Katherine Macalister watches local author’s murder mystery classic starring an autistic 15-year-old

There was a standing ovation when The Curious Incident Of The Dog In The Night-Time came to its ambiguous conclusion. And I was there, on my feet, clapping until my palms hurt, aware that despite having enjoyed such an astonishing performance, this was an extra special night because the story had finally come home, and local author Mark Haddon was in the house.

The domain of the West End until now, The Curious Incident was like nothing I’d ever seen before.

On paper it’s about a 15-year-old boy who sets out to solve the mystery of the murder of his neighbour’s dog with a pitchfork, but essentially it’s about autism and how Christopher himself copes with it, as much about his family and the repercussions it has on their lives.

Christopher is compellingly played by Joshua Jenkins, whose portrayal of the condition is both endearing and heart-breaking at the same time, supported by an exceptional cast, most obviously narrator/carer/teacher/voice of calm Geraldine Alexander, Christopher’s father played by Stuart Laing and estranged mother Gina Isaac, all normal people reacting to an extraordinary situation.

The main questions being asked before the show began was who had read the book and how they were possibly going to translate it on stage. “I just don’t know how they are going to do it,” my worried neighbour said.

But they did, in grand style. Set in a cube of lights, sums, graphs and mind-boggling computer graphics, the workings of Christopher’s mind were ably demonstrated by the noise, calculations, logic and speed going on around him, providing a vibrant and visually stimulating backdrop for the action and story-line, so that you are there in his head, battling away with the trains, people and crowds, travelling with him on his difficult journey, grimacing and flinching alongside him, able to see two sides to the story, aware that whatever the characters have done, they are only trying to survive in circumstances beyond their control.

An extraordinarily combative piece then, where one leaves the New Theatre with a newfound awareness of what so many families go through every day, but more than that the realisation that we had just witnessed something miraculous, the like of which I’ve never seen before. Clever, compelling and perfectly executed, The Curious Incident is on for the rest of the week.