Burbage Theatre Co presents The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, based on the novel by Mark Haddon, and adapted by Simon Stephens. Its title refers to a short story that features a Sherlock Holmes mystery. Director Karen Carpenter delivers a production that is as funny as it is moving.
Meet Christopher, a 15-year-old boy with autism. As he probes the mystery into the odious death of his neighbor’s dog, Wellington, Christopher uncovers secrets that throws his world into utter chaos. While Christopher is exceptional at mathematics, he is unable to interpret everyday life, including the complexities of his fractured family. He struggles with social cues and interactions, affecting his ability to fully engage with his environment, as he detests being touched and distrusts strangers. Finding himself under suspicion, Christopher is determined to solve the mystery of Wellington’s murder, carefully recording each fact of the crime. Having never ventured beyond the end of his street alone, his detective work, forbidden by his father, proves challenging as it takes him on a thrilling late-night journey, upending his extraordinary world.
Elijiah Russell more than adeptly portrays Christopher, taking us into the young man’s scattered but otherwise brilliant mind. Exhibiting tics— such as tapping his thigh with his fingers, staring off into the distance, sudden outbursts— he skillfully and capably represents one with autism. You just may walk away from this with a new respect and patience for those with sensory processing differences and hypersensitivity.
“Don’t we all long for the support of a community to understand?” asks Carpenter. “What has made this production wonderful has been the contributions to the storytelling by the cast and production team. Theatre artists thrive when we create and foster a community of collaboration. We understand that often the world is ill equipped when a human develops outside this norm— requiring patience and compassion as they work to answer those big questions of identity and belonging. We wanted the audience to climb into Christopher’s notebook and share his world. Each person crafting this production has worked to honor Christopher’s love of math, space, storytelling, and truth seeking through imaginative movement, hand drawn projections, and a passion for sharing this story that invites our audience to become a part of Christopher’s community.”
Cast includes Burbage veteran Allison Crews as Siobhan, Christopher’s paraprofessional and mentor (basically narrating to us) who teaches him how society works and how to behave within its complex guidelines. Michael Thibeault portrays Ed, Christopher’s father, who has many hurdles to deal with concerning Christopher’s late mother. Amie Lytle portrays Judy.
Set designer Trevor Elliott treats us to moving eye candy in the hand-drawn projections. These are sometimes high-speed, reminiscent of Christopher’s thinking. What’s really striking about this production is how people serve as props. The fun and frenzied ensemble consists of H. Avery, Paula Faber, Mireya Hoffens, Philip Iredale, Omar Laguerre-Lewis and Teddy Lytle. ATD Brittany Costello provides entertaining physical items as well.
“At Burbage, we are always looking for plays that take full advantage of what makes live theatre unique,” says Artistic Director Jeff Church. “The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time is a deeply theatrical, heartwarming, and life-affirming story— a fast-paced, three-dimensional look at the inexhaustible variety of life and family, through the eyes of 15-year-old Christopher and his extraordinary mind. A production that promises an intimate interplay of movement, design, and storytelling. We are thrilled to have Karen Carpenter, longtime Gamm actor and drama teacher at Pawtucket’s JMW School for the Arts, making her Burbage directorial debut. We have an exceptional ensemble cast, and a design team that has been waiting patiently to bring Simon Stephens’ liminal London to life. This is a truly special play— a perfect fit for Burbage— and we can’t wait to share it with you. Don’t miss it.”
Burbage Theatre Co’s production of The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time
closes April 13. Contains occasional loud sounds. For more information, visit https://www.burbagetheatre.org/curiousincident.
