The Curious Incident
of the Dog in the
Night-Time (Play
Adaptation)
By
Simon Stephens
Revision Notes
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1 The Curious Incident… – GCSE Revision Notes – English Literature.
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2 The Curious Incident… – GCSE Revision Notes – English Literature.
Table of Contents
Context ................................................................................................................................... 6
Summary ................................................................................................................................ 7
Overview ............................................................................................................................................ 7
Key plot points ................................................................................................................................... 7
Detailed plot summary ...................................................................................................................... 7
Christopher finds the dead dog and gets arrested ......................................................................... 7
Christopher investigates the murder of the dog ............................................................................ 8
Christopher meets Mrs Alexander .................................................................................................. 8
Ed finds Christopher's note book and hides it ................................................................................ 8
Christopher discovers the truth about his mother ......................................................................... 8
Ed confesses and Christopher decides to leave .............................................................................. 8
Christopher travels to London ........................................................................................................ 8
Christopher takes his Maths exam.................................................................................................. 8
Christopher passes the exam and plans for the future ................................................................ 10
Characters............................................................................................................................. 10
Main characters ............................................................................................................................... 10
Secondary characters....................................................................................................................... 10
Minor characters.............................................................................................................................. 10
Christopher Boone ........................................................................................................................ 10
Ed Boone ....................................................................................................................................... 11
Judy Boone .................................................................................................................................... 11
Siobhan ......................................................................................................................................... 11
Roger Shears ................................................................................................................................. 11
Mrs Alexander ............................................................................................................................... 12
Form, Structure, and Language .............................................................................................. 12
Form ................................................................................................................................................. 12
Family drama................................................................................................................................. 12
Crime mystery ............................................................................................................................... 12
Bildungsroman .............................................................................................................................. 12
Structure .......................................................................................................................................... 13
Play within a play .......................................................................................................................... 13
What is the effect of this? ............................................................................................................. 13
Multiple narrators ......................................................................................................................... 13
What is the effect of this? ............................................................................................................. 13
3 The Curious Incident… – GCSE Revision Notes – English Literature.
Time and space ............................................................................................................................. 14
What is the effect of this? ............................................................................................................. 14
Language .......................................................................................................................................... 14
Themes ................................................................................................................................. 14
Family ............................................................................................................................................... 14
How is the theme of family shown in the play?............................................................................ 15
Honesty and trust ............................................................................................................................ 15
How is the theme of honesty and trust shown in the play? ......................................................... 15
Braving the unknown ....................................................................................................................... 15
How is the theme of braving the unknown shown in the play? ................................................... 16
Dramatisation ....................................................................................................................... 16
Introduction and overview .............................................................................................................. 16
Casting choices................................................................................................................................. 16
Ensemble cast .................................................................................................................................. 16
Performance choices ....................................................................................................................... 17
Sample Answer ..................................................................................................................... 18
How does Stephens present Christopher's mother, Judy in The Curious Incident of the Dog in the
Night-Time? ..................................................................................................................................... 18
4 The Curious Incident… – GCSE Revision Notes – English Literature.
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Context
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time is a play adapted by Simon
Stephens from the novel of the same name by Mark Haddon. Published in 2003, the novel
quickly became a huge success. Many readers discuss and recognise Christopher as having
autism or Asperger's syndrome, this however is never mentioned directly in the novel.
Haddon also states that he did very little research into the topic of autism whilst writing the
book.
Mark Haddon approached Simon Stephens to adapt the book for the stage. Stephens used
the dialogue from the novel as the driving force for the adaptation. He felt that its popularity
was due to the play being a story about family and bravery. The play was first staged in 2012
at the National Theatre. It was very popular with audiences and has since moved to the West
End and Broadway.
The story concerns a mystery surrounding the death of a neighbour's dog that is investigated
by young Christopher Boone, who has an autism spectrum condition, and his relationships
with his parents and school mentor. During its premiere run, the play tied the record for
winning the most Olivier Awards (seven), including Best New Play at the 2013 ceremony.
The play reworked the source material by changing its voice and presenting the story as
a play-within-a-play. It has received a generally warm reception, with most critics impressed
by its ability to convey the point of view of the young protagonist and the compassion of his
school mentor. Critics also generally spoke highly of the visual effects employed during the
show.
6 The Curious Incident… – GCSE Revision Notes – English Literature.
Summary
Overview
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time follows the story of Christopher Boone, a
15 year-old, who is exceptional at Maths but finds people confusing. The play opens with
Christopher discovering a dead dog in his neighbour, Mrs Shears', garden. Despite his father,
Ed, warning Christopher not to get involved, Christopher decides to investigate the death of
the dog. In doing so he discovers that his mother is not dead as his father had told him, but
alive and well, living in London. He also discovers that it was his father who killed the dog.
