Interview with Carl Lovejoy
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night time
Theatre Royal Brighton as part of its National Tour.
A thrilling and innovative new production of The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, inspired by the multi-million-selling novel by Mark Haddon, is set to tour the UK, beginning at Birmingham Rep in September. The remarkable play – this century’s most popular murder mystery – which combines a crime with family drama and an insightful portrait of neurodivergence, is adapted by Olivier and Tony Award-winning playwright Simon Stephens and helmed by visionary director Ned Bennett.
This new staging of the show, which originally premiered at the National Theatre in 2012, also sees the first-ever female casting of the neurodivergent teenage protagonist, now named Chris Boone, bringing a fresh perspective to an iconic character. Chris is played by Alex Keenan, in a role alternated by Imi Price.
The UK tour is also led by two audience favourites as Chris’s parents. Charlie Brooks, beloved for playing Janine Butcher on EastEnders, and whose theatre roles also include The Ocean at the End of the Lane, is Judy. Joe McFadden, known for TV dramas like The Crow Road, plays such as 2:22 A Ghost Story and for winning Strictly Come Dancing in 2017, plays Ed. Judy is absent from Chris’s life when the story begins, while Ed is struggling as, essentially a single dad.
When did you first encounter The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time?
I read the book back in 2003, and like most of the rest of the UK, I loved it. I reread it recently and was blown away again. It gives you such brilliant insight into Christopher’s inner life, his imagination, his world. That’s why it was so groundbreaking: really putting you into the mind of a neurodivergent person. It illuminated that experience.
I saw it in the West End and thought it so inventive. Simon Stephens did such a brilliant job of adapting it, keeping the best bits of the book but also making sure it came alive and really worked as a piece of theatre. When I heard they were doing it again, but with new direction, design, movement, music, that really excited me. I think for people who loved the book and the last production, they’ll love it again but find it’s a real reinterpretation and reimagining of Simon’s script and Mark [Haddon]’s amazing novel.
Can you tell us about the new staging?
It’s so inventive – Ned [Bennett]’s producing these amazing devices to express the story, and [movement director] Jenni [Jackson] is creating this physical language I’ve never really seen before. I can’t remember the last time I was so excited about putting on a show and seeing what people think. Eleanor [Bull] has done an incredible job with the design as well. It’s a real treat for the senses.
One significant change is that while previously it only became apparent at the end of the show that you’re watching a play based on Chris’s writing, in ours you know from the start that it’s a play within a play, so the audience is getting to see the workings of staging a show. That’s fun.
Tell us about your character Ed and your way into him
Brilliantly, Simon came in to talk to us in our first week of rehearsals. My big question for him was: how do you play these characters sympathetically? They aren’t always fantastic parents; they make some big mistakes in the course of the story. He said, “What parent is perfect all the time?” which I think we can all relate to.
Ed is up against it. He’s a single father; he’s trying. He works full time, trying to put food on the table and look after the house, and parent this quite challenging child. You can understand why he has difficulties, and hopefully we don’t judge him too harshly. I remember thinking “What would I have done in that situation?” There’s not an easy answer.
What do you think drives Ed?
He strikes me as quite a private man, quite a serious man. It says in the play that he’s more patient than Judy – he gets on with things and doesn’t let anything affect him. That’s a strength but also a weakness. It means he can’t communicate, can’t reach out for help. He bottles up all his worries. He’s a pressure cooker, and now and then he’ll blow.
That feels like an honest depiction of a parent who means well, but struggles with the emotional side of things. Ed’s a grafter: he’s a hard-working plumber; he’s used to getting his head down. That’s at the heart of who he is. I remember being shocked when I first saw the moment where he lashes out. Now that I’m a bit older, I understand his frustrations, the pressure he’s under to survive and to protect this vulnerable child.
How does the representation of a neurodivergent character land differently now?
In some ways we’ve moved on a lot, and we do know more about neurodivergence, but there’s still a long way to go. This is a story that still needs to be told. Chris has this amazing brain – she’s so adept at these complex mathematical problems. Bringing that to life is exciting: expressing on stage how her mind works. It’s an effective way to tell stories, through theatre, because it’s all happening right in front of you.
How does making Chris a female character change the production?
There aren’t as many stories about neurodivergence told from the female perspective. Lots of girls are being underdiagnosed, or diagnosed later in life, because they’re better at masking their symptoms. It felt important that we tell the story from the female point of view. In the way that lots of neurodiverse teenage boys came and saw the show last time, and felt their story was being told, hopefully teenage girls will feel that way now.
Does it also change your character’s relationship with her child?
Yes, it definitely has repercussions: Ed is now a single dad with a daughter instead. I was interested in what that would do to their relationship. I think that while he was already protective, now it’s a female character he’s even more protective of her. It doesn’t fundamentally change the story, but it raises the stakes, and it changes the family dynamic. Judy leaving her daughter feels like a bigger thing. It’s a subtle shift that audiences who saw the show before will recognise and feel like it’s a fresh experience.
Why are you excited to tour with the production?
I love touring. I did a tour of The Shawshank Redemption last year and played some amazing venues, and now I get to go back to lots of them. I’m excited. We’re opening in Birmingham, which is one of my favourite cities – audiences there are up for having a good time. The wonderful thing about touring is it informs and changes the play because the audiences have different personalities in different parts of the country.
Do you have any stops you’re particularly excited for?
Definitely my hometown of Glasgow, the beautiful Theatre Royal there, and Aberdeen I know well, and Edinburgh. I also love Nottingham, Malvern, Bath – I played Bath for the first time on the last tour. It’s such a pleasure to get to go round these gorgeous theatres and share this brilliant story. It’s exactly what theatre is supposed to do: it’s told in a way that’s insightful, funny, entertaining, and thought-provoking.
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time comes to the Theatre Royal Brighton from Tuesday 29th September – Saturday 4th October as part of its Nationwide Tour.
Joe McFadden
Theatre includes: The Shawshank Redemption (UK Tour), 2:22 A Ghost Story (Gielgud Theatre), The Mirror Crack’d (UK Tour), Rocky Horror Show (UK Tour), Treason (London Palladium and Festival Theatre, Edinburgh), Priscilla-Queen of the Desert (UK Tour), The House on Cold Hill (UK Tour), Rent (Shaftesbury Theatre), Rainbow Kiss (The Royal Court) Torch Song Trilogy (Menier Chocolate Factory) How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying (Chichester FestivalTheatre), She Loves Me (Chichester Festival Theatre) and The Missing (National Theatre Scotland). Television: Holby City, Heartbeat, Casualty, The Crow Road, Sex Chips and Rock n’ Roll, Sparkhouse, Judge John Deed, The Law, High Road & Taggart. His films include: Small Faces and The Trouble With Men And Women