A Curious Fifteen Years

Mark Haddon published The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time in 2004. Playwright Simon Stephens fell in love with Christopher Boone’s story, and two years later in 2006, Stephens and Haddon connected at the Royal National Theatre in London, where the two writers began to talk about developing the work for the stage. Curious Incident received its World Premiere at the National in the Cottesloe Theatre six years later in 2012.

After its whirlwind success at the National Theatre, the show was transferred to the Apollo Theatre on the West End in 2013. However, the run was tragically cut short when the Apollo Theatre’s roof unexpectedly collapsed mid-performance. Curious Incident was at a standstill until the next year when it was reopened in the Gielgud Theatre.

Curious Incident then traveled overseas to American audiences in New York City, where it opened in the Ethel Barrymore on Broadway in 2014. With a walloping 800 performances, the production torpedoed into its US tour in 2016. Soon after it opened on Broadway, the first UK and Ireland tour kicked off, visiting 32 cities, and leading to a second UK tour in January 2017.

With buzz around the show still percolating, and the launch of their first international touring company, The National Theatre helped Curious Incident continue to expand internationally. Curious Incident was brought to Melbourne, Toronto, Singapore, Shanghai, Hong Kong, and Beijing, among other major cities. Haddon and Stephens’ work was so well received by audiences around the world that Curious Incident has been brought back to the West End for a limited time, and is now playing through this summer in London’s Piccadilly Theatre.

With its journey around the world, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time has been performed in 9 countries and 78 cities, with over 1800 shows done and counting. This production has earned its spot among top plays world-wide, having been awarded various Olivier, Tony, Drama Desk, Drama League, and Outer Critics Circle Awards. These include the Best Play Award (Olivier and Tony), Outstanding Play Award (Drama Desk), Outstanding New Broadway Play Award (Outer Critics Circle), Best Director and Direction of a Play (Tony, Outer Critics, and Olivier), Best Actor in a Play (Tony, Olivier, and Drama Desk), along with snagging awards in Lighting and Sound Design.