Christopher feels that his father is a murderer, who he cannot trust. He can no longer live with
him and so he bravely travels to London to find his mother. Christopher has difficulty settling
into his new life in London and returns to Swindon to take his A-level Maths exam. The play
ends with him passing the exam and the realisation that he can do anything he puts his mind
to.
Key plot points
1. Christopher discovers the body of Wellington the dog and decides to investigate his
death despite his dad's warnings not to pry into other people's business.
2. Mrs Alexander tells Christopher that his mum had an affair. He then discovers a box
full of letters his mother has sent him and realises that she is not dead as he had been
led to believe by his dad.
3. Ed finds a distressed Christopher and confesses the truth to him. He tries to explain
why he lied about his mother – he also reveals it was he who killed Wellington.
4. Losing trust in his father, Christopher decides he cannot live with him anymore and so
he must go to London to find his mother, Judy.
5. Christopher gets on the train to London, very brave considering he has never left
Swindon. He uses the London Underground and has a chaotic and eventful journey.
6. Eventually he reaches his mother’s flat. Her boyfriend, Mr Shears, does not like having
Christopher around.
7. Christopher and his mum leave, and move back to Swindon.
8. Christopher starts to rebuild his relationship with dad. After his pet rat dies, Ed gives
him a puppy.
9. Even though he is only 15, Christopher takes his Maths A-level exam. He passes and
gets an A*. By the end of the play Christopher is looking forward to the future.
Detailed plot summary
Christopher finds the dead dog and gets arrested
We first meet Christopher, the protagonist of the play, standing by a dead dog called
Wellington. The owner of the dog, Christopher’s neighbour Mrs Shears, is also at the scene,
she is very distressed. The police arrive and question Christopher's involvement in the murder
of the dog. The questioning upsets him and he ends up hitting a police officer. Christopher is
arrested.
7 The Curious Incident… – GCSE Revision Notes – English Literature.
Christopher investigates the murder of the dog
Christopher is given a caution by the police and his father, Ed, takes him home and warns him
to stay out of other peoples’ business. We learn that two years earlier Christopher’s mother,
Judy, died of a heart attack. Despite the warning from his father, Christopher decides to
continue investigating the death of Wellington. We also learn that Christopher is planning on
taking his A-level Maths exam in the near future.
Christopher meets Mrs Alexander
While questioning the local residents, Christopher meets elderly Mrs Alexander. She reveals
to him that his mother was having an affair with Roger (Mr Shears). Christopher does not
understand this. She is surprised that Christopher talks about his mother going into hospital.
Ed finds Christopher's note book and hides it
Ed then finds Christopher's note book in which he has been recording his investigations. This
makes him very angry - in the argument that follows, he hits Christopher, takes the note book
from him and hides it.
Christopher discovers the truth about his mother
Whilst looking for his notebook, Christopher discovers a number of letters sent by his mother.
The letters tell her side of the story, how she fell in love with Mr Shears and how she felt she
was not very good at looking after Christopher. As a result, she went to live in London with
Mr Shears. Worst of all, Christopher finds out that his father stopped her from saying
goodbye. This makes Christopher breakdown in tears.
Ed confesses and Christopher decides to leave
Ed finds Christopher and explains how after his wife, Judy, left, he became close to Mrs Shears
and began a romantic relationship with her. This did not work out and after a bad argument,
he killed Mrs Shears' dog, Wellington. Christopher decides he cannot trust his father and goes
by himself to London to live with his mother.
Christopher travels to London
Christopher gets on the train and then has to brave the London Underground. His journey is
chaotic and he puts himself in great danger after his pet rat escapes on to the tracks and he
tries to rescue him. After much difficulty, Christopher finds the flat where his mother lives
with Mr Shears. He lives with her for a time and his A-level Maths exam is postponed.
Christopher's presence puts a strain on his mother’s relationship with Mr Shears, who
drunkenly attacks Christopher. After this, he and his mother leave London and return to
Swindon.
Christopher takes his Maths exam
Due to the disruption of his family life, Christopher has to live in sheltered accommodation
where his parents can visit. Luckily he does manage to get back in time to take his Maths ALevel. Christopher is very distressed before the exam but Siobhan, his teacher, calms him
down and helps him focus.
8 The Curious Incident… – GCSE Revision Notes – English Literature.
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