PREPARE to be moved, amused, challenged and amazed - the multi-award-winning Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time is back on tour.

Based on the best-selling novel by Mark Haddon, this quite extraordinary piece of theatre remains an absolute must-see.

From the hi-tech set, in effect a giant electronic cube which transforms from simple blackboard to bustling Underground station in an instant to the physicality of movement, Curious remains a show like no other.

It's the story of teenage maths genius Christopher, who has never left his street unaccompanied, who never tells lies, who doesn't like yellow and who dreams of being an astronaut.

When he finds the neighbour's dog has been killed, he sets out to find out who did it, setting in motion an extraordinary series of events.

Scott Reid as Christopher is on stage for virtually all the play and he's terrific. He perfectly captures Christopher's innocence and his struggle to come to terms with a world into which he doesn't quite fit.

As Ed, Christopher's dad, David Michaels reveals his vulnerability and the frustrations of having to cope with a son who cannot bear to be touched. His is a measured and in many ways, moving performance of a man whose love for his son almost drives him to distraction.

Lucianne McEvoy as Christopher's teacher Siobhan, is the calming influence on the troubled teen and you come away wishing she had been at your school.

Curious works on so many different levels. It's a play about family, about discovery, about challenging other people's perceptions.

But it's also hugely entertaining with many genuine laughs throughout.

A measure of how captivating this play is was the way it reduced several coachloads of schoolchildren in the audience to stunned, enthralled silence.

It is one of those plays which instils in the audience an almost missionary-like zeal to encourage everyone they know to go and see it and quite rightly so.

This new National Theatre production really is something special

Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, Lowry. Salford Quays until Saturday, February 4. Details from 0843 208 6000.