Alex Keenan’s neurodivergent teenager Chris encountering a phalanx of police officers in Melting Pot and Birmingham Rep’s The Curious Incident Of The Dog In The Night-Time. Picture: Johan Persson
IT would be unfair to compare and contrast Ned Bennett’s new vision of Simon Stephens’s stage adaptation of Mark Haddon’s novel with Marianne Elliott’s remarkable piece of total theatre for the National Theatre (and subsequent tours), a show that defined the possibilities of movement (by Frantic Assembly), set design (Bunny Christie) and lighting (Paule Constable), integrated with music and video.
The new ‘Curious Incident’ must stand or fall on its own virtues. Nevertheless, all those ingredients are present anew in Bennett’s reinvention, one that is more playful yet darker, the language more visceral, the adults harsher.
The one key change, beyond the addition of Minecraft and the teenage lead character not being allowed a mobile phone, is that 15-year-old Christopher Boone is now female: Chris, played by Alex Keenan and matinee alternate Imi Price, who are both neurodivergent, like Chris.
Joe McFadden’s Ed, Chris’s exasperated dad, in The Curious Incident Of The Dog In The Night-Time. Picture: Johan Persson
Melting Pot and Birmingham Rep’s touring production takes care to be as inclusive as possible for neurodivergent theatregoers. At the start, narrator and Chris’s teacher Siobhan (Bridgette Amofah) steps through the curtain to explain how each performance will be “relaxed”, retaining the auditorium lighting on a low level and using a gradually rising sound to build to moments of highest commotion.
This decision comes in response to reports of neurodivergent audience members having found the National Theatre production too loud, too bright. Furthermore, Eleanor Bull’s set design has taken great care in its choice of colour, and indeed the pastel tone of that colour: a soft pink (and sometimes white) to match the soft play look of the cavernous open-plan stage with its moveable foam blocks for beds and more besides.
Everything is seen through the eyes and notebook notes of Keenan’s Swindon teen Chris, albeit sometimes filtered through the mouth of the narrator, as the science, Maths and rat-loving teenager opens the play prone over the newly dead dog of potty-mouthed neighbour Mrs Shears (Alex Murdoch).
Alex Keenan’s Chris with her mother, Charlie Brooks’s Judy, in The Curious Incident Of The Dog In The Night-Time. Picture: Johan Persson
Wellington’s body has been skewered by a gardening fork. Mrs Shears duly accuses Chris. Not so, says Chris, who never lies, vowing to turn detective to find out whodunit, against the orders of her father, the ever-stressed, prone-to-shouting Ed (Joe McFadden), who is struggling both with looking after Chris and the “loss” of his wife, Judy (Charlie Brooks).
She has died in hospital, from a heart attack, he tells Chris, whose investigations will lead not only to a revelation of the dog killer but her discovery of a web of sex, lies, infidelity and general unhappiness, whereas her own disposition is one of positivity, frankness and good cheer, in the face of falling foul of the police or frustrating her father.
Bull’s design combines with Laura Deward’s lighting, Hayley Egan’s video projections, Matt Hutchinson’s puppetry and especially Jennifer Jackson’s movement direction to best effect in ensemble scenes where the supporting company plays multiple roles or rolls gymnastically, enacting what’s going on inside Chris’s head, often with a humorous physicality or verbal punch to complement the technical craft.
Take note: Alex Keenan in her remarkable performance as Chris in Ned Bennett’s production of The Curious Incident Of The Dog In The Night-Time. Picture: Johan Persson
However, Scott Graham and Stephen Hoggett’s choreography was wholly superior for the National Theatre, especially in the cacophonous set-piece zenith of Chris trying to negotiate her way through the rail transport system, from Swindon to her mother’s London address via the London Underground.
Typified by Chris being trapped in a cage full of product-promoting bouncing yellow balls – her least favourite colour – the accumulative effect is to capture Chris’s befuddlement at behaviour all around her and her determination to survive against the tide of anxiety and unfathomable adversity, but sometimes there are lulls in momentum.
