What’s On chats to Connor Curren, who plays Christopher in The National Theatre production, A Curious Incident Of The Dog In The Night-Time, which returns to Birmingham Hippodrome this month.

The National Theatre’s stage adaptation of the bestselling book, The Curious Incident Of The Dog In The Night-Time, is celebrating 10 years since its premiere. A huge hit in London and across the UK, the show is back on tour, coming to Birmingham in late March.

When he discovers his neighbour’s dog has been killed with a garden fork, 15-year-old Christopher turns detective to discover who is responsible. But in doing so, he uncovers a web of lies, confusions and miscommunications which brings the drama much closer to home. A boy with his own perspective on life who has never been further afield than his school, Christopher embarks on a journey to discover the truth, not just about his family but also about his own capabilities.

Connor Curren, who is one of two actors playing Christopher on the current tour, believes one of the reasons for the success of the show is the special nature of its lead character.

“Christopher is such an iconic character in theatre,” says 26-year-old Connor, who trained at the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire. “I think a lot of people might see a lot of themselves in Christopher. He has a sort of naivety about how the world works around him in a social sense, and I think a lot of people relate to that and will have been through that. 

“I also think Christopher’s honesty and his straightforwardness appeals to people. Often Christopher acts in ways we wish we could. I think he speaks in ways we wish we could because he’s so blunt and direct. He’s not inhibited by politeness. There’s also a sense of wonder in Christopher, which a lot of people wish they had. A lot of times society knocks that out of you when you’re growing up, and I think people latch onto that in him.”

In both Mark Haddon’s novel and the stage show, which is adapted by Simon Stephens, Christopher is never labelled, but he shows many characteristics which could be deemed to be along the autistic spectrum. For this 10th anniversary tour, the National Theatre put out a casting call asking actors with lived experience of neurodiversity and autism to apply for the role. 

Connor, who is an actor with autism, says having some understanding of Christopher’s neurodivergent characteristics does help with portraying the role - but only so far.

“It’s less of a challenge in that I don’t have to play having autism, but I think Christopher is a very different person from me. I approach it from the point of thinking, ‘I don’t want to play someone who is a diagnosis of something, and I don’t need to play up to what people think an autistic person is’.

“Christopher does have some similarities to me, but he also has lots of differences from me in what his interests are and how he behaves, what he likes and what he dislikes. I think focusing on that is better for an actor than just focusing on the similarities. Those similarities build a bridge into the character, but then you’ve got to focus on those differences as well and make them your own. That’s the best way of approaching Christopher.”

Connor believes the story helps achieve wider understanding of neurodivergency.

“I hope that people are now recognising what autism is and how it manifests itself, and how different everyone is on the spectrum. I think that is manifested in the actors who they’ve cast to play this role as well. It’s about celebrating the wide variety of the spectrum. That’s why I love it when schoolkids come to the show because it’s a massively entertaining and beautiful play, and it’s more educational than a textbook could be. 

 “There was never any label attached to Christopher in the book or the play, but I think the way his behaviour is manifested, he would fall somewhere on the spectrum. But you approach him as an individual not as a diagnostic, as you should with all autistic individuals.

“Even I don’t understand the full variety of the spectrum. I don’t think anyone does, even the experts. I’m still learning more and more about it, and we’re coming to the idea as a society that autism isn’t as cut and dried and black and white as we thought it was initially; it has many different variations. If we’ve taught people to see this, then we’ve done a lot of good.”

Feature by Diane Parkes

The Curious Incident Of The Dog In The Night-Time shows at Birmingham Hippodrome from 29 March to 2 April