It's not often I begin a review with a defining statement, but when you've seen a defining show, it seems wholly appropriate. The Curious Incident Of The Dog In The Night-Time is possibly the most awe inspiring, mesmerising pieces of theatre I have ever seen.
In all my years of blogging about some of the biggest and most hotly anticipated shows on the planet, I have never seen anything that has been so beautifully staged, exquisitely lit and stunningly choreographed as the production of the show touring the UK.
When you're handed a facts and figures sheet alongside your programme, it's clear there's some big numbers involved in the show's history. Curious Incident has won no less than seven Olivier Awards and five Tony Awards, including Best Play. It tells the story of fifteen-year-old Christopher, who we first meet standing beside Mrs Shears’ dead dog. 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. He has an extraordinary brain and is exceptional at maths while being 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.
Mark Haddon’s The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time was originally published in 2003. It was the winner of more than seventeen literary awards, including prizes in Japan, Holland and Italy as well as the Whitbread Book of the Year Award in the UK in 2004. Simon Stephens has interpreted it for the stage and the first point to note is that the set is visually awesome.
Made almost entirely of LED lit blackboard, it is noticeably devoid of over complicated scenery and uses its simplicity to allow the audience to explore the complexities of Christopher's mind. This set puts you inside the head of a neuro-diverse teenager and allows you to experience some of what he feels in every day situations. It comprises 2 kilometres of LED's 50 individual speakers in the auditorium to throw sound around the space, lighting and video sequences cued by sound and four 13.5 meter articulated lorries to carry the set around the country.
However it's the cast that make this show something incredibly special and Connor Curren should be applauded for a simply phenomenal performance. His powerful, sympathetic and commanding take on the part of Christopher is world class. When the lights and sound stop and we see Christopher contemplating life, the auditorium didn't even have the sound of the audience breathing in it. Every pair of eyes in the venue was transfixed on Curren's performance and, as the character who carries the whole show, he has a stage presence which demands your attention.
The supporting cast are equally as talented and this really is a choreographed ensemble piece. Never before have I seen a show so reliant on cue's and consistency. One slip and the whole thing falls apart, but that wasn't evident this evening.
Make no mistake - this is a profoundly moving piece of theatre which is, quite possibly, the best thing on stage in the UK at the moment.
The Curious Incident Of The Dog In The Night-Time runs at Birmingham Hippodrome until Saturday 8th July. For more information, or to get your tickets, head online to birminghamhippodrome.com
