"The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time" lines- Siobhan

Judy: "And so I said yes."

"'And I meant to say goodbye.'"

Judy: "And I couldn't walk properly for a month, do you remember, and your father had to look after you."

"'And I remember looking at the two of you and seeing you together and thinking how you were really different with him. Much calmer.'"

Judy: "And it made me so sad because it was like you didn't need me at all."

"'And I think then I realised you and your father were probably better off if I wasn't living in the house.'"

Judy: "You grabbed the chopping board and you threw it and it hit my foot and broke my toes."

"'And afterwards at home your father and I had a huge argument.'"

Judy: "And Roger asked me if I wanted to come with him."

"'And it broke my heart but eventually I decided it would be better for all of us if I went.'"

Ed: "Could you please, just, give it a bit of a break, mate. Please."

"'And know that there was no one else near me for thousands and thousands and thousands of miles which is what I sometimes pretend at night in the summer when I go and lie on the lawn and look up at the sky and I put my hands round the sides of my face so that I can't see the fence and the chimney and the clothes line and I can pretend I'm in space. And all I could see you would be stars. And stars of the places where the molecules that life is made of were constructed billions of years ago. For example, all the iron in your blood, which stops you being anaemic, was made in a star.'" (cross left, upstage of flying) "'And I would like it if I could take Toby with me into space, and that might be allowed because they sometimes do take animals into space for experiments, so if I could think of a good experiment you could do with a rat that didn't hurt the rat, I could make them let me take Toby. But if they didn't let me I would still go because it would be a Dream Come True.'" (end scene)

Judy: "And after a while we stopped talking to each other very much because we knew it would always end up in an argument. And I felt really lonely."

"'And that was when I started spending lots of time with Roger.'"

Judy: "I said that I couldn't leave you and he was sad about that but he understood that you were really important to me."

"'And you started to shout and I got cross and I threw the food across the room. Which I know I shouldn't have done.'"

Judy: "I thought what I was doing was the best for all of us. I hope it is."

"'Christopher I never meant to hurt you.'" (exit SR and walk around to SL)

Judy: "But when I rang your father he said I couldn't― He was really angry. He said I couldn't―"

"'He said I couldn't talk to you.'"

Judy: "And I didn't know what to do."

"'He said I was being selfish and that I was never to set foot inside the house again.'"

Ed: "Stay home."

"'I decided I couldn't stay home anymore.'"

Judy: "Christopher. Swindon."

"'I only know 3 people who do little circles instead of dots over the letter i. And one of them is Siobhan. And one of them was Mr. Loxley who used to teach at the school. And one of them was Mother.'" (sit on SL bench, end scene)

Judy: "...I think about you all the time. Lots of love, Your Mum."

"'I was really confused. Mother had never written me a letter before. And Mother had never lived in London. I looked at the front of the envelope and I saw that there was a postmark and there was a date on the postmark, the 16th of October 2013, which meant that the letter was posted 18 months after Mother had died. When I started writing my book there was only one mystery to solve. Now there were two. I decided that I would not think about it any more that night because I didn't have enough information and could easily LEAP TO THE WRONG CONCLUSIONS.'" (sit on DL bench, end scene)

Judy: "And so I haven't."

"'I wonder if you can understand any of this. I know it will be difficult for you.'"

Judy: "Christopher Boone, 36 Randolph Street, Swindon, Wiltshire."

"'Then I noticed there were lots of envelopes and they were all addressed to me. And this was interesting and confusing. And then I noticed how the words Christopher and Swindon were written. They were written like this.'"

Ed: "Yes mate. You probably would."

"'To be a good astronaut you have to be intelligent and I'm intelligent. You also have to understand how machines work and I'm good at understanding how machines work.'"

Judy: "And that was when I started spending lots of time with Roger. And I know you might not understand any of this, but I wanted to try to explain so that you knew."

"'We had a lot in common. And then we realized that we were in love with one ano―'"

Christopher: "No."

"Are you going to tell your father about this?"

Christopher: "No."

"Are you telling the truth?"

Christopher: "No. I don't like acting because it is pretending that something is real when it is not really real at all so it is like a kind of lie."

"But people like stories. Some people find things which are kind of true in things which are made up. You like your Sherlock Holmes stories and you know Sherlock Holmes isn't a real person, don't you? I would help you if you were worried about that."

Christopher: "And I am going to find out who really killed Wellington and make it a project. Even though Father told me not to."

