The Curious Incident Of The Dog In The Night-Time At The Little Theatre, Leicester Review

DISCLOSURE – TICKETS TO SEE THE SHOW WERE GIFTED TO THE REVIEWER AND GUEST FOR THE PURPOSES OF WRITING THE REVIEW

Reviewed by Sheridan Brown

When I was asked if I’d like to visit The Little Theatre, in Leicester for the opening night of the play ‘The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time’ – I jumped at the chance. I read the book, by Mark Haddon, many years ago – and loved it! I was really intrigued to see how Director Paul Beasley had brought the story to life on stage. The show promised to be a ‘beautiful, touching, funny and uplifting story’ – and my companion and I both left the theatre in a thoroughly feel-good frame of mind! But more than that – we left buzzing with wonder at the stellar performance of Tristan Olesiak who played main protagonist, Christopher Boone.

Haddon’s novel was first adapted for stage in 2012 by Simon Stephens. Beasley’s rendering of the play insightfully captures the beauty and complexity, strengths and difficulties of a neurodivergent young man. The play tells the story of Christopher Boone (Tristan Olesiak) who stumbles across the body of his neighbour’s dog, Wellington. This gruesome find sends Christopher on an investigative journey as he tries to find out the truth – but the truth unfolds in more ways than he was expecting.

Olesiak’s performance, for us, was truly breath-taking. We couldn’t believe it when we read that, other than one previous (minor) role with The Little Theatre and a couple of school plays, this is his first major performance! His characterisation of Christopher was insightful, incredibly well studied, funny, very moving and wonderfully neuro-spicy! We have two grandchildren who are neurodivergent and we were totally convinced by Olesiak’s performance.

I am always blown away at the talent of the amateur casts at The Little Theatre – and the cast of ‘Curious Incident’ is no exception. Slickly working together, most actors play multiple parts, bringing Christopher’s world to life. And when not playing a particular character, they voice some of the confusing sounds and messages that overwhelm Christopher during his travels. It is great to see such a mix of stage veterans and debut performers in the cast. Shout out to Nadine Beasley for her fabulous comic timing when playing Mrs Alexander and to Chris Merricks taking on his debut role of Ed, Christopher’s father; we saw his confidence grow as he eased into his role as they play progressed.

We particularly liked the way Karen Sales’ role as Voice 1, worked so well alongside Christopher’s own performance. Sales narrated with warmth and humour and with a real twinkle in her eye. She also takes on the role of Christopher’s teacher and mentor, Siobhan, who calmly encourages Christopher to write a book of his experiences and make it a play. The cross-over between these two roles works very well and I liked that it was played by the same person.

There were moments in the play where I became aware that the audience was holding its collective breath. There were moments when we wanted to reach out to Christopher to comfort him. And there was a particular moment, when he finally managed to pluck up courage to step into the Tube train, that I wanted to cheer at Christopher’s achievement. The dramatic energy of the play was superb.

The cast were very well supported by an equally talented creative team. Gemma Greaves’ set was simple, yet complex and cleverly reflects the mathematical dependability that underpins Christopher’s life. The whole set was made up of movable blocks, painted white with black ‘maths paper’ grids – sometimes hinting at a door, an enquiry desk, a train, a house, a secret cupboard. The set was subtly enhanced by both lighting and rear-wall projections (Jeremy Thompson) and sound/music (Amanda Priestley) that augmented and added different layers of meaning to the action.

Like the novel – this production works on more than one level. Slowly, as the play develops, we realise that we are actually watching Christopher’s play in the making. At first the clues are subtle, but eventually Christopher’s reluctance to act and direct gives way to a new confidence and a new voice. Bravo Christopher!

All in all, we absolutely LOVED The Little Theatre’s compelling and heart-warming ‘Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time’. We were invested, throughout and were willing Christopher on to succeed. If you do just one thing this week – make your way to Leicester and experience the play for yourself – you really won’t be disappointed!

Rating: 5/5
Dates: 26th January – 31st January, 2026
Tickets: Standard – £18.50. Concessions – £17.00. Premium Row (L) £19.50.
Remaining shows are bookable here: https://thelittletheatre.co.uk/whats-on/curious-incident/