Review: Robin Hood Theatre Company’s The Curious Incident Of The Dog In The Night-Time
Robin Hood Theatre Company is investigating The Curious Incident Of The Dog In The Night-Time - and is doing a magnificent job.
The stage adaptation of Mark Haddon’s award-winning novel is being performed at the Robin Hood Theatre, Averham, until Saturday.
It is a challenging play - but the company truly rises to that challenge with a well-acted, well-staged piece of theatre.
The Curious Incident Of The Dog In The Night-Time is the story of Christopher Boone, a 15-year-old with Asperger Syndrome. While a genius at maths, he is utterly incapable of interacting with people, including his own father, with whom he lives.
However, after coming across his neighbour’s dead dog Welliington - killed by someone with a garden fork - he sets out to find out who committed the deed.
Despite his absolute distrust of strangers and struggle to decipher human behaviour, Christopher is determined to succeed in his project and in doing so inadvertently heads out on a journey of personal discovery.
Without doubt, the star of this show is Ollie Kirkwood, who plays Christopher. It is such a difficult role to play, and yet he absolutely nails the part. The personality and mannerisms of Christopher are brought out perfectly.
His father, Ed, is played by Andrew Beighton, who portrays the full gambit of emotions as he struggles to bring up and connect with his son, while hiding a huge secret.
Gently guiding Christopher through life - and helping him to tell his story - is his school mentor Siobhan, played by Rosie McLaughlin.
All the other parts are played by Lynn Parry, Jean Baliol-Key, Martin Noble, Thomas Sargeant, Tim Cawkwell, Nicole Leanne and Janina Sulek, who remain on stage virtually throughout.
Directed by Mike Follen, this is a production that deserves plenty of plaudits. Balancing humour and thought-provoking moments it is a great piece of theatre.