The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time, UK TOUR

So I went to see The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time (known from now on as Curious – my fingers will get arthritis keep writing that) on Saturday 12^th September – hence the busy weekend. I bought two tickets ages ago and thought I will find someone last minute to go to see Curious at Norwich Theatre Royal. Typical me I left it and left it and by the time the date came round most people were busy and I was like oh! All was fine and I popped to the Royal on me tod. I am fine on my own (despite Mother panicking), I actually quite enjoy going to the theatre alone, having a wine, some Maltesers, F*****g £8 for a medium red wine – talk about shock to the system I nearly said keep it but didn’t wanna show me self-up now did I. So I gave the spare ticket back to the theatre and they would try and sell it (if not I would just have to simply lose the money); luckily they were able to re-sell it within two hours prior to the performance starting. I obviously met the lovely lady who bought my ticket as her seat was next to mine and we had a little chat and we were both thankful for each other; she said she had been ringing since 10am. I also had a lovely chat with an older couple who hadn’t lived in the area for long but were loving all the eclectic shows that go to the Royal.

 

For those of you that do not know about Curious it is a play based upon the book of the same name by Mark Haddon; again I am including plays in this blog although I do not see many and it is not musical theatre – this is a liberal blog get used to it J. Curious, as the full name suggests, is about a young lad who comes across a dead dog in his neighbour’s garden and wants to find out what has happened; I won’t give too much away. The young lad is likely to have autism or Asperger’s syndrome and working with individuals who are autistic or Asperger’s I was really looking forward to see how Simon Stephens (creating the stage adaptation) would portray autism. Although not specified in the play (or book for that matter, apparently) it is likely the protagonist – Christopher John Francis Boone – is somewhere on the autistic spectrum. I would like to add I have not read the book the play is based on but I hope to read it soon; with all the other books I have on my list this might be sometime away. It began performances in the West End in 2012 and moved to the Apollo Theatre in 2013 where it moved to the Gielgud Theatre following the collapse at the Apollo (so there are double the chances of seeing Curious as it is currently on tour and you all know how much I love a toured performance). It has also opened on Broadway in 2014 at the Ethel Barrymore Theatre and is doing well (winning five Tony’s this year, including best Play). The West End show was nominated for seven Olivier’s in 2013, winning six of them: Best New Play, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Actress in a supporting Role, Best Sound Design, Best Lighting Design and Best Set Design.

 

 

Carrying on from the awards I did not see the original or current West End performances and I am sure staging, set and lighting are all better in London compared to on tour (as is the usual). However the tour would have definitely won all these awards in my eyes. It is, by far, the best play I have ever seen and would really urge people to go and see it. The story is so much deeper than a curious incident with a dog during the night and really is a beautiful, family, crime story and a somewhat coming of age story. The play did make me cry at the end and I really want to see it again. Whether someone is interested in autism or not; I feel this is a side-lined aspect of the story (play) and is secondary to how Christopher grows through the play. The show has clearly been directed well and from page to stage (love this phrase – beat that Elaine Paige hehe!) has been executed brilliantly, I could not fault it in any respect. I am sure the original Christopher, played by Luke Treadaway, would have been fantastic. I did not see the main guy on tour either (Joshua Jenkins) who I am sure is fantastic too. I was quite glad I did not see Jenkins (no offence to him) but seeing Chris Ashby on tour was immense. He was absolutely fantastic (even if a bit sweaty) and I cannot fault him; his portrayal of Charlie was flawless. His understanding of autism and Asperger’s is very well defined and really portrays an autistic individual well. He is pretty much on stage the whole way through both Acts and the amount of lines he has had to remember is impressive. His skills at getting the audience to empathise with him were impeccable and I absolutely loved him – I wish him all the success in his future, already amazing, career. I am so glad Nicola Walker won the supporting actress Olivier as I am a huge fan of her other work and am gutted I did not see her play the role of Judy (Christopher’s mother); I just know she would have smashed it. I understand why the sound design was given to Curious; even the little sound effects add something special to the overall story. There are certain parts of the story that are emphasised via the music and sounds of the play. The lighting award had no other decent home, the strobe lighting (warning) was crazy – really epic. The lighting almost takes on a mood and emotion of its own and gave me shivers without any acting or music. Lighting is clearly complimented by the set design. People that know me will agree I am not exactly a minimalist person; although I have fallen in love with minimalism. The set is pretty much blank, being made of mostly chalkboards, white walls and boxes and some minimalist props – however it is epic what the set was able to portray and how it adds extra to what the people on stage are doing. I will not go into too much detail of what happens on stage as I would not want to spoil Curious for anyone; but it’s fantastic and what happens throughout the whole of Act 1 on stage and how this Act ends is pretty much mind blowing in my opinion. So much can go on with not much to go on with (if that makes any sense). I also love the fact the actors become part of the scenery themselves such as becoming a door. I have so much to say about Curious but am worried I will give too much away to those that need to see it. I love the fact that Curious has reference to animal-assisted therapy (something close to my heart). I also thought Curious deserved to win a choreography award as well; despite being a musical and no set dance routines there is a lot of choreography which really is beautiful to watch and must have taken just as much as some big dance routines; these deserve more than mine and other critics praise but an actual award – the skill used to do these and the pleasure it gives the audience is priceless. (Curious was nominated for choreography awards by Tony and Olivier but did not win them; missing out to Top Hat for the 2013 Olivier, so I will commend you Scott Graham and Steven Hoggett.

I also want to mention two other people on stage at The Royal. Geraldine Alexander plays Siobhan, Christopher’s ‘teacher’ and mentor, this character is lovely and I really did fall in love with her. I loved the way Alexander portrayed her and she really made me cry and smile. Clare Perkins plays a few roles in the play and is part of the overall ensemble (as is everyone apart from Ashby which is another nice touch). She is hilarious and her acting skills are not fully appreciated in Curious; her characters are very different and her transition between characters and her acting ability is put to the test and she comes up winning. I would love to see both Perkins and Alexander in the future. So I think I have done my sales pitch, unintentionally, I just absolutely loved this play and really really really really really want to see it again. The tour has a few dates left around the United Kingdom; ending at the Lowry in Salford in November 2015 (hopefully it may get extended). So go see it if you haven’t or go see it again if you have. It is still playing in the West End (and Broadway to those American readers). Honestly, my favourite play ever!