"Did he?"

Christopher: "Find what out?"

"Did it make you sad to find out that your mother and Mr. Shears had an affair?"

Christopher: "No."

"Did it make you sad to find this out?"

Christopher: "So today is a Good Day."

"Great. I am glad."

Judy: "Yeah. Yes. Yes. It's nice to meet you too."

"Hello Christopher."

Christopher: "...I can't go and live with you because you can't look after me when school's closed."

"I could try and―"

Christopher: "Yes you did."

"I didn't use those words Christopher."

Judy: "Christopher?"

"I have to go."

Christopher: "Don't."

"I have to." (exit UR and walk around to SL)

Christopher: "Father said."

"I see, that's a pity."

Christopher: "Yes."

"I see."

Christopher: "No."

"I think it could be really good fun Christopher."

Mrs. Gascoyne: "I think it would be a good thing for everybody to join in and play a part in it."

"I was wondering if you'd like to make a play out of your book."

Judy: "That's right. And you're..."

"I'm Siobhan. It's nice to meet you."

Christopher: "...you are more likely to be murdered by a member of your own family on Christmas Day."

"Is that a fact?"

Christopher: "Oh yes. Is that an elf?"

"It's a gnome. And a teddy bear. And a little pond, look."

Christopher: "I can't sleep."

"It's because you're scared of Mr. Shears. You're being silly."

Christopher: "I can't tell. I can only see orange and black. And mixtures of orange and black."

"Look at the things people have in their front garden."

Christopher: "And an oven. I like looking up at the sky."

"Me too."

Christopher: "Because when people tell you what to do it is usually confusing and does not make sense. For example people often say 'Be quiet' but they don't tell you how long to be quiet for."

"No. Why did your father tell you not to try to find out who killed Wellington?"

Christopher: "...I can't see any stars here."

"No."

Christopher: "It doesn't have a proper ending. I never found out who killed Wellington. So the murderer is still At Large."

"Not all murders are solved. Not all murderers are caught."

Christopher: "Mmm."

"Well, (stand up and grab box and bring it back to chair, then sit in chair) we're meant to be writing stories today, so why don't you write about what happened to Wellington?"

Christopher: "There's nobody about. You can hear traffic."

"What cars are there?"

Christopher: "A Fiesta. A Peugeot. A Ford Granada. A Mini Cooper."

"What colors are they?"

Christopher: "Yes, I always tell the truth. It didn't make me feel sad because Mother is dead. So I would be feeling sad about something that isn't real and doesn't exist and that would be stupid."

"What was your mother like? Do you remember much about her?"

Christopher: "I've decided I am going to try and find out who killed Wellington because a Good Day is a day for projects and planning things."

"Who's Wellington?"

Christopher: "I don't always do what I'm told."

"Why?"

Christopher: "It's true."

"Yes. (walk back to the left, continue reading) 'I think it should be called a lie because a pig is not like a day and people do not have skeletons in their cupboards. And when I try to make a picture of the phrase in my head it just confuses me because imagining an apple in someone's eye doesn't have anything to do with liking someone a lot and it makes you forget what the person was talking about.'" (sit on SL bench, end scene)

Christopher: "No because you're a teacher."

"Yes."

Christopher: "So the book is finished."

(Christopher takes book away) "Well, Christopher, if your father said he wanted you to stop then I think he probably has a good reason and I think you should stop. But you can still be very proud because what you've written so far is just, well, it's great."

Lady in Street: "OK, we're done here." Christopher: "I knew that the train station was somewhere near. And if something is nearby you can find it by moving in a spiral, walking clockwise and taking every right turn until you come back to a road you've already walked on, then taking the next left, then taking every right turn and so on. And that was how I found the station."

(chaos to music, exit SR at the end, cross every once in a while in train station-not as Siobhan, end on SL)

Christopher: "Why would you kill a dog?"

(cleaning up classroom- train tracks) "I wouldn't."

Christopher: "You did on September 12th last year. At first break."

(continue reading) "'And it can also mean "I think that what you just said was very stupid."'"

Ed: "Christopher have you seen your mum?" Christopher: "No."

(continue reading) "'He went downstairs and started making some phone calls. I did not hear what he said. Then he came up to my room and said he had to go out for a while and he wasn't sure how long he would be. He said that if I needed anything I should call him on his mobile phone. He was away for 2 and a half hours. When he came back I went downstairs.'"

