'The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time' - who is Christopher Boone?
The director, playwright and actor discuss the character of Christopher Boone, interspersed with footage from the play showing the character in action.
An exploration of the character Christopher Boone, from the novel and play 'The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time'. The actor Luke Treadaway, who originated the role in the National Theatre production, talks about his understanding and interpretation of the character. We hear about Christopher’s love of maths and space and how Christopher finds human beings puzzling. We see the character in action and his unique view on the world, through footage of the play in production. We hear how the director Marianne Elliott sees the character. Christopher displays behaviour which is on the autistic spectrum and we learn more about this behaviour from an Autism Consultant.
Luke Treadaway and Marianne Elliot explain how they researched the role of Christopher in preparation for the show, including visiting children with Asperger’s syndrome. Simon Stephens, the playwright, faced challenges in showing the relationships Christopher had with the other characters, and he explains this process. We see footage of Christopher interacting with his Dad, Ed Boone. We see Christopher in different parts of the story, such as when he is talking to Mrs Alexander at the beginning, and when he receives his A Level results at the end. The footage shows how Luke Treadaway physically embodied the character of Christopher Boone, and how he brought the role to life as an actor.
NOTE: There is footage from the theatre production of a model dog with a pitchfork through it, which some people might find upsetting.
