Qlocal was invited to the opening night of the highly acclaimed play The Curious Incident Of The Dog In The Night-Time at the Liverpool Empire last night.

It did not disappoint.The main question is will you stay till the end for your Maths lesson?



The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time follows 15-year-old Christopher Boone, who has learning difficulties. After discovering his neighbour’s dog Wellington has been stabbed to death with a garden fork, he decides to do some detective work, but the mystery goes deeper than he expects.

Actor Scott reid gives an outstanding performance as Christopher, perfectly capturing the complexities of Haddon’s main character and allowing the audience to see the world through his eyes.

David Michales is exceptional as Christopher’s father Ed and many of the play’s most poignant moments come as his family relationships are tested to the limit.

The cast is joined by a live rat – Christopher’s pet – and a tiny puppy. Sighs of “awww” echoed around the theatre as the clumsy puppy padded around the stage.

The play brilliantly captures the humour of Haddon’s novel, with the audience frequently laughing out loud at Christopher’s matter-of-fact observations on life.

For a story where the main “action” involves the protagonist getting a train to London, the play is fast-paced and full of movement.

The use of space is dynamic and some of the scenes are choreographed almost like a cross between dance and gymnastics. At one point, Christopher is picked up and somersaulted through the air to evoke his dream of becoming an astronaut.

Another stand out scene depicts his arrival at Paddington Station, as he struggles to deal with the sensory overload. The ensemble support him as he walks horizontally around the walls, to show his fear of being pushed and jostled.

Meanwhile, flashing projections of tube maps, plus distorted music demonstrate how he struggles to cope with the assault on his senses. The stage is surrounded by a large black and white graph, which is at times used as a chalkboard and at others, as a background for projections.

Overall, this is a clever, sensitive and funny adaptation of a brilliant novel that has changed the way people think about learning difficulties.

The play runs until Saturday at the Liverpool Empire.



Any smart folk work out the answer.

I have read the book and seen the play in London. The play is brilliant and by the sound of it this version of it is well worth a visit.

P.S. for non mathematicians
If the sides of a triangle are A; B & C where A = n^2 +1; B = n^2-1 and C= 2n
if n>1 then, by inpection, "A" must be the longest side.

"A" squared= n^4 +2n^2 + 1; "B" squared= n^4 -2n^2 +1; "C" squared = 4n^2

"B" squared +"C" squared= n^4 -2n^2 +1 + 4n^2 = n^4 +2n^2 + 1 = "A" squared

Therefore, by Pythagoras, the triangle is right angled.
QED

That Wednesday morning Maths lesson has finally proved worthwhile.

well I am a non mathematical person that means nothing to me at all might as well be written in chinese

Originally Posted by sea-salted

well I am a non mathematical person that means nothing to me at all might as well be written in chinese

Sorry if that confused you.
I assumed that Pythagoras's theorem was one bit of maths that everyone remembered, if only because of the schoolboy joke about Indian Squaws sitting on buffalo hides.

The main difficulty with the problem set in the OP was realising that using Pythagoras would solve it.

I was just delighted to be able to use the theorem after over 55 years.
For some strange reason I also remember the formula for solving quadratics, but I'm still waiting to use it.

On the other hand if you ask me to name Henry VIII's wives I'd give up after Anne Boleyn and the two K(C)atherines. Even then I don't know which had "C" and which had a "K".

There are a couple of others math references in the play ("Prime numbers" & "The Monty Hall problem"), but even if you don't get these it is still a great play and well worth going.