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time plays at Manchester Opera House until March 12 .

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