By Nassim Hariss Year 10
This year’s Y11 play “The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time” is based on the novel by Mark Haddon and adapted for the stage by Simon Steffens. Overall, I thought the play had interesting ideas to convey and was really enjoyable to watch.
The protagonist of the story is Christopher, a 15 year-old boy who describes himself as a mathematician with behavioral difficulties. He indeed is very special, which makes him unique. We find out together with him that his neighbor’s dog has been murdered. Throughout the plot, he tries to discover the truth of who is the murderer.
Whilst doing this, he also prepares for his Math A Levels. Christopher has an amazing passion for mathematics and thinks of himself as a mathematician. His love for mathematics is seen all through the story. He is extremely determined to take his Math A Levels and even though coping with challenging family conditions, he still manages to ace them. His passion for Math is also portrayed in the setting with numbers being projected on the walls, making the play even more immersive.
Another important aspect of the story is his new friendship with his neighbor. Indeed, while investigating who killed the dog, he meets Mrs. Alexander. When he first meets her, she asks him if he would like some cookies, but when she goes to get them, he runs away, as she was taking too much time. Overall, their friendship is core to the moral of the story but not so much to the plot as it does not add anything too important, but it does give us a message, which is that friendship does not have an age or any limitations. The friendship is also a symbol of change in Christopher’s life as it is not said explicitly that he has any friends beforehand, showing that everyone, even the most unexpected people, can change.
The story also discusses Christopher’s complex relationship with his parents. We learn that his mother dies at the start of the story. His father comes back from the hospital and tells him his mom died from a heart attack. Chris is heartbroken. He goes through many relational difficulties with his father after that. He then finds some mysterious letters in his father’s room coming from his mom, destined to him, all stacked up. This is when he learns his mom is still alive. It turns out she lives in London with another man. His dad lying to him about his mom leads Chris to his distrust towards him and makes their relationship more difficult to sustain.
Even though not explicitly said, we can deduce the main character Christopher has autism or another neurodiverse issue as he has many sensory difficulties, strict routines, and has trouble with social interactions. The play does not concentrate on this aspect, it is mainly highlighted as a strength making Chris honest and intelligent with an amazing determination. But this aspect of the story also helps to give us an understanding of people who suffer from autism.
Finally, at the heart of the story, this is a bit of a murder mystery. We find out the dog has been murdered by his dad leading to giving Christopher additional trust issues. But this core subject helps explore much deeper subjects like friendships and family. Overall, those themes have been explored very well by the Year 11s, making this play a success.
