Photo Credit: Playbill.com
It is that rare theatrical experience that can truly transport you to another reality. On the surface, “Curious Incident” is about an autistic boy’s investigation of a neighbor’s murdered pet, but the play is really about the process of growing up and the bravery required to move outside of an incredibly restrictive comfort zone.
While piercing whines and electric noises can feel overwhelming at times as an audience member, it really helps you to imagine how our 15-year-old protagonist, Christopher, feels every day of his life. There is a reason this play is award-winning, but I would posit to say that what makes this international tour so moving is the brilliance of Joshua Jenkins in the role of Christopher Boone. He masters the physical and verbal quirks that make Christopher both endearing and difficult to handle. For a story about a boy who cannot process emotions, it is a performance full of feeling.
The other standout part of this play for me is the set. A breathtaking creation by Bunny Christie, the stage is composed of walls on three sides that resemble illuminated graph paper. Rows of large suspended cubes that look like glowing Tetris blocks frame the two acts. The set represents both Christopher’s middle-class Swindon neighborhood and big-city London locales where his investigation stretches well beyond the dog’s death.
As a production, “Curious Incident” manages effortlessly balance both stage minimalism that erases all barriers between the audience and the characters and periodic bursts of unforgettable special effects. To explain more would spoil some pretty stupendous surprises. Let’s just say that there is a fantastical train set, a boy who floats through the stars with his pet, and there is a moment near the end that made myself and every audience member go “aaw.”
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