A murder mystery that can only be solved by a 15-year-old boy is brought to the stage with the University’s adaptation of “The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time.”
“The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time” marked the beginning of the 2018-19 Swine Palace season. From Sept. 19 to Sept. 30, theatre departments have the chance to showcase its talents in stage design and movement in this adaptation of Christopher Boone’s murder mystery.
Adapted from a novel of the same name by Mark Haddon, the play is told from the perspective of 15-year-old Christopher, an intelligent boy with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). The audience joins Christopher on his journey to solve the mystery of his neighbor’s dog’s death that quickly develops into something much larger.
“It is a murder mystery with some real redemption at the end,” director Rick Holden said. “It’s all from his point of view, so we’re constantly moving through it in the way that his brain works and that’s what we’re trying to do, so hopefully the audience is seeing just what he has to deal with as he goes through the story to solve the mystery as it presents itself to him moment by moment.”
The stage-play was given a simple instruction: “all actors stay on stage unless otherwise instructed,” allowing for an ever-present cast on stage. There are four principle characters and a small ensemble cast that make up the entirety of the play. Christopher, his father Ed, his mother Judy and his mentor Siobhan are all steady characters while the ensemble cast is always on stage to represent the inner workings of Christopher’s mind.
Christopher initially set out to find the killer of his neighbor’s dog, but what he finds is more than anyone originally imagined. The murder mystery digs deep into the family dynamic surrounding Christopher in a way that may take the audience by surprise.
Music and Dramatic Arts graduate student Andrea Morales said she was in awe of how the play matches up with the seasons’ theme of finding your family.
“I love how there’s this idea that everybody is searching for something without necessarily knowing that they are,” Morales said. “Christopher goes on the search to solve this mystery but finds all these other things. He finds out that your parents are human and they mess up and that people make mistakes, and I love that he finds family in unconditional ways.”
“The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time” is more than a novel or a play, according to ensemble member Sara Osi Scott. The stage is a physical representation of Christopher’s forever-expanding mind, quite literally giving Christopher’s story a platform.
“The fact is that the book and play were written in a way that can bring awareness to autism spectrum disorders and inform the community,” Scott said. “Whether it’s our local LSU Community, our Baton Rouge community and even the world at large, there are individuals that think differently than us and who operate differently than us and can be just as capable. Getting to that final moment is always just so rewarding to stand there and hear him say I can do anything.”
The story finds a way to suck the audience in, and the cast and crew keep them engaged with the constant flow of lights, music and captivating character portrayals. University students and families across Baton Rouge are welcomed to Shaver Theatre to experience the story of how a brilliant boy solves the mystery he set out for and the ones that life presents to him.
“I’m always a sucker for an [underdog] story,” Holden said. “This is a kid who overcomes great odds and whose future’s uncertain. My favorite part is that regardless of how he gets batted down and the things that he can’t quite understand, he’s trying to figure out the family but he just keeps going forward. He’s brilliant.”
“The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time” will show from Sept. 19 to Sept. 30.
