The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time based on the novel by Mark Haddon is a dog-murder mystery and its subsequent investigation by a peculiar teenager who often struggles with day-to-day life and typical social interactions. Sprinkled with literal humour and very intense, real-life situations, it is a unique and engaging adventure.
The Venue:
Parking is simple at The Ottawa Little Theatre with options of paid parking on-site, and also multiple public paid lots in the area. When arriving at the theatre, if you go in the front doors, there are a set of stairs leading up into the lobby area. The bar is straight ahead on the left, with the doors to the theatre on your right. If you choose the side entrance, it is accessible for wheelchairs and allows you to go straight into the theatre seating-area. The main lobby is decorated with posters showcasing over 100 years of entertainment, with speakeasy style music filtered throughout the bar area. The theatre offers a small selection of red and white wine, bar rail, and a couple of popular beers from Kichesippi Brewing for $6 each. Coffee, tea, pop, and water can all be purchased for $2. What I particularly like is that guests were able to pre-order and pre-pay for drinks for intermission. When guests exit the seating area, there is a separate bar where pre-ordered drinks are placed, along with a paper with their name on it. Avoiding the lineup for drinks gave us the opportunity to discuss the show at one of the small high-top tables scattered about the lobby.
The Show:
Christopher John Francis Boone (Simon-Rys Landry) is a 15-year-old boy investigating the death of a dog owned by his neighbour, Mrs. Shears (Kate Salmon). The dog, named Wellington, has died in the middle of the night under mysterious circumstances, and at first everyone believes it is Christopher who is to blame. Christopher decides to investigate the dog’s death, much to the chagrin of his widowed father, Ed (Guy Newsham). Christopher’s teacher, Siobhan (Sarah Aaron), takes a great interest in his investigation, often narrating the action on stage from the book he is writing about it. During his investigation, Christopher meets a neighbour – the elderly Mrs. Alexander (Jane Morris) – and reflects on his mother, Judy (Juli Heney).
The set was done in a very minimalistic style; a room was set up in the middle of the stage and images were projected onto the background. There was no rear curtain, so you could see both sides and behind the ‘room’ where set pieces from other plays were being stored. The cast was often walking around behind or seated and watching what was happening, which was distracting and constantly pulled focus from the scene. A set of wooden blocks was used to portray furniture. As well, the projected images were frequently right on top of the actors’ faces, which made it hard to see facial expressions, or they were projected onto the floor, and the audience could not make out what the image was from their seats.
Standout Performances:
As usual, I like to give out some kudos to the part of a show that really stood out in my eyes.
A standout performance was Simon-Rhys Landry in the lead role of Christopher. He was very engaging and flawlessly delivered the many monologues required for the role, as well as capturing the petulant teenager tone when questioning the logic of the adults around him.
Another standout performance was Jane Morris in the role of the elderly Mrs. Alexander. You could feel her care and concern for Christopher in every scene. I hope to see more of her in future events!
Overall, as a fan of the book, I was disappointed in the play. There were several scenes, such as the train bathroom scene and the final scene with his math exam explanation after everyone had taken their bows, that were superfluous and should not have been included. I would have liked to see more of Christopher’s internal humour included since such a large part of the play was being narrated. I enjoyed Simon-Rhys Landry’s portrayal of Christopher and watching him move through the events of the story – he carried the entire play.
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time is running until September 7th with shows from Wednesday to Sunday each week. Tickets are only about $30 each, so why not take a couple hours and check out the OLT performance.
Review By: Chelsea Fowler
Photography By: Maria Vartanova
