National seeks neurodivergent actors for Curious Incident tour

The National Theatre has announced it is seeking two neurodivergent actors to share the lead role of Christopher in its upcoming tour of The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time.

In a casting notice, the National said it feels it's important the role is "played by someone with lived experience of neurodivergence".

The notice continues: "We want to remove barriers this audition process might usually pose in order to allow every male identifying actor with a playing age of 14 to 18 who identifies as neurodivergent the opportunity to be seen for an audition. We also want to work closely with the actors who are eventually cast in the role to individualise support on tour – an example of this might be enabling them to tour with a support worker."

The UK and Ireland tour, the production's third, will embark in November 2021, having been delayed from 2020.

The WhatsOnStage award-winning play tells the story of 15-year-old Christopher Boone, who finds a dead dog and is determined to unravel the mystery of what happened despite having never ventured beyond the end of his road alone.

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time is adapted for the stage by Simon Stephens from Mark Haddon's 2003 novel, and directed by Marianne Elliott. Casting for the new tour is by Jacob Sparrow.

The National added: "We are really excited to meet neurodivergent actors for the role of Christopher. We're committed to this being an inclusive, accessible and far-reaching casting process. Good luck."