The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time is the flagship production in Belvoir’s 2024 season. The play, based on Mark Haddon’s novel, essentially formulates a whodunnit-style, metatheatrical narrative about the murder of a local dog, told from the perspective of its lead character, who tells the story economically and without emotion. At first glance, this might seem like a simple, almost dull story. However, when enlivened by quality acting, it has the potential to be highly insightful, speaking to issues of domestic violence, belonging and to disability. 

Christopher is a 15 year old boy, who attends a special needs school and lives with his father. After the neighbour’s dog is killed, Christopher is the first one accused. Despite warnings to let the matter go, he cannot, which leads him to realisations he wishes he had never discovered. Eventually, this leads him on a trip to London to find his mother. 

What makes this play particularly poignant is the quality of the acting which brings out the nuances in the storyline in a way that the writing necessarily cannot. Daniel R Nixon is superb as Christopher, bringing layers to the performance that go beyond the physical and exploring nuance through his reaction rather than through his perception. It is a difficult role to get right and Nixon does a superb job of not overacting but rather, giving due attention to his characterisation and ultimately, evoking a sensitive portrayal. 

Brandon Mcclelland’s acting is particularly spectacular as the tormented father of Christopher who attempts to do everything right by his son but ultimately succumbs to his own flaws and Brigid Zengeni is also incredible as Christopher’s confidant and teacher, Siobhan, who drives the narrative forward by filling in some of the gaps that Christopher cannot. 

It is quite surprising just how profound this play is. The production quite obviously says a lot about disability and the treatment of disability in society and this is very well done (and indeed, made to feel more than tokenistic with Zoe Atkinson’s staging, complete with a sensory clock which allows for greater participation of diverse audiences) but beyond this, the play has a lot to say about family dynamics, domestic violence and even issues of coercive control that feel increasingly relevant in the present day. This especially informs the interpretation of Matilda Ridgway’s performance as Christopher’s mother, a seeming free-spirit in some ways but a victim-survivor in others and darkens the interpretation of McClelland’s character. 

To some degree, the familial dynamics are dictated by Christopher’s condition but the eventual resolution of the murder mystery suggests a more sinister need for control that underlies the actions in the play. In this regard, the writing of the play really stands up well as does the subtle direction of Hannah Goodwin and Margaret Thanos. 

As a side note, while most of the play is sensitive in its portrayals of complex issues and indeed, very inclusive in its construction, there is a brief moment in the production that feels deeply disappointing and frankly, unacceptable in a modern-day climate. In a short scene, two of the actors put on heavily exaggerated and stereotyped Indian accents and used props to further accentuate this. While both of these actors were of Indian cultural heritage, I don’t believe that this means that such representations should be allowed on stage, especially in a theatre landscape that already marginalises the stories and voices of People of Colour. Belvoir has generally been at the forefront of the movement towards greater representation of diverse voices in theatre and this is not to discount that, but, even if an oversight, this is something that I believe requires urgent attention in this production (as a side note, from a brief skim of the novel, I could not find any reference to this scene but I cannot confirm whether the scene appears in the text of the play). It felt like a large step backwards after many steps forward in recent months. 

Overall, this is a superb production, showcasing stunning acting which brings out the profundity of the subject matter. It is a play that can be viewed at a number of different levels, both as a heart-warming simple story or as facilitating a discussion about some of the more topical issues in society in the present day. Provided the exceedingly disappointing issue of stereotyping is addressed, this is an almost flawless production and well worth a trip to the theatre. 

Rating: ★★★★1/2

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time plays at the Belvoir St Theatre until 22nd September. For more information, click here.

All photo credits: Brett Boardman