Christopher: "Also I wouldn't be homesick at all because I'd be surrounded by lots of things I like..."

(cross DR)

Ed: "Behave yourself Christopher yeah?" Christopher: "Yeah."

(cross R) "'So I went into his bedroom and opened up the wardrobe and lifted the toolbox off the top of the shirt box and opened the shirt box. I counted out the letters. There were 43 of them. They were all addressed to me in the same handwriting. I took one and opened it. Inside was this letter:'"

Ed: "...I'm going to go downstairs and you get some sleep and we'll talk in the morning. It's going to be all right. Trust me." (Ed exits, Christopher groans) *sound effect*

(enter SL)

Man Behind Counter: "Through the underpass and up the stairs. You'll see the signs." Christopher: (barks at someone like a dog)

(enter SL) "Underpass means tunnel Christopher. In your head imagine a big red line across the floor. It starts at your feet and goes through the tunnel. And walk along the line. And count the rhythm in your head because that helps doesn't it? Like when you're doing music or when you're doing drumming. Left, right, left, right, left, right." (exit SL)

BEGINNING OF ACT 2

(enter SL, walk up to Christopher) "Christopher I want to ask you something. Mrs. Gascoyne wondered if we would like to do a play this year. She asked me to ask everybody if we'd like to make some kind of performance for the school. Everybody could join in and play a part in it."

Shopkeeper: "$5.95, but you're giving me the money first. I'm not having you thieving." Christopher: "Left. Right. Left. Right. Left. Right. Left. Right..."

(enter UR and sit on UR bench)

Christopher: "I am going to find out more about Mr. Shears." (end scene)

(exit SL and walk around to SR)

Christopher: "London NW2 5NG." (black out, end Act 1)

(exit SL in blackout)

Christopher: "And I really like little spaces so long as there is no one else in them with me." Ed: "I noticed."

(follow Christopher to the cubby) "'Sometimes when I want to be on my own I get into the laundry room and slide in beside the boiler and pull the door closed behind me and sit there and think for hours and it makes me feel very calm.'"

Ed: "Christopher. Christopher."

(grab box #3 and bring it to SL bench, put on rain gear from cubby, sit on SL bench)

Christopher: "No. It's a book and it's for me and not everybody just for me."

(grab box #3 and sit on it across from Christopher) "I know that but I think a lot of people would be interested in what would happen if people took your book and started acting bits out of it."

Christopher: "...so if it was (b) it was also probably a stranger."

(listening to Christopher) "Right."

Christopher: "...4,096; 4,096; 4,096"

(looking at Christopher) "'Father had murdered Wellington. That meant he could murder me. I had to get out of the house. I made a decision. I did this by thinking of all the things I could do and deciding whether they were the right decision or not.'"

Policeman: "I'm arresting you for assaulting a police officer. I strongly advise you to get into the back of the police car because if you try any of that monkey business again you stupid idiot I am seriously going to lose my rag. Is that understood?" (end scene)

(new scene) *school bell* "'I find people confusing. This is for two main reasons. The first main reason is that people do a lot of talking without using any words. Siobhan says that if you raise one eyebrow it can mean lots of different things. It can mean "I want to do sex with you."' (look up) I never said that."

Christopher: "Where are we going?" Judy: "We're going to the school." (end scene)

(new scene, enter DL) "So you're Christopher's mother."

Christopher: "...And I knew that the last stop on the train was London. So I got off the train." (end scene)

(new scene, enter SL and walk up to Christopher to the rhythm) "Left, right, left, right, left, right, left, right, left, right..." (stop when you get to Christopher, nod at him, turn around and walk back left to his rhythm)

Christopher: "Is it in the dustbin at the front of the house?" (end scene)

