The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time
Doggone !
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time
by Simon Stephens, adapted from the novel by Mark Haddon
Teddington Theatre Club at the Hampton Hill Theatre until 28th June
Review by Brent Muirhouse
It’s not often that a play manages to both disorient and anchor its audience with its story-craft, but The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time at the Hampton Hill Playhouse pulls this off as surely as the square of the length of the hypotenuse is equal to the sum of the squares of a right-angled triangle’s two sides. The work of Pythagoras amongst other things is, under the direction of Nigel Cole, one of many of the individual idiosyncrasies in Mark Haddon’s story, collectively transformed into a theatrical experience that’s as bold in its aesthetic as it is sensitive in its storytelling.
From the outset, the production refuses to let the audience settle. The sound design — at times abrasive, at times strangely melodic — draws us into the world as Christopher Boone (William Tillett) experiences it. Travelling through train stations, tube lines, and emotional landscapes, his journey is punctuated by an almost Kraftwerkian soundtrack, name-checking “superb coffee”, WH Smith and train schedules to create a dizzying commuters’ cacophony of modern life. The music repels and is a presence in itself, layering discomfort like static over the scenes, yet somehow brings us closer to Christopher’s world-view.
William Tillett’s lead performance is nothing short of outstanding. Rarely off stage, Tillett carries the show with remarkable energy and emotional clarity, grounding Christopher’s genius, fear, and wonder in a performance that never once slips into caricature. It’s a masterclass in balance, belonging and isolation between mathematical logic and emotion.
Staging is used to superb effect with digital screens shifting from satellite images of the infinite universe to the hand-drawn outlines of a Swindon living room, perfectly capturing the juxtaposition of vastness and intimacy. The flickering constellations echo the inner workings of Christopher’s mind in unexplored settings, while the more familiar outlines of his home reflect the comfort and restriction of his known world. This interplay between scale and detail artfully mirrors the chasm Christopher experiences stepping outside his routine, which the audience too is then immersed in.
A strong supporting cast adds depth and contrast, with Christopher’s parents (Chris Dearle and Helen Lowe) portrayed with heartfelt complexity, conveying not only their own inner struggles but also their parenting of a child whose needs challenge them daily. Special mention must go to Mrs Alexander (Anthea Barter), played with warmth and humour, Siobhan (Rachael Rajah) who supports Christopher in a duality, often as voices in his inner conscience, and the wonderfully oblivious police officers (director Nigel Cole, Darren McIlroy, and David Hannigan). And, not to be forgotten, the scene-stealing appearances of both the rat (Taz) and the dog (Lexi or Louise), two mammalian stars handled with calm professionalism under the spotlights, adding further charm to the production’s grounded realism.
At its heart, The Curious Incident is a story of family, logic, and finding a place in a world that doesn’t always fit. The play succeeds in drawing the audience into Christopher’s perspective so thoroughly that, by the end, what once seemed alien becomes familiar, a realisation that has full-circle beauty. The final moments are rooted in the earlier referenced trigonometric precision and beyond this have a more empathetic symbolic resonance. That balance is the skill of this TTC production and ultimately what gives the play’s final mathematical motif the impact it deserved to close the evening, with those triangular calculations setting me on the right angle as I walked, fulfilled as a complete Pythagorean triple, out into the somewhat less curious and incidental setting of a quiet night in the street-lights of suburbia.
Brent Muirhouse, June 2025
Photography by Sarah J Carter
Mark Aspen 
This is a great review of a superb production. The audience were held enthralled throughout the whole of the play. Nigel Cole’s direction was imaginative and slick whilst William Tillett’s portrayal as Christopher will stay in my mind for a very long time. Conqratulations to all the actors and the whole team for mounting such a thoughtful and well executed production.