Review: The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time

Due to a traffic jam on the M4 on the night I attended, I missed the opening 15 minutes of Three Dot Theatre, in conjunction with Artemis College’s, production of ‘The Curious Incident Of The Dog In The Night-Time’ but it didn’t take me long to be pulled into this mesmerising performance.

Having never read the book by Mark Haddon or seen the stage play adapted by Simon Stephens, I to was indeed curious, to see what had made this story so popular, and in some cases, controversial, with both readers and theatregoers.

The play is set around 15-year-old Christopher, an unique individual with an extraordinary brain who for what he lacks in social interaction he makes up for with mathematical excellence and a logical way of thinking.

The killing of a neighbour’s dog, sets Christopher on a journey of detection way beyond his usual boundaries and experiences. A journey where he discovers a lot about life, himself and truth.

Produced and directed by Artemis College alumni, Keir Buist, who, along with an excellent young ensemble cast, and within the black box confines of the studio theatre, brought this challenging piece of theatre to life with creativity and dynamism.

Although I did say it was an excellent ensemble cast, and it certainly was, but I must give a special mention to the young actor who played the lead role of Christopher. Sam Camplin’s performance was as extraordinary as the character he was playing. This is a young talent with a great future ahead of him.

I may have missed a few scenes of this play due to my own ‘incident in the night-time’, but my curiosity was very well rewarded.