Less impactful, to the ultimate cost of Bennett’s production, are Chris’s more intimate, emotional family scenes, whether with McFadden’s Ed, drowned by his large chair on an otherwise barren stage more than once, or with Brooks’s apologetic Judy. The design swallows up what should be the heightened drama of these key moments.
Rising above everything, however, is Keenan’s remarkable performance, one that encapsulates Chris’s characteristics of taking every utterance literally, her dislike of being touched, her boundlessly mathematical mind, her sensory and physical discomfort with strangers.
Melting Pot and Birmingham Rep present The Curious Incident Of The Dog In The Night-Time, Grand Opera House, York, until Saturday, 7.30pm plus 2.30pm Saturday matinee. Box office: atgtickets.com/york.
Alex Keenan’s Chris and Charlie Brooks’s Judy, her mum, in Melting Pot and Birmingham Rep’s The Curious Incident Of The Dog In The Night-Time. Picture: Johan Persson
EASTENDERS soap star Charlie Brooks returns to the Grand Opera House, York, next week for the first time since appearing in Alan Ayckbourn’s comedy of matrimonial mishaps How The Other Half Loves in October 2017.
This time she will play mum Judy in Melting Pot and Birmingham Rep’s bold new interpretation of The Curious Incident Of The Dog In The Night-Time, on tour in York from October 27 to 31.
“It’s nice to be part of something that feels important, relevant and sees the world through a different perspective, which can be very powerful,” says Charlie. “We have a brilliant creative team and a fantastic cast, and there’s such hope in a play that’s heartbreaking at the same time. I think our production does capture that, finding humour in things that are hard.”
Directed by Ned Bennett, this fresh perspective will honour the heart of Mark Haddon’s original novel while inviting audiences to experience University of York alumnus Simon Stephens’s adaptation through a new lens.
For the first time, fearful yet fearless neurodivergent teenager Chris Boone is being played by a female actor – Alex Keenan and her matinee alternate Imi Price – in a murder mystery that combines the intrigue of a whodunit with a coming-of-age story, where 15-year-old schoolgirl Chris is unsettled by the unpredictability of people and everyday life but has powers of logic beyond conventional reasoning or normal patterns of behaviour.
When a neighbour’s dog is discovered killed, Chris comes under suspicion. Determined to prove her innocence, Chris becomes both detective and suspect, drawn into a mystery that grows darker and more complex with every clue uncovered, forcing her to confront truths that will test her courage, family and understanding of trust, independence and the wider world.
Charlie, best known for her long-running soap opera role as wildcat Janine Butcher in EastEnders, is now cast as an absentee mum, Judy in ‘Curious Incident’. “As a mother, I face my own challenges with my gorgeous daughter [Kiki], who’s 22 next month,” she says, with humour in her voice.
“Judy is written with so much complexity. She’s flawed, as are many characters within the play, but she’s really doing her best. She’s found herself in a situation where she was unable to cope with the challenges in front of her and she didn’t feel like she had much choice. It’s a horrible question to contemplate: what if me leaving is the best thing for my child.
“Judy thinks ‘I’m explosive, I’m reactive, I can’t cope’. That must be a really difficult thing to go through, totally heartbreaking, especially since Judy obviously deeply loves her child.”
Stephens’ play does allow sympathy for Judy. “What’s really great is she’s not judged in the play. The audience is allowed to find some sort of identification with her. She speaks her truth. This is a play about communication and honesty – or the lack of it, in some cases. Her truth is that she felt invisible and unable to manage.
“There aren’t enough representations of mothers saying ‘It’s so hard, I want to run away’. The show has empathy for her. I sometimes had those feelings as a mum. I think lots of women do!”
Awareness of neurodivergence has grown and grown since Haddon’s mystery novel was published in 2003 and indeed since the National Theatre premiere of Stephens’ play in 2012. “There were far fewer people diagnosed when the novel was first out, or when the show was originally on, compared to now, when this is something that’s much more talked about. That’s a brilliant thing: there’s much deeper understanding and completely different language in the way we discuss neurodiversity today,” says Charlie.
