The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time at New Wimbledon Theatre

In the 23 years since the original publication of Mark Haddon’s best-selling novel The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, social awareness (and acceptance) of neurodivergence has only grown. So it’s no surprise that this modernised stage adaptation still resonates with audiences, showing now at the New Wimbledon Theatre as part of a UK-wide tour. Warm and funny but also bittersweet, director Ned Bennett’s production offers plenty of appeal for audiences young and old.

Taking its title from a Sherlock Holmes short story, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time sees teen protagonist Chris Boone become a sleuth herself when her neighbour’s dog is found dead. Chris is neurodivergent (it’s never specified exactly how, but she’s recognisably autistic) and her dad warns her off stirring up trouble. As Chris’s investigation continues, she discovers some surprising secrets about her own family, including the truth behind her mother’s death two years previously.

What both Haddon’s original book and playwright Simon Stephens’ script capture is a wonderful sense of warmth and understanding for Chris’s unique lived experience. She can be difficult, certainly – she calls her classmates “stupid”, lashes out physically when frightened and ignores her father’s pleas to drop her “investigation” – but equally she’s funny, smart and delightfully passionate, smiling gleefully when discussing her beloved pet rat or her aptitude for maths.

This well-rounded portrayal of Chris is thanks not only to the writing but also to a winning performance from Alex Keenan. She’s (perhaps unfairly) not billed as the lead, but she’s certainly the star, her shy grin and physical affectations easily endearing the audience to Chris. She’s also notably the first woman to play the role, as the 2026 update sees Chris gender-swapped. It’s a refreshing choice, challenging the increasingly outdated social stereotype that autism (and indeed scientific genius) is largely a male trait.

Under Ned Bennett’s direction, the show is highly dynamic, a flurry of movement that’s not only very watchable, but helps to convey to the audience how frantic life can feel for Chris. This is particularly effective during sequences early in the second act, which utilise a mixture of lighting, sound and props to really drive home that sense of overwhelm (kudos goes respectively to lighting designer Laura Deward, composer Giles Thomas and associate designer Olivia Walters)/

It does feel as though an awful lot of the narrative is raced through in the play’s final scenes, and there are some story beats that don’t land completely well. There’s also a certain suspension of disbelief required for the story to work 20 years on (this is a play in which handwritten letters and the A-Z are used in place of digital communications).

On the whole, though, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time reflects the tenderness of the original story, and is cleverly adapted for the stage.

Maggie O’Shea
Photos: Johan Persson

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time is at New Wimbledon Theatre from 10^th until 14^th November 2026. For further information or to book, visit the theatre’s website here.

Watch the trailer for The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time at New Wimbledon Theatre here: