The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time

If you can't bring young people to the National Theatre, bring the NT to them. Such is the motivation behind this school touring production, which will be visiting schools across England over the next few months. Delivered as a package, the production involves a day of CPD for English and Drama teachers to help them introduce the themes to students, and several resources such as videos so the audience isn't going in blind.

I found myself in a school assembly hall in Dagenham at 9:30am on a Monday morning, just a few weeks into the start of a new school term. I assumed that the actors would be facing a tough crowd but I was pleasantly surprised. The young audience was hooked from the first expletive and I saw very few signs of fidgeting and talking – that the play is staged in-the-round probably contributes to better behaviour. Instead, I saw lots of delighted faces, lots of turning to friends to share a moment and lots of laughter. The energy in the room was quite palpable and it heightened my experience.