(new scene, enter SR and stack box #11 on top of #17, reading) "'The next day, when I got home from school, Father was still at work so I went outside and looked inside the dustbin. But the book wasn't there.'" (follow Christopher around) "'I wondered if Father had put it into his van and driven it to the dump and put it into one of the big bins there but I did not want that to be true because then I would never see it again. One other possibility was that Father had hidden my book somewhere in the house. So I decided to do some detecting and see if I could find it.'" (follow Christopher to C, standing US of him) "'I started by looking in the kitchen. Then I detected in the laundry room. Then I detected in the dining room. Then I detected in the living room where I found the missing wheel from my Airfix Messerschmitt Bf109G-6 model under the sofa. Then I went upstairs but I didn't do any detecting in my own room because I reasoned that Father wouldn't hide something from me in my own room unless he was being very clever and doing what is called a Double Bluff like in a real murder-mystery novel, so I decided to look in my own room only if I couldn't find the book anywhere else.'" (move SL slightly) "'I detected in the bathroom, but the only place to look was in the medicine cabinet and there was nothing in there.'" (follow Christopher to bedroom) "'Which meant that the only room left to detect in was Father's bedroom. I started by looking under the bed. There were 5 shoes and a comb with lots of hair in it and a monkey wrench and a chocolate chip cookie and a magazine called Men Only and a pair of underpants from TJ Maxx with a little bit of pee left in them and a Scooby-Doo tie and a wooden spoon, but not my book. Then I looked in the drawers on either side of the dressing table. But these only contained aspirin and nail clippers and batteries and dental floss and tissues and a spare false tooth and a tampon but my book wasn't there either.'" (turn with Christopher) "'Then I looked in his wardrobe. In the bottom of the wardrobe was a large plastic toolbox, which was full of tools for DIY which means doing-it-yourself, but I could see these without opening the box because it was made of transparent grey plastic. Then I saw that there was another box underneath the toolbox. The other box was an old cardboard box that is called a shirt box because people used to buy shirts in them.'" (move closer to Christopher) "'And when I opened the shirt box I saw my book was inside it. Then I heard Father's van pulling up outside the house and I knew that I had to think fast and be clever. I heard Father shutting the door of the van. And that is when I saw the envelope. It was an envelope addressed to me and it was lying under my book in the shirt box with some other envelopes. I picked it up. It had never been opened. It said:'" (cross DL)

Christopher: "I can't be on my own with you because you are a stranger." Mrs. Alexander: "I'm not a stranger Christopher, I'm a friend." (end scene)

(new scene, get box #2 while talking, set it down and sit on it) "Have you told your father about this?"

Duty Sergeant: "If you get into any more trouble we will take out this record and see that you have been given a caution and we will take things much more seriously. Do you understand what I'm saying?" Christopher: "Yes." (end scene)

(new scene, sitting facing Christopher, reading book) "'The second main reason I find people confusing is that people often talk using metaphors. These are examples of metaphors:'"

Christopher: "I'll make her a get-well card. If I make her a get-well card, will you take it in for her tomorrow?" (end scene)

(new scene, sitting in chair, looking at Christopher) "How are you today Christopher?"

Reverend Peters: "Christopher we should talk about this on another day when I have more time." (end scene)

(new scene, talk while ensemble is setting up soccer game, reading from book) "'The next day was Saturday and there is not much to do on a Saturday unless Father takes me out somewhere on an outing to the boating lake or to the garden center, but on this Saturday England were playing Romania at football which meant that we weren't going to go on an outing because father wanted to watch the match on the television. So I made a decision. I decided to do some more detection. I decided to go out on my own.'" *crowd cheers* "' I do not like strangers. So talking to the other people in our street was brave. But if you are going to do detective work you have to be brave, so I had no choice.'" (sit on SL bench)

Judy: "...and we'd sit outside in the evening and drink red wine and smoke French cigarettes and watch the sun go down." (Christopher leaves)

(put box #2 away, bring chair offstage, exit SL and walk around to SR, end scene)

Christopher: "3558." (Christopher exits SR)

(rain scene- cross back and forth as person walking down street in the rain-not as Siobhan, end on SL)

Mrs. Shears: "Get away from my dog for Christ's sake."

(reading from book) "'After 12 and a half minutes a police officer arrived. She had a big orange leaf stuck to the bottom of her shoe which was poking out from one side.' (look up from book and talk to Christopher) This is good Christopher. It's quite exciting. I like the details. They make it more realistic. (continue reading) 'She squatted down next to me. She said to me:'"

Policeman: "Would you like to tell me what's going on here, young man?"

(reading from book) "'I do not tell lies. Mother used to say that this was because I was a good person. But it is not because I am a good person. It is because I can't tell lies.'"

Mrs. Shears: "Get away from my dog."

(reading from book) "'My name is Christopher John Francis Boone. I live at 36 Randolph Street, Swindon, Wiltshire. I know all the countries of the world and capital cities. And every prime number up to 7,507.'"

Mrs. Shears: "Get away from my dog."

