Following the success of last year’s schools tour, a specially staged version of The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time will visit 60 secondary schools across the UK in Autumn 2019.
The tour forms part of the National Theatre’s Theatre Nation Partnerships project, a drive to introduce new audiences to theatre, working with local theatres and schools. From September to December 2019, the production will be performed in school halls at five secondary schools each week across London and touring to the National Theatre’s six Theatre Nation areas, supported by our partner theatres: Outer East London (with Queen’s Theatre Hornchurch), Wakefield (with Theatre Royal Wakefield), Doncaster (with Cast), Sunderland (with Sunderland Culture and Sunderland Empire), Wolverhampton (with The Grand), and Greater Manchester (with The Lowry).
The 90-minute version of the play is performed in the round and will be followed by a Q&A session for students with the professional company. The tour is accompanied by a learning programme which includes professional development for teachers led by the NT and Curious Incident movement directors Frantic Assembly, as well as curriculum-based resources and workshops.
Alice King-Farlow, Director of Learning at the National Theatre said, “The National Theatre is committed to increasing opportunities for students to see live theatre. Simon Stephens’ brilliant play The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time is a fantastic first experience of theatre and we know from last year’s tour that seeing a live professional production in your own school hall can have real impact. We’re delighted that another 13,000 students will experience the production in their school this year, and we’re working closely with our Theatre Nation Partners to engage with new audiences and to build relationships between schools and their local theatre.”
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time brings Mark Haddon’s best-selling novel to life on stage, adapted by two-time Olivier Award-winning playwright Simon Stephens and directed by Olivier and Tony Award®‑winning director Marianne Elliott. The novel has won more than 17 literary awards and is widely studied in schools. Simon Stephens’ adaptation is a set text for GCSE English Literature.
The full cast includes Cayvan Coates, Lily Knight, Marcia Lecky, Nicola McRoy, Evan Milton, Chris Nayak, Nick Pearse and Nadia Williams.