“Joining the show was an absolute no-brainer,” says Charlie Brooks of taking the role of absentee mum Judy in The Curious Incident Of The Night-Time. Picture: Johan Persson
“Conversation around the subject was blown wide open and people are much more aware. It was beautiful to come out of the theatre and hear a young girl say, ‘oh, I didn’t know anyone else felt like that, where young people can feel overwhelmed, especially with girls masking symptoms more than boys. I think it’s much more internalised in girls.”
Charlie read Haddon’s book a long time ago, then saw the National Theatre production. “I thought it was extraordinary,” she says. “I was so excited when I heard the play was coming back – I immediately wanted to know what the vision was, how they were planning to bring this story to life, and how it might be different in this production. Joining the show was an absolute no-brainer.”
Melting Pot and Birmingham Rep’s 2026 production will be a “whole sensory experience”, says Charlie, that will combine set and costume designer Eleanor Bull’s “incredible vibrant colour palette for a very textured set featuring lots of different materials on stage” with director Bennett’s innovative physical movements and props to represent when Chris is over-stimulated ort overwhelmed”.
“What’s really important is that the original stage experience wasn’t great for those who are neurodivergent as they found it very loud, so we’ve made it more accessible through textures, choice of colours, and sound that’s not so loud that it might frighten you,” says Charlie.
“To visualise the state of Chris’s mind, we have yellow balls on stage, as yellow is her least favourite colour, and the set design is all pink. There was a long, drawn-out month of discussion about the colour and then the shade of pink.”
Add video projections and physical performances to complement the design brief, and the result is heightened accessibility. “That’s definitely something we’re factoring in, while also making it a thrilling play that’s still entertaining and impactful,” says Charlie.
At the heart of Bennett’s production is Chris now being female. “It certainly changes things for us,” says Charlie. “The gender swap gives a completely fresh perspective on the story and the characters. Simon Stephens and Mark Haddon are very much on board with the change and all the new things it throws up.”
The mother-daughter relationship comes to the fore. “As a mother, I face my own challenges with my gorgeous daughter [Kiki], who’s 22 next month,” says Charlie, with humour in her voice.
Describing mother-daughter relationships as complicated: “I know I was an imperfect mother. I can relate to some of their challenges. It’s really helpful to show all the sides of these relationships, rather than some ideal. But whether you’re in this exact situation or not, I think everyone can relate to worrying that you’re not doing something well enough, not doing a good job, or not fitting in.”
Charlie is enjoying the experience of being on tour. “The people are a joy, which is number one when you go into this job, being surrounded by brilliant people. Doing this play, you feel you’re in something that can change people’s lives,” she says. “There are people coming to this play as maybe the first play they’ve been exposed to, and it will feel like the full theatrical experience to them, with puppetry in it too.
“School parties have been coming to the show, but you could come with your grandma – and that would ignite conversations.”
Recalling her first theatre experience, Charlie says: “Like so many, it was a pantomime. Then my mum took me to Copacabana in Shrewsbury or Manchester, then I went to Grease in London. I got the lead role in Willy Russell’s Our Day Out at the Dragon Theatre in Barmouth, where I grew up in North Wales, and I was off and running.”
Melting Pot and Birmingham Rep presentThe Curious Incident Of The Dog In The Night-Time, Grand Opera House, York, October 27 to 31, 7.30pm plus 2.30pm Wednesday and Saturday matinees. Box office: atgtickets.com/york.
Alex Keenan as teenager Chris Boone with company members in Melting Pot and Birmingham Rep’s new touring production of The Curious Incident Of The Dog In The Night-Time. Picture: Johan Persson
FEARFUL yet fearless teenager Chris Boone is being performed by a woman for the first time in Melting Pot and Birmingham Rep’s bold new interpretation of The Curious Incident Of The Dog In The Night-Time, booked into the Grand Opera House, York, from October 27 to 31.
Directed by Ned Bennett, this fresh perspective on one of contemporary theatre’s most iconic characters will honour the heart of the original story while inviting audiences to experience University of York alumnus Simon Stephens’ adaptation of Mark Haddon’s novel through a new lens.
