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| Wajanoah Donohoe as Christopher Boone |
The Curious Incident of the Dog
in Night time by Mark Haddon. Adapted for the stage by Simon Stephens.
Directed
by Chris Baldock. Assistant director Stephanie Evans. Stage Manager Rhiley Winnett.
Lighting design Rhiley Winnett and Chris Baldock. Projection design Matt Kizer.
Music composer Matt Friedman. Projection realization and Operation Rhiley
Winnett. Costumes and props Chris Baldock and cast. Autism Lived Experience
Consultants Jacob Alfonso and Jennyfer Lawrence Taylor. Rehearsal Prompt Liz
St. Clair Long. Cast: Wajanoah Donohoe or Ethan Wiggin, Leah Peel Grifiths,
Richard Manning, Claire White, Travis Beardsley, Callum Doherty, Peter Fock, Meg
Hyam, Anthony Mayne and Tracy Noble. Mockingbird Theatre Company and Acting
Studio. Belconnen Arts Centre. March 20 – April 5 2025. Bookings
https//www.belcoarts.com.au/curious/
Reviewed by Peter Wilkins
Mockingbird Theatre Company and
Acting Studio has inaugurated its new theatre space as theatre company in
residence at the Belconnen Arts Centre with an intriguing, intimate and
exquisitely staged production of Mark Haddon’s The Curious Incident of the Dog in the night Time.. Haddon claims
that this novel is the first that he has written for adult readers after a long
established career as a writer of children’s books. Centred as The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night
Time is on 15 year old Christopher Boone , a young person who is different
and most likely on the autism spectrum the novel and its brilliant adaptation
by Simon Stephens are ideally suited to teenage readers. Director Chris Baldock and
his team of actors and creatives have crafted a highly imaginative staging of
the play that would appeal to young and old alike.
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| Claire White (Judy) Ethan Wiggin *Christopher) |
The play opens with Christopher
leaning over the body of the neighbour’s dog Wellington. The dog has been
killed with a pitchfork and Christopher
is temporarily apprehended on
suspicion of killing the dog. When soon released he decides to investigate and
solve the mystery. It is a quest that will take him from his home in Swindon
with his father Ed (Richard Manning) to to the frightening hustle and bustle of
London in search of his mother Judy (Claire White). To discover the challenges
and trials that Christopher faces as a young teenager with a neuro-divergent
condition you will need to see this fascinating production for yourselves. Like any good
mystery The Curious Incident of a Dog in
the Night Time is a tale of suspicion, tension, deception, detection and surprising resolution and Mockingbird’s
production has it all in Baldock’s engrossing production.
In the original London
production, an intricately created computer generated design was displayed on
the walls and floor of the set. It depicts the dog, various locations, rain,
images from the train window and the moving London underground. Projections
designer Matt Kizel has recreated a sophisticated and visually stunning
projection design that again provides a momentum to the action but avoids any
danger of distraction from the performance on stage. Baldock complements this
world of graphics with an inventive use of figuration by which the ensemble of
actors transform at times into various objects including a ticket machine, an
ATM, a station counter and even a park bench. This is a production that invites
an audience to enter a world of the imagination. At times Baldock breaks the
fourth wall when Christopher asks an audience member to give up their seat for
a while or another to old a bunch of envelopes.
The play’s narrator, school support teacher Siobhan (Leah Peel
Griffiths) also addresses the audience directly on occasion. We feel as though we are travelling forward
with the story or, like Christopher at one stage being lifted in the air to float through the
universe. This is minimalist theatre at its best, transporting us into the
magical world of theatrical storytelling.
Baldock has decided to alternate
the challenging role of Christopher. On opening night the part was played by
Wajanoah Donohoe. I attended the second night when Ethan Wiggin played the role
of Christopher. Christopher is the one constant character in the play. Not only
is he on stage throughout, as is the Ensemble in this imaginatively
choreographed use of the ensemble, but the role is particularly demanding and I
note that he has been assisted to understand his character’s condition by the
Autism Lived Experience Consultants Jacob Alfonso and Jennyfer Lawrence Taylor.
To see Wiggin capture the
character of Stephens’s adaptation is to see a young actor whose commanding
presence, complete creation of Christopher Boone and an A Star performance is
to see an emerging talent whose future shines brightly. We laugh at Christopher’s forthright honesty
and cry at his vulnerability and pain. To witness his performance is reason
enough to buy a ticket to Mockingbird’s production. Wiggin is a young actor to
watch. I must assume that a director as skilled and astute as Baldock will also
have cast Donohoe, confident that he too will give an outstanding performance
as the play’s complex central character.
At the close of the play, Christopher, aloft on the shoulders of Ensemble
members proudly proclaims after achieving his Maths results “I can do anything!
It is a heartwarming affirmation of the power of belief in oneself. Christopher
must negotiate his autism as well as his disappointments and the
challenges he faces as he pursues his goal, but Mockingbird’s production of The Curious Incident of the Dog in the
Night Time is a lesson in
compassion, understanding and hope for us all to value.
Mockingbird Theatre Company and
Acting Studio’s meticulously and inventively staged production of The Curious Incident of a Dog in the Night
Time will delight and move you. Curiously, it will also inspire you.
Photos by Chris Baldock
