Gender-swapped Curious Incident staging tours UK — SkimNews
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- Ned Bennett directs an ambitious new staging of Simon Stephens' adaptation of Mark Haddon's novel for Birmingham Rep and Melting Pot, touring until 28 May
- Alex Keenan makes her high-energy professional debut in a gender-swapped lead role as Chris, capturing the character's bewilderment and cheeriness
- Eleanor Bull's bare white stage design alternates between geometric pastel-coloured house rows and high-definition projections that render the familiar strange
- Hayley Egan's video design isolates everyday objects — a wrench, tampon, wooden spoon — as if from a Dorling Kindersley illustrated book
- Giles Thomas' percussive score and a multitasking ensemble that drifts between police officers and tumblers amplify the production's sensory load
- The staging translates the novel's textual sensory assault into physical theatre, including a storm of yellow bouncing balls Chris must navigate at Paddington
Why it matters: For audiences touring through 28 May, Bennett's staging translates Haddon's literary sensory-overload motif into a theatrical experience of bouncing balls, projections and percussive music, anchored by Keenan's high-energy professional debut in a gender-swapped lead.
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