The murder mystery combines the intrigue of a whodunit with a coming-of-age story, wherein 15-year-old schoolgirl Chris Boone is gifted with a brilliant mind for numbers but is unsettled by the unpredictability of people and everyday life, distrusting strangers deeply, never venturing alone beyond the end of her road.
Novelist Haddon never called Chris autistic or attributed Asperger Syndrome to the character, but this neurodivergent teenage protagonist does not like to be touched, is incapable of lying, can count binary numbers to infinity and has powers of logic beyond conventional reasoning or normal patterns of behaviour.
When a neighbour’s dog is discovered killed, Chris comes under suspicion. Determined to prove her innocence, Chris becomes both detective and suspect, drawn into a mystery that grows darker and more complex with every clue uncovered.
What begins as the search for a culprit soon reveals secrets closer to home, forcing Chris to confront truths that will test her courage, family and understanding of trust, independence and the wider world.
Alex Keenan and Imi Price will alternate the lead role on tour, joined by Charlie Brooks and Joe McFadden as Chris’s parents Judy, absent from Chris’s life, and Ed, who struggles with essentially being a single dad.
Alex Keenan’s Chris Boone exchanges a high five with Joe McFadden’s Ed, her father, in The Curious Incident Of The Dog In The Night-Time. Picture: Johan Persson
Brooks, best known for her long-running soap opera role as wildcat Janine Butcher in EastEnders, Brooks made her York debut in October 2017 in Alan Strachan’s revival of Alan Ayckbourn’s 1969 comedy of matrimonial mishaps How The Other Half Loves, playing Teresa Phillips on tour at the Grand Opera House.
McFadden played film director Jason in the Original Theatre Company’s production of Agatha Christie’s The Mirror Crack’d at York Theatre Royal in October 2022 and was last seen on a Yorkshire stage as Andy Dufresne in The Shawshank Redemption at Leeds Grand Theatre in May this year.
“I read the book back in 2003, and like most of the rest of the UK, I loved it,” says Joe. “I re-read it recently and was blown away again. It gives you such brilliant insight into Chris’s inner life, imagination, world. That’s why it was so groundbreaking: really putting you into the mind of a neurodivergent person. It illuminated that experience.
“I saw it in the West End and thought it so inventive. Simon Stephens did such a brilliant job of adapting it, keeping the best bits of the book but also making sure it came alive and really worked as a piece of theatre. When I heard they were doing it again, but with new direction, design, movement, music, that really excited me.”
Describing Ned Bennett’s direction, Joe says: “He’s producing these amazing devices to express the story, and [movement director] Jenni [Jackson] is creating this physical language I’ve never really seen before. I can’t remember the last time I was so excited about putting on a show and seeing what people think. Eleanor [Bull] has done an incredible job with the design as well. It’s a real treat for the senses.
“One significant change is that while previously it only became apparent at the end of the show that you’re watching a play based on Chris’s writing, in ours you know from the start that it’s a play within a play, so the audience is getting to see the workings of staging a show. That’s fun.
How does the representation of a neurodivergent character land differently from the National Theatre’s 2012 premiere and Haddon’s 2003 novel? “In some ways we’ve moved on a lot, and we do know more about neurodivergence, but there’s still a long way to go. This is a story that still needs to be told.
“It felt important that we tell the story from the female point of view,” says Joe McFadden of the decision to cast teenager Chris [Alex Keenan) as a female in Melting Pot and Birmingham Rep’s new production of The Curious Incident Of The Dog In The Night-Time. Picture: Johan Persson
“Chris has this amazing brain. She’s so adept at these complex mathematical problems. Bringing that to life is exciting: expressing on stage how her mind works. It’s an effective way to tell stories, through theatre, because it’s all happening right in front of you.”
Making Chris a female character has an impact too. “There aren’t as many stories about neurodivergence told from the female perspective,” says Joe. “Lots of girls are being under-diagnosed, or diagnosed later in life, because they’re better at masking their symptoms. It felt important that we tell the story from the female point of view.
