Go to content

The Curious Incident of the dog in the night - Greasepaint and Stage Lights - Theatre Radio Show

Broadcasting on  Countywide Radio - Mondays at 4pm Acacia Radio - Mondays 9pm Affinity Radio - Mondays at 11pm Cirencester - Tuesdays at 2pm HWD Radio - Tuesdays at 6pm Forest FM - Tuesdays at 7pm South Devon Sound - Wednesdays at 11pm Cabin FM - Wednesdays at 6pm JHR Radio - Thursdays at 12pm Drystone Radio - Thursday at 12pm Islands FM - Thursdays at 8pm Red Road FM - Thursdays at 9pm Radio Hillingdon - Thursday at 9pm Sounds of Broadway - Various USA times South Devon Sounds - Fridays at 2pm Dover Radio - Saturdays at 2pm Elastic FM - Sundays 2pm Crystal Radio - Saturday at 5pm Cabin Fm - Saturdays at 5pm Image Radio - Saturdays 6pm Coast and County - Sundays at 9am Whaley Radio - Sundays at 10am Arrowesound - Sundays at 10am Barts Radio - Sundays at 11am West Norfolk Radio - Sundays 12 Noon KGH Radio - Sundays at 2pm Hereford Radio - Sundays 2pm West Surrey Radio - Sundays 2pm Humberwave Radio - Sundays 5pm Chiltern Voice - Sundays at 5pm Islands FM - Sundays at 6pm Canalside FM - Sundays at 6pm Beverley FM - Sundays at 6pm 3T FM - Sundays at 6pm Ribble Radio - Sundays at 6pm Meridian FM - Sundays at 7pm L35 Online Radio - Sundays at 8pm Guernsey Radio - Sundays at 9pm The Beat of South Texas - Various Times Phantom Radio - Sundays - 6pm West Wiltshire Radio - Sundays at 11am Conquest Radio - Sundays at 9am West Norfolk Radio - Sundays 12noon Shire Extra - Sundays 10am Swindon HBO - Sundays at 2pm Veteran Radio - Sundays at 2pm Beacon Radio - Sundays at 3pm Chiltern Radio - Sundays at 3pm County Sound - Sundays at 3pm ABC Radio - Sundays at 4pm Derwent Sound - Sundays at 3pm Hereward Sound - Sundays at 3pm Invicta Sound - Sundays at 3pm K-CBC - Sundays at 3pm Leicester Sound - Sundays at 3pm Marcher Sound - Sundays at 3pm Mercia Sound - Sundays at 3pm Penine Sound - Sundays at 3pm Radio Broadland - Sundays at 3pm Radio Hallam - Sundays at 3pm Radio Mercury - Sundays at 3pm Radio Victory - Sundays at 3pm Radio West - Sundays at 3pm Saxon Radio - Sundays at 3pm Souther Sound Radio - Sundays at 3pm Swansea Sound - Sundays at 3pm

Access menu ->
Skip menu

Broadcasting on  Radio Hillingdon - Thursday at 9pm Countywide Radio - Mondays at 4pm Coast & County - 97.4 - Mondays at 11pm Carillon Wellbeing Radio - Tuesdays at 5pm Cirencester HBO - Tuesdays at 7pm Forest FM - 92.3 - Tuesdays at 7pm UK Radio Network - Tuesday at 9pm Cabin FM 96.4FM - Wednesdays at 6pm Hastings Radio - Wednesdays at 9pm South Devon Sound - Wednesdays at 11pm JHR Radio - Thursdays at 12pm Drystone Radio 103.5 - Thursday at 12pm Red Road FM - 102.4 - Thursdays at 9pm Sounds of Broadway - Various USA times Illuminate Radio - Saturday at 4pm Crystal Radio - 107.4 - Saturday at 5pm Conquest Radio - Sundays at 9am Coast and County - Sundays at 9am Whaley Radio - Sundays at 10am South Wales One - Sundays at 4pm Barts HBO - Sundays at 11am KGH HBO - Sundays at 2pm Hereford HOB - Sundays 2pm Storm FM - Sundays at 7PM West Hull FM - 106.9 - Sundays 5pm Islands FM - 107.9 - Sundays at 6pm Canalside FM - Sundays at 6pm Meridian FM - 107 - Sundays at 7pm Rural Radio UK - Sundays 7pm Basingstoke Radio - Sundays at 8pm Guernsey Radio - Sundays at 9pm LCR FM - 103.6 - Sundays at 11pm South Devon Sound - Fridays at 1pm HWD Radio - Tuesdays at 6pm KGH - Thursdays at 7pm London Wide Radio - Various Times Islands FM - Thursdays at 8pm South Devon Sound - Friday 2pm JHR Radio - Fridays at 4pm

Skip menu

The Curious Incident of the dog in the night

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the night
Milton Keynes (UK Tour)
(Review Complete)

"A relaxed play, both in atmosphere and approach"
6th Sept' 2026
 
It was announced at the start as a relaxed play, both in atmosphere and approach, as this newly reimagined production of The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time opened the latest leg of its national tour at Milton Keynes Theatre. Simon Stephens' adaptation of Mark Haddon's bestselling novel remains an affecting family drama wrapped inside a murder mystery, although this version's minimalistic staging and slow pace make it less electrifying than the celebrated original.

