“IT’S an epic show; we’ve got to treasure it. We’re aware that this might be an experience that we might never have again.” So said Stuart Laing, one of the actors in the hit stage show The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time.
The National Theatre production – based on Mark Haddon’s award-winning book from 2003 – opened in London in 2012 and has since gone on to win rave reviews, seven Olivier Awards and five Tony awards in the US.
Now the show – adapted by Simon Stephens and directed by Marianne Elliott – is on an extensive tour and comes to Belfast and Dublin next month. I got to see it and speak to the cast in Glasgow last month and I can safely say it is one of the best stage shows I have ever seen.
It really has everything: a fantastic story that manages to be at turns moving, entertaining and laugh-out-loud funny; dazzling strobe lighting and brilliant use of music and visual effects; and superb acting.
I spoke to the fantastic young Welsh lead Joshua Jenkins (who plays Christopher Boone) and two of his English co-stars, Laing (who plays Christopher’s dad Ed) and film and TV actress Clare Perkins (who plays Mrs Shears and other roles).
The story revolves around Christopher (15), who has a photographic memory and is brilliant at maths but struggles to understand people. “People confuse me,” he says.
He doesn’t like physical contact, he has a pet rat and as well as worrying about his parents’ marriage, he discovers the dead dog of neighbour Mrs Shears and decides to investigate. But his detective work sees him uncover more than he bargained for.
While the book has been added to some school curriculums and both the book and the show have been linked to awareness campaigns and programmes around autism and Asperger’s Syndrome, author Haddon never names a condition and writes simply that Christopher has `behavioural problems’.
“The play has an amazing message of tolerance,” says Laing. “When I was at school 30 years ago, kids were on the autistic spectrum but they were picked on because they were a bit different and people hadn't heard of Asperger's.
“Now this book is being discussed in schools. The condition is never mentioned, but it makes anyone look at it and empathise with being a bit different or an outsider. Most teenagers feel like that.”
Jenkins says that since the Curious tour started last December, he has been inundated with letters from both autistic children and their parents.
“It’s fair to say that Christopher possesses qualities of someone who is on the autistic spectrum,” he says. “But it's about so much more. It's about family, difference, coming of age and all these universal themes. People connect with it and Christopher is the underdog and you root for him and you go with him on this journey and want him to succeed.
“I didn’t quite appreciate the responsibility that we had with this job, because of the themes and parents coming along to see it with children on the autistic spectrum and also because of how much people love the book.”
Perkins says that wherever they go on tour with Curious, people always come up afterwards to say how much they loved it.
“In the play we hear about Christopher's family life and he's been lied to and there are a lot of difficult things for a young man to deal with, but the people I talk to after always say it's uplifting. We never take that for granted. It's very gratifying,” she says. “It entertains, educates and inspires people; that's quite rare.”
From the very start, this is a production that grabs you. The pre-show audience chatter grinds to a halt as pounding drum’n’bass and strobe lighting fills the room, before stopping abruptly. Then we have Christopher’s teacher Siobhan (Geraldine Alexander) setting the scene.
The scenes are short and snappy and the actors cope ably with the changes of mood and setting, while the many choreographed sequences are breathtaking.
“In the book you see the world through Christopher's eyes and it's difficult to make that theatrically interesting, so they have done a remarkable job with the projections, sound and lighting,” says Jenkins. “The choreography by Frantic Assembly is amazing. In rehearsals there were bits where I felt so stupid doing some of the movements, but then you stick it in that box on stage with the lights and music and it becomes spectacular.
“We all did an hour of boot camp every morning for six weeks, so it’s been extremely physical. It's a workout for us all.”
At this point, Laing says – deadpan – “That's why we all go home early every night, with yoga at 8am every day”, and the three burst into laughter. “Yeah, we'll definitely not be going to the pub in Belfast,” jokes Jenkins.
While Perkins has travelled a lot in the south of Ireland, neither she nor Laing have been to Belfast before but Jenkins knows the city. “I used to go out with a girl who lived in Holywood, so I used to go over and visit her a lot. I love Belfast; it’s brilliant.”
The play has a run in Dublin before opening at the Opera House in Belfast on October 13. The tour concludes in Salford in late November and Jenkins says it’s been a thrilling show to be a part of.
“It's quite a unique play in that it hits all the commercial buttons that are generally dominated by musicals. I don’t think there are many plays that could sustain a 12-month tour and keep selling out.
“You have exceptions like War Horse and One Man Two Guvnors, but on the whole it’s usually shows like Wicked that sell out like this. It is a beautifully-written play and it also has the production values of a big West End show. I’ll probably never play a part like this again. It’s a brilliant role and roles like this don’t come around very often. I’m incredibly lucky.”
Laing says he likes that the play is uplifting without delivering “a Hollywood ending”.
“I read the book when it came out and when I heard about the adaptation I just thought, `How do they make that book into a play?'” says Perkins.
Laing had seen the show on its first run and says he was “completely blown away by it and came out exhausted, in a good way”.
Jenkins was so keen to get the role of Christopher that he learned nine full scenes for his audition. “I did work really hard on it. I originally auditioned for it in London but didn’t get it and then I got the tour. It was meant to be. I was meant to go to Belfast,” he laughs.
:: The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time runs at the Grand Opera House in Belfast from Tuesday October 13 to Saturday October 17. For tickets (£13 to £32.50), call 028 9024 1919 or visit Goh.co.uk. The show has a guidance age of 11+. It features some strong language, loud sound effects and some strobe lighting.