(reading from book) "'There was a garden fork sticking out of the dog. The dog was called Wellington. It belonged to Mrs. Shears who was our friend. She lived on the opposite side of the road, 2 houses to the left.'"

Mrs. Shears: "Bloody hell. What have you done? Christ. Oh no no no no..."

(sitting in chair, reading book aloud) "'It was 7 minutes after midnight. The dog was lying on the grass in the middle of the lawn in front of Mrs. Shears' house. Its eyes were closed. It looked as if it was running on its side, the way dogs run when they think they are chasing a cat in a dream. But the dog was not running or asleep. The dog was dead.'"

Christopher: "I'm very well thank you."

(sitting) "That's good."

Christopher: "I don't know."

(squat down next to Christopher) "If your father's told you not to do something maybe you shouldn't do it."

Christopher: "Father said I was never to mention Mr. Shears' name in our house again and that he was an evil man and maybe that meant he was the person who killed Wellington."

(squat down) "I think you should do what your father tells you to do." (sit on DL bench)

Christopher: "What time is it?"

(stand on UR box) "7 minutes past 2 in the morning."

Christopher: "You're too old to be a policeman."

(stand up US of box #3)

Voice Two: "The dog was stone dead."

(standup and walk right, upstage of Christopher, still reading) "'The word metaphor means carrying something from one place to another and it is when you describe something by using a word for something that it isn't. This means that the word metaphor is a metaphor.' (stop walking and talk to Christopher) Wow. That's clever."

Christopher: "Left, right, left, right, left, right, left, right, left, right..."

(turn US and watch Christopher. music- follow Christopher around slowly from a distance. On 7th 8-count turn and face him. On 8th 8-count turn him around and he trust falls on you. On 9th 8-count walk downstage with him then let him go, exit SL and walk around to SR)

Christopher: "I'll go and be on my own in my room." Ed: "Good man."

(walk DS) "'So, I went into my room. And when I was in the room I shut the door and took out the envelope. I opened the envelope. Inside there was a letter. And this was what was written in the letter:'"

Christopher: "It's not a proper book."

(walk around Christopher) "Why not?"

Christopher: "...And I found him and then a police officer thought I'd killed him but I hadn't and then she tried to touch me so I hit her and then I had to go to the police station."

(walk around Christopher, absorbing info. show emotions on your face to the audience but not in your words to Christopher. stand on Christopher's right) "Gosh."

Christopher: "In the bus on the way to school we passed 4 red cars in a row."

(walk towards Christopher then stand next to him) "4?"

Christopher: "Yes. Some sorts of cookies." Mrs. Alexander: "I'll get a selection." (end scene)

*lights and sound effects* (new scene, walk up during lights and sounds then talk, reading from book) "'She moved very slowly because she was an old lady and she was inside the house for more than 6 minutes and I began to get nervous because I didn't know her well enough to know whether she was telling the truth about getting orangeade and Battenberg cake. And I thought she might be ringing the police and then I'd get into much more serious trouble because of the caution. So I walked away.'"

Christopher: "...This means that Mr. Shears is my Prime Suspect."

*sound effect* "Christopher—"

Ed: "I'm sorry Christopher, I'm really sorry." (end scene)

*sound effect* (new scene, sitting in chair, reading from book, speaking over sound effect) "'That evening I went round to Mrs. Shears' house and knocked on the door and waited for her to answer it.'"

Ed: "Yes Christopher you could say that. You could very well say that." (end scene)

*sound effect* (new scene, stand up and take one step forward, reading from book, talking over sound effect) "'Mother died 2 years ago. I came home from school one day and no one answered the door, so I went and found the secret key that we keep under a flowerpot outside the kitchen window. I let myself into the house and wiped my feet on the mat. I put the key in the bowl on the table. I took my coat off and hung it by the side of the fridge so it would be ready for school the next day and gave 3 pellets of rat food to Toby who is my pet rat. I made myself a raspberry milkshake and heated it up in the microwave. Then I went up to my bedroom and turned on my bedroom light and played 6 games of Tetris and got to level 38 which is my 4th best-ever score. (sit in chair) An hour later Father came home from work.'"

Ed: "...I am going to make you promise me Christopher. And you know what it means when I make you promise." (end scene)

*sound effect* (new scene, talk from right next to Christopher on stage right, you are his thoughts and emotions) "'I think I would make a very good astronaut.'"