The Curious Incident Of The Dog In The Night-Time

Thalian Theatre Company               The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time

Director – Clive Dancey

Performed at Thalian Hall, Welwyn Garden City on Saturday 21^st January 2026 at 7.30pm

The programme notes told us that this was the first straight play that this company has performed and they should be proud of their achievements. Clive Dancey gave the audience a startling first image of the dog impaled by a garden fork and mathematical formulae written on the floor. Most of the action took place on the floor and the cast used the space well. There were some clever moments of physical theatre as the ensemble became the boiler cupboard/rocket and closed in on Christopher as his thoughts became tangled. At times I found some of the cross overs detracted from the action rather than added to it.

The use of the on stage screen helped us to follow the different locations but it meant that the two acting areas were pushed to the edges, it was difficult to see stage left from my seat without completely turning round.

Alfie Bennett as Christopher was excellent. He was absolutely believable in his awkwardness and confusion. He avoided eye contact at all times, maintained physical and verbal stimming and managed to look uncomfortable in his body. He was rarely off stage and had so many lines to learn.

Jessica Woodland’s Siobhan was a lovely calm contrast. She was warm and kind and seemed to anchor Christopher when needed. We were convinced she had her words in front of her as she read from the book, but no, another actor who had pages to learn.

Ed, played by Barney Shergold, was trying to do his best for his son but was aware of his failings, particularly his temper. Unfortunately his confession was so understated that we almost missed it. Alison Downes showed us Judy’s disappointment with life but also that she wanted to be a better Mum and eventually finding the strength to go it alone.

The members of the ensemble were a good support team. I particularly liked Adam Lipinsky as the police officer and Mary Goodfellow’s concerned neighbour. Zara Stuart managed to be an amusing stall holder, a hurting rejected wife and a thoughtful headteacher.

There is quite a lot of swearing in the script and there were moments when I thought the cast were enjoying using the language a bit too much.

There was no set as such, just furniture and the screen. Furniture was moved by the cast which worked well. The acting areas on the stage could have been changed more to show the 2 houses, just changing the duvet cover wasn’t enough for me. The addition of jackets/ hats and personal props worked well to change the characters of the ensemble but some costume choices were not flattering.

The projections were used well to help us follow the changes of location and the sound effects helped us understand Christopher’s confusion and anxiety. The use of the spotlight to highlight the headteacher’s responses was clever.

This is a challenging play for the audience but can also be an educational one and the Thalians used this opportunity to tell us more about neurodiversity by displaying information around the hall. I spent the interval reading about famous people and how their lives are affected. The play also encourages us to think about how we respond to people we consider different.

My guest and I were warmly greeted and well looked after by Mandy Sayers, the group’s chair. I spoke to the director and chatted to Alfie about how he became Christopher. Thank you Thalians, it was a good night at the theatre.

Helen Wilson

Rep for District 7

(on behalf of Scott Welch)

NODA East

© NODA CIO. All rights reserved.

The Autistic Singing Teacher Blog (A review by Jo Pierce)

The Curious Incident of the Dog in Night-Time by Thalians Theatre Company, WGC
February 19, 2026

Yesterday I had the pleasure of seeing this play at the Thalians Theatre in Welwyn Garden City. It is a play, I have never seen and know little about. Likewise I have never read the book. I was aware that this play features an autistic young man, but that is as far as my knowledge went. This play was very well produced, sensitively directed and the lead character of Christopher, was played by an exceptional young actor. His portrayal was beautiful and so well observed.

The play itself presents its main protagonist as a mathematical genius, think Rain Man. As a parent of an autistic child, this stereotype is a little disappointing. Another autistic male, good at maths. However I suppose it is easy fit to a play, and allows the playwright to present Christopher as battling to take an A-Level in a subject which the audience is uncomfortable with. How many of us hated maths at school?

Away from stereotypes, the play hits very close to home as someone who is autistic, although more able to adapt to the world around me, than Christopher, as well as someone who is parenting an autistic child. One particular scene which hit very close to home, occured when the head teacher chastised Christopher’s father for discussing Christopher’s needs when he (Christopher) was still in the room. I have been chastised by a SENCO of a local school for discussing uniform and M’s needs when she was present. After all it is her body, it is her need, not mine. I cannot tell you how frustrating this is as a parent, and it really hit a nerve.

I found the way the play presents sensory stimulation very realistically, allowing a neurotypical audience to experience how overwhelming multiple sights, sounds and in some cases smells can be. Christopher’s reaction to the sensory stimulus was also very realistic, and I commend the actor for this.

I was very pleased to see that there was input into the play by people who work with students with special needs. I know autistic people like to part of research, art and reporting about them. This was something I explored in my recent research into autistic teachers, something I felt qualified to write about being autistic myself. I would struggle to produce a play about transgender issues without taking to someone form that community, as it is something I know little about, being a CIS female.

The mother in this play can appear to be a complete cow, abandoning her son for her lover. However I can understand how emotions, sometimes parenting an autistic child is utterly soul destroying. The challenge to present this to the audience without it being cheesy is very difficult to portray, and I am not sure this play achieves this completely successfully. I genuinely believe the mother believed Christopher would be better off when she left, but I struggle to know she would have stayed away so long not knowing how her son was. Maybe that is just me. She is prepared to leave her lover, after his vicious attack on Christopher, but not find her son before this.

I did very much appreciate the teacher character, Siobhan. This was played by a real life special needs teacher. This character is an advocate for Christopher, a real expert in her field. She knows autism so well and understands what he needs from an educator. It is in Siobhan, Christopher finds consistency in the chaotic world he lives in. So many teachers play this role in our autistic children’s lives, advocating for them and providing them with consistency. I had a teacher like this in primary school. Her names was Mrs Gates and she got me. Thirty years later, I still remember her.

Whilst not perfect in it’s presentation of autism, this play starts a conversation and raises awareness. Thalians was very brave to put on such a complex piece of theatre, but they did it well. As an autistic person, I recognised the people on stage, the experiences and misunderstandings and stigmas. There are some funny moments, some of them feel uncomfortable to laugh at, as we are laughing at the autistic trait at times. However there are times when the audience shares Christopher’s joy and that is when the piece really flies. Thank you Thalians for taking the risk, it has paid off.