“In the way that lots of neurodiverse teenage boys came and saw the show last time, and felt their story was being told, hopefully teenage girls will feel that way now.”
It changes Ed’s relationship with his child. “It definitely has repercussions: Ed is now a single dad with a daughter instead. I was interested in what that would do to their relationship. I think that while he was already protective, now it’s a female character he’s even more protective of her,” says Joe.
“It doesn’t fundamentally change the story, but it raises the stakes, and it changes the family dynamic. Judy leaving her daughter feels like a bigger thing. It’s a subtle shift that audiences who saw the show before will recognise and feel like it’s a fresh experience.”
Melting Pot and Birmingham Rep presentThe Curious Incident Of The Dog In The Night-Time, Grand Opera House, York, October 27 to 31, 7.30pm plus 2.30pm Wednesday and Saturday matinees. Box office: atgtickets.com/york.
Charlie Brooks as Judy in The Curious Incident Of The Dog In The Night-Time. Picture: Johan Persson
Question-and-answer session with Charlie Brooks, playing Chris Boone’s mum, Judy
When did you first encounter The Curious Incident Of The Dog In The Night-Time?
“I read the book a long time ago and then I saw the National Theatre production when it was on in the West End. I thought it was extraordinary. I was so excited when I heard the play was coming back – I immediately wanted to know what the vision was, how they were planning to bring this story to life, and how it might be different in this production. Joining the show was an absolute no-brainer.”
How did you find your way into the character of Judy?
“She’s written with so much complexity. She’s flawed, as are many characters within the play, but she’s really doing her best. She’s found herself in a situation where she was unable to cope with the challenges in front of her and she didn’t feel like she had much choice. It’s a horrible question to contemplate: what if me leaving is the best thing for my child?
“Judy thinks ‘I’m explosive, I’m reactive, I can’t cope’. That must be a really difficult thing to go through, totally heartbreaking, especially since Judy obviously deeply loves her child.”
Does the play allow sympathy for Judy?
“Yes, what’s really great is she’s not judged in the play. The audience is allowed to find some sort of identification with her. She speaks her truth. This is a play about communication and honesty – or the lack of it, in some cases. Her truth is that she felt invisible and unable to manage.
“There aren’t enough representations of mothers saying ‘It’s so hard, I want to run away’. The show has empathy for her. I sometimes had those feelings as a mum. I think lots of women do!”
Alex Keenan’s Chris Boone and Charlie Brooks’s Judy in The Curious Incident Of The Dog In The Night-Time. Picture: Johan Persson
How does the representation of a neurodivergent character land differently now?
“There were far fewer people diagnosed when the novel was first out, or when the show was originally on, compared to now, when this is something that’s much more talked about. That’s a brilliant thing: there’s much deeper understanding and completely different language in the way we discuss neurodiversity today.
“The conversation has been blown wide open, and so it felt important to bring the play into 2026. But there’s still a way to go, and plays like this, which put the audience right in Chris’s experience and allow them to experience the world through Chris’s eyes, help so much.”
What can you say about Ned Bennett’s new staging?
“When they did the design meeting, I was like ‘Wow’ – I got goosebumps. [Set and costume designer] Eleanor Bull has dreamed up this incredible vibrant colour palette, and it’s a very textured set with lots of different materials on stage. It’s going to be a whole sensory experience.
“Then when Chris is over-stimulated and overwhelmed, Ned [Bennett] is bringing that to life in an amazing innovative way with a lot of physical movement and props.
“I’ve never been in a rehearsal room that’s so creative and collaborative. The way Ned’s curated these games to help us devise ideas and build them into the production is so thorough and brilliant. I’m really grateful I did The Ocean At The End Of The Lane first [in her West End debut in the National Theatre’s 2022-2023 touring production] so I had a sense of what it’s like to play in this way and create worlds.
“We also want to make the production accessible for audiences coming to the show who are neurodivergent, so that’s definitely something we’re factoring in, while also making it a thrilling play that’s still entertaining and impactful.”
