Since the time it was published in 2003, Mark Haddon’s novel The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time has become a cultural touchstone.
Named after a line uttered by Sherlock Holmes in the 1892 short story ‘The Adventure of Silver Blaze,’ the book is part ‘whodunit’ mystery, part coming of age story and part compassionate study of a teen on the autism and Asperger’s spectrum.
Told entirely from the perspective of Christopher Boone, a 15-year-old mathematical genius who’s been diagnosed with ‘behavioral difficulties’ (the words autism and Asperger’s are never specifically mentioned in the book), Curious Incident opens as Christopher discovers that his neighbor’s dog has been stabbed to death with a pitchfork.
When he ends up getting blamed for the dog’s demise, he sets off on an adventure to find the actual killer. The book features prime-numbered chapters, quirky math trivia, and charts and diagrams drawn from Christopher’s perspective as he attempts to find the truth.
Curious Incident won a rash of young adult fiction awards and is regularly taught in US and UK high schools (including the one we went to), but also became a bestseller among adult readers, ranging from those who found the book and illuminating insight into the mind of an autistic child, to those who just enjoy a cracking good mystery.
It doesn’t seem like the most likely work to be adapted into a stage play, especially because Christopher tells the entire story as an inner monologue. Haddon himself once even described the book as “unadaptable” for screen or stage, because you’d essentially have to show the inside of Christopher’s head in order for it to make any sense.
Playwright Simon Stephens disagrees. His 2013 West End adaptation was able to achieve all that with innovative stage design.
Stuart Lang, who plays Christopher's father Ed in the stage adaptation, saw the importance of adapting such an essential book to the stage. "Mark Haddon’s book is an amazing journey through the imagination of a unique individual," he says. "It makes us realise how we are all different and have quirky ways of looking at and interpreting the world around us."
To give the audience insight into Christopher's thoughts and movitations, the stage show unfolds inside a digital cube that serves to represent Christopher’s mind. It lights up displaying pictures and drawings like in the book, with math equations unfolding in 3D as Christopher solves them.
Harsh strobe lights and pounding bass illustrate the amplified sensations that those on the spectrum can experience in response to touch or sound, creating a visceral and immersive show.
Described as “A Beautiful Mind meets Billy Elliot,” the play became an international sensation, winning seven Olivier Awards before moving to Broadway and winning five Tony Awards including Best Play.
It’s been translated into Spanish and Hebrew and performed around the world, and there are rumors that a film adaptation is in the works, with Brad Pitt and Warner Bros having signed on as of 2017.
"I think young people in general relate to Christopher because he is an outsider and most teenagers feel like an outsider at some time," says Lang about the show's enduring appeal. "Many things in life can feel daunting, but Christopher overcomes those obstacles so he is very inspirational. Hopefully there is more tolerance today, and it is important to keep the understanding [of those on the spectrum] out there for the next generation, so we don’t go backwards."
The National Theatre production of Curious Incident lands in China for the first time this month, with performances in Shanghai, Beijing and Guangzhou theaters. It’s a sure thing for even the theatre averse and those who doze off during plays – when the strobe lights flick on and the numbers fly across the stage, they won’t know what hit them.
Shanghai: May 9-20, 7.30pm (with weekend 2.30pm matinees), RMB200-800. SAIC Shanghai Culture Square, see event listing, buy tickets.
Beijing: May 24-27, 7.30pm (with weekend 2.30pm matinees), RMB99-880. Tianqiao Performance Center, see event listing, buy tickets.
Guangzhou: Jun 1-3, 7.30pm (with weekend 2.30pm matinees), RMB180-880. Guangzhou Opera House, see event listing, buy tickets.
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