They thought it was an “unstageable” story but the National Theatre has managed to bring the Curious Incident Of The Dog In The Night-Time to life with masses of creativity and humour.

Based on the award-winning novel by Mark Haddon, and winner of seven Olivier awards, the show debuted at the Marlowe Theatre in Canterbury last night. (Tuesday, May 12)

It was adapted to stage by Simon Stephens and those who have read the book will not be disappointed.

For those who haven’t, the story takes you on a journey through the mind of 15-year-old Christopher, who has Asperger's Syndrome.

When Christopher discovers his neighbours’ dog has been murdered, he sets out to discover the culprit - but through playing detective he learns a lot more than he bargained for.

The character of Christopher Boone is played by Joshua Jenkins, who trained at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama, has starred in many theatre productions, TV work including Holby City and the film Plots With A View.

Joshua definitely stole the show, his character is electric and engaging and he manages to bring comedy to the no-nonsense, blunt aspects of Christopher’s literal nature and evokes emotion with the child-like and vulnerable side of him too.

There are some genuinely touching moments between Christopher and his father, played by Stuart Laing and their relationship is very believable.

There is also good use of a small cast with actors quickly changing roles but changing them convincingly.

The staging is also extremely clever - it actually blew me away.

The set is minimal with a few multi- purpose boxes and some toys but what really brings it to life is the ingenious lighting and music.

Equations, letters and chalk drawings are projected around the stage, which open up Christopher’s world and makes you feel like you’re stepping inside his mind. It effectively shows how his brain may work differently to yours or mine and means you really understand when he gets upset.

A tube station is effectively brought to life with just lights and mist and the over-sensory feeling Christopher gets in the station sees him literally crawling up the walls (with a little help from the cast)!

When Christopher become upset all the letters and numbers bombard his brain and ours too as the set spirals into an abundance of lights displaying what happens inside his mind when he gets confused or angry. The letters then fall like confetti to the floor, there are no words, but the emotion this conveys is very moving.

The mystery of the story as the audience tries to work out the clues to the murder adds extra excitement, and the humour, wit and endearing nature of Christopher’s character is brilliant. It all builds into a crescendo of family drama, by which point, I was so invested in the lives of the characters that I was left deeply affected by their story.

Curious Incident Of The Dog In The Night-Time is at the Marlowe Theatre from Tuesday, May 12, until Saturday, May 23.

For more information or to book tickets, contact 01227 787787, or visit the website at www.marlowetheatre.com.