“Everyone can relate to worrying that you’re not doing something well enough, not doing a good job, or not fitting in,” says Charlie Brooks of Chris’s mum, Judy. Picture: Johan Persson
How does making Chris a female character change the production?
“The gender swap gives a completely fresh perspective on the story and the characters. My understanding is that girls who are neurodivergent often have a different journey: there’s a lot of masking of symptoms, so they may not get diagnosed, or not as soon as boys. Simon Stephens and Mark Haddon are very much on board with the change and all the new things it throws up.
“The girls who are playing Chris [Alex Keenan and Imi Price] are incredible – they’re just buzzing for it, they have this amazing energy. And I love Joe [McFadden], he’s the best. The whole cast are just wicked.”
Does it also change your character’s relationship with her child?
“ Yes, I think it does shift slightly. A mother leaving is such a huge thing – you don’t necessarily hear about that as often as you would when a man leaves his family. Also, mother-daughter relationships are complicated. I’ve got a daughter, so I know! I know I was an imperfect mother.
“I can relate to some of their challenges. It’s really helpful to show all the sides of these relationships, rather than some ideal. But whether you’re in this exact situation or not, I think everyone can relate to worrying that you’re not doing something well enough, not doing a good job, or not fitting in.”
Why are you excited to tour with the production?
“I really think this is a properly brilliant show and we need to get good theatre out into the regions. That’s hugely important. It’s personal for me: I’m from Barmouth, a little town in North Wales, and regional theatre was all I saw when I was younger. It made a big impact.
“This is the sort of play you might go to see as a young person, or as an adult actually, and your thoughts will be provoked. I think there’ll be great audiences for this. It’s a fantastic one for families too. It’ll spark people’s imagination and hopefully also conversation.”
Joe McFadden’s Ed in The Curious Incident Of The Dog In The Night-Time. Picture: Johan Persson
Three extra questions for Joe McFadden, playing Chris’s dad, Ed
How did you find your way into playing Ed?
“Brilliantly, Simon [Stephens] came in to talk to us in our first week of rehearsals. My big question for him was: how do you play these characters sympathetically? They aren’t always fantastic parents; they make some big mistakes in the course of the story.
“He said, ‘What parent is perfect all the time?’, which I think we can all relate to. Ed is up against it. He’s a single father; he’s trying. He works full time, trying to put food on the table and look after the house, and [to] parent this quite challenging child.
“You can understand why he has difficulties, and hopefully we don’t judge him too harshly. I remember thinking ‘What would I have done in that situation?’. There’s not an easy answer.”
What drives Ed? “McFadden: “He strikes me as quite a private man, quite a serious man. It says in the play that he’s more patient than Judy – he gets on with things and doesn’t let anything affect him.
“That’s a strength but also a weakness. It means he can’t communicate, can’t reach out for help. He bottles up all his worries. He’s a pressure cooker, and now and then he’ll blow. That feels like an honest depiction of a parent who means well, but struggles with the emotional side of things.
“Ed’s a grafter: he’s a hard-working plumber; he’s used to getting his head down. That’s at the heart of who he is. I remember being shocked when I first saw the moment where he lashes out. Now that I’m a bit older, I understand his frustrations, the pressure he’s under to survive and to protect this vulnerable child.”
Why are you excited to be on tour with the production?
“I love touring. I did a tour of The Shawshank Redemption this year and played some amazing venues, and now I get to go back to lots of them. I’m excited. The wonderful thing about touring is it informs and changes the play because the audiences have different personalities in different parts of the country.”
The full cast for Melting Pot and Birmingham Rep’s tour of The Curious Incident Of The Dog In The Night-Time, playing Grand Opera House, York, from October 27 to 31
ALEX Keenan and Imi Price will become the first women to portray fearful yet fearless teenager Chris Boone in Melting Pot and Birmingham Rep’s bold new interpretation of The Curious Incident In The Night-Time, booked into the Grand Opera House, York, for October 27 to 31.
Directed by Ned Bennett, this fresh perspective on one of contemporary theatre’s most iconic characters will honour the heart of the original story while inviting audiences to experience Simon Stephens’ adaptation of Mark Haddon’s novel through a new lens.