 
The story begins with the discovery of Wellington, a neighbour's dog, killed with a garden fork. Chris Boone, a mathematically gifted teenage girl who finds people and their contradictions much harder to understand than numbers, decides to identify the culprit. What starts as a carefully organised investigation gradually exposes lies within Chris's own family and propels her beyond the boundaries of the world she knows.


The production's most significant change is its decision to make the lead character a girl. In Mark Haddon's novel and the original stage adaptation, the protagonist was a boy called Christopher Boone. Here, Christopher becomes Chris and is played at this performance by Alex Keenan. Keenan and alternate Imi Price are the first women to take on the role in the play's production history, giving this familiar story a fresh perspective.

This is more than a superficial casting change. A teenage girl's vulnerability when travelling alone, particularly during Chris's overwhelming journey to London, introduces subtly different social pressures. At the same time, the production wisely avoids labouring the point or rewriting Chris into an entirely different person. Her passion for mathematics, literal interpretation of language and determination to uncover the truth remain at the centre of the drama.


 
Alex Keenan gives a focused and physically committed performance. Her Chris is guarded, precise and often intensely still, but flashes of wit and stubborn courage prevent the character from becoming one-note. Keenan handles the emotional escalation convincingly, particularly as Chris learns that the adults she depends upon cannot always be trusted. The performance is carefully controlled, though that restraint occasionally contributes to the evening's subdued energy. Moments that should feel dangerous or exhilarating do not always ignite as fully as they might.

As Judy Boone, Charlie Brooks brings considerable emotional weight to a mother whose love for her daughter is complicated by frustration, guilt and an inability to cope. Brooks resists turning Judy into either a villain or a victim. Instead, she presents a recognisably flawed woman who has made painful choices and must live with their consequences. Judy's letters to Chris are among the production's most moving passages, allowing Brooks to reveal warmth and regret without tipping into easy sentimentality.


Joe McFadden is equally strong as Ed Boone. His Ed is affectionate and frequently funny, but there is always tension beneath the surface. McFadden communicates the exhaustion of a father trying to protect his child while carrying secrets that threaten to destroy their relationship. When those secrets emerge, his mixture of shame, anger and desperation is uncomfortable to watch in the best sense. The scenes between McFadden and Keenan provide the play with its strongest emotional pulse.

The supporting company work with discipline, slipping between teachers, neighbours, police officers and strangers encountered on Chris's journey. Their movement around Chris conveys a world that can become crowded and confusing, although the ensemble sequences do not always achieve the overwhelming intensity required. At times, the figures surrounding Chris seem merely busy rather than genuinely threatening.


 
The biggest departure from the original National Theatre production is the minimalistic staging. Marianne Elliott's original staging became famous for its graph-paper-like walls, projections, grids of light and visual effects that drew the audience into Christopher's thought processes. Its design did not merely decorate the action; it made the character's perception feel immediate and theatrical.

This touring version is much more stripped back. The simpler design gives the actors space and may make the story easier to follow, but it also removes some of the visual language that once made the play so distinctive. Chris's relationship with mathematics, patterns and spatial logic is described rather than fully experienced. The journey through stations and onto the London Underground should engulf the audience in Chris's sensory overload; here, it is clear and competently constructed but not especially immersive.

Minimalism can sharpen attention and encourage the imagination, but in this case it too often feels like absence rather than reinvention. Those unfamiliar with the original production may find the staging clean and accessible. Those who remember its astonishing technical and physical storytelling are likely to miss the sense of discovery and sensory excitement that transformed the play into an event.


 
The slow pace compounds the problem. The production takes time to establish relationships and allows emotional scenes room to breathe, which suits the quieter exchanges between Chris and her parents. However, the first act is frequently too measured, and the investigation into Wellington's death lacks forward momentum. Repeated pauses and transitions interrupt the tension instead of building it.

The pace improves when Chris leaves home, but even the journey to London feels less urgent than it should. This section ought to mark a thrilling expansion of the play's world, combining fear with a remarkable act of independence. Keenan conveys Chris's distress and determination, yet the direction rarely gives her enough momentum to make the journey feel truly perilous. A tighter rhythm would strengthen both the mystery and the family drama.



There is still much to admire. The decision to recast Christopher as Chris is thoughtful and dramatically valid, while Keenan, Brooks and McFadden form a persuasive, painfully imperfect family. The production also retains the play's humour, including the gap between what Chris says and what the adults around her think she means. Its emotional message remains powerful: courage is not the absence of fear but the decision to continue through it.

Yet this Curious Incident is more affecting than astonishing. It offers an interesting new perspective on its protagonist and three committed central performances, but the minimalistic staging and slow pace dilute the theatrical force of the story. Opening this leg of its tour at Milton Keynes Theatre, it is a considered and accessible revival, although one that rarely matches the invention or urgency associated with the original.
A sincere and well-acted reimagining with a compelling change at its centre, held back by sparse staging and a pace that sadly too often blunts the drama.
 
Reviewer: Mark Bilsby.
Photography: Copyright at source

We are Gifted tickets so that in return we may give an honest review. All comments are those of the reviewer and theirs alone.
Greasepaint and Stage Lights

Email: musicals@btinternet.com
website: www.greasepaintandstagelights.co.uk
Skip menu
Back to content