SETTLING down in Oxford’s New Theatre it’s clear that things are not quite what they seem.

The hi-tec set resembles a giant electronic cube and there’s a dead dog with a garden fork sticking out of it - not exactly your ordinary production.

That’s because The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time is no standard story.

Directed by Simon Stephens and based on the best-selling novel by Mark Haddon, the show is simply enthralling and takes you on an incredible rollercoaster ride of emotions. .

The story is simple; it tells the tale of Christopher Boone, a 15-year-old with Asperger syndrome and an extraordinary mind, who turns detective after finding that his neighbour’s dog, Wellington, has been murdered.

You’re taken into the complex, and at times overwhelming, mind of Christopher, helped by the stand-out performance of Scott Reid.

Fascinated with space, exceptional at maths despite being unable to deal with everyday life, Christopher’s character has you on the edge of your seat.

You’re on the journey with him and it’s full of emotions and contradictions - anxiety, logic, disorder, order - and irony (Christopher tells us metaphors are lies while the set is full of them).

And the talented cast doesn’t stop there. Christopher’s father is played by the brilliant David Michaels and you’re torn between being on his side and that of the teenager’s mother Judy (Emma Beattie) who takes her audience through anger, grief, sympathy and admiration.

While mostly stark, uncomfortable and blunt, the play has its fair share of warmth - mainly in the form of the brilliant Lucianne McEvoy who plays Christopher’s teacher Siobhan. She is the voice of calm, reason, and reassures you in the way she does her student. And let’s not forget the token ‘cute’ appearance of an actual puppy - yes.

The set design is as mesmerising as the performances with the interactive use of sound and lighting reflecting beloved Christopher’s inner psyche and how he makes sense of the world.

Get ready for tears, laughter, and amazement. But whatever you do, make sure you go and see it.

* At the New Theatre in Oxford until Saturday