The story combines the intrigue of a whodunit with a coming-of-age story, wherein 15-year-old schoolgirl Chris Boone is gifted with a brilliant mind for numbers but is unsettled by the unpredictability of people and everyday life, distrusting strangers deeply, never venturing alone beyond the end of her road.
Novelist Haddon never called Chris autistic or attributed Asperger Syndrome to the character, but she does not like to be touched, is incapable of lying, can count binary numbers to infinity and has powers of logic beyond conventional reasoning or normal patterns of behaviour.
When a neighbour’s dog is discovered killed, Chris comes under suspicion. Determined to prove her innocence, Chris becomes both detective and suspect, drawn into a mystery that grows darker and more complex with every clue uncovered.
Charlie Brooks as Teresa Phillips in her York debut at the Grand Opera House in 2017 in Alan Ayckbourn’s How The Other Half Loves
What begins as the search for a culprit soon reveals secrets closer to home, forcing Chris to confront truths that will test her courage, family and understanding of trust, independence and the wider world.
Keenan and Price will alternate the lead role on tour, joined by Charlie Brooks and Joe McFadden as Chris’s parents Judy and Ed.
Brooks is best known for her long-running soap opera role since 1999 as wildcat Janine Butcher, caught up in cocaine addiction, murder and prostitution in EastEnders. Rumours began yesterday that Janine is to return after four years [on release from prison] for “two explosive episodes in the autumn”.
Brooks made her York debut in October 2017 in Alan Strachan’s revival of Alan Ayckbourn’s 1969 comedy of matrimonial mishaps How The Other Half Loves, playing Teresa Phillips on tour at the Grand Opera House. “Teresa is fiery and strong, like Janine, but I think the similarities end there,” she said at the time.
McFadden has appeared in the BBC’s The Crow Road and Holby City and ITV’s Heartbeat and was the 2017 Strictly Come Dancing Glitterball winner to boot. He played film director Jason in the Original Theatre Company’s production of Agatha Christie’s The Mirror Crack’d at York Theatre Royal in October 2022 and was last seen on a Yorkshire stage as Andy Dufresne in The Shawshank Redemption at Leeds Grand Theatre in May this year.
Joe McFadden’s Jason, the film director, in Agatha Christie’s The Mirror Crack’d at York Theatre Royal in October 2022, playing opposite Sophie Ward
Completing the ‘Curious Incident’ cast will be Bridgette Amofah as Siobhan;Alex Murdochas Mrs Alexander/Posh Woman/Voice One; Matthew Bulgo as Roger (Mr Shears)/Duty Sergeant/Voice Two/Mr Wise/Man Behind Counter/Drunk One and Jerone Marsh Reid as Mr Thompson/Man with Socks/London Policeman/Voice Three.
Carla Garratt will play Punk Girl/No. 40/Voice Five/Information; Tom Clegg, Reverend Peters/Uncle Terry/Voice Four/Station Policeman/Station Guard; Robert Penny, Voice Seven, and Sera Mustafa, Mrs Gascoyne/Woman on Train/Shopkeeper/Police Officer One/Voice 6. All will perform ensemble roles too.
Alongside Ned Bennett in the production team will be set & costume designer Eleanor Bull; lighting designer Laura Howard; composer & sound designer Giles Thomas; video designer Hayley Egan; movement director Jenni Jackson; costume supervisor Izzy Pellow; props supervisor Eve Hall; casting director Abby Galvin and associate director Anastasia Osei-Kuffour.
The Curious Incident Of The Dog In The Night-Time premiered at the National Theatre, London, in 2012 and has been seen globally by more than five million people. The National Theatre’s inaugural tour visited the Grand Opera House, York, in January 2015. York company Pick Me Up Theatre staged the play in April 2025 at Theatre@41, Monkgate.
Pick Me Up Theatre in Andrew Isherwood’s production of The Curious Incident Of The Dog In The Night-Time at Theatre@41, Monkgate, York, in April 2025
