IT has won numerous awards both in the West End and Broadway for its sensitive portrayal of a boy with autism.

But despite all its accolades there is a more personal reason why former EastEnders actor Clare Perkins joined the cast of The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time.

Clare's daughter Kali has the developmental disorder Williams syndrome which has helped her relate to the production's main character Christopher (Joshua Jenkins).

She told Weekend: "Children with Williams syndrome are very engaged with the world but to me it’s not unlike Asperger’s.

"A lot of them have hyperacusis which is an aversion to noise and crowds and stuff like that and they all have their little obsessions.

"So it was good for me because you want more understanding in the wider world about certain conditions because they’re all around us.

"That way we see someone having a meltdown we might have a little bit more understanding."

Based on Mark Haddon’s bestselling book, The Curious Incident tells story of 15-year-old Christopher Boone who turns sleuth when he finds that his neighbour's dog has been speared with a garden fork.

He has an extraordinary brain but the trouble is he is ill-equipped to deal with everyday life, never ventured alone beyond the end of his road and distrusts strangers.

"Most people will be able to identify with him in some way," added Clare, who plays Christopher's neighbour Mrs Shears.

"He’s a person who feels the world itself is sometimes too much. The noise, the people, the lights and everything and I’m sure we all have a bit of that

"I think it’s a very human story. At the heart of it is a story about a family that have made mistakes and are grappling with life and have to bring up a child.

"There is a mum, a dad and a kid and so everyone has a way in to this story. I read the book a long time ago when it first came out and I've remembered it since then."

The Curious Incident is directed by Marianne Elliott, who co-directed the National Theatre’s record-breaking production of War Horse.

"I think it’s genius the way that it is presented," said Clare.

"The National Theatre has got such a good reputation for doing innovative, physical work

"But I couldn’t quite understand how they were going to put it on stage even after reading the script so it was the challenge of it which attracted me.

"In the first scene I have to be somebody who comes out in their garden and sees their dog with a garden fork sticking out of it.

"I’m used to dramatic scenes on stage but to start at that high a level was the biggest challenge. That scene sets the right temperature for the whole show."

Clare is best known for playing Ava Hartman in EastEnders but she had actually been in the soap previously in a cameo role as the head of a darts team in the Queen Vic.

"So I’d actually already been on set and I’d met Barbara Windsor," added Clare.

"But the best thing about getting the job was working with Ann Mitchell who played my mum Cora. She’s an amazing actor so for her to play my mum was a dream come true.

"I was also part of something which the nation loves which was great."

But Clare is most proud of her work on Saul Dibb's film Bullet Boy about a a family in crime ridden estate in east London.

She said: "When it came out people thought it was just another film about black boys and guns but really it’s a film about a young man who makes the wrong choices.

"He goes into youth custody and it starts on the day he comes out and he just gets caught up in a situation.

"The film shows how the smallest decisions can snowball and have a profound impact on your life.

"Before we started the film we did a lot of improvisation and character work.

"That was brilliant because often in TV and films you don’t have a lot of time to work out who you’re going to be and then you’re in there filming it.

"It was a great opportunity to work in a different way. I was very proud of the work when it came out and then it opened the London Film Festival so I had a great time."

Clare was also in Mike Leigh's acclaimed film Secrets and Lies.

She added: "I wrote a letter to Mike Leigh and I didn’t hear anything. But then about a year or so later I went to see him and my letter was on the table in front of him so I was impressed with that.

"He’d seen another film I’d been in called Ladybird, Ladybird and he said I was great in it."

Clare played the sister-in-law of one of the main characters Hortense (Marianne Jean-Baptiste) and working on the film became a bit of a family affair.

She said: "We were talking about the character and he said she has a seven-year-old son. My son Elias was seven at the time so they said bring him along.

"He doesn’t have any lines but he’s running around in the background and they actually gave him a credit in the film and invited him to the premiere and all that

"It turned out to be a great experience. I’ve always wanted to be an actor as long as I can remember since I was about five or six.

"I remember watching Judy Garland on Sunday afternoons and I wanted to be her.

"I suppose I’ve always been a bit of a show off and I consider myself really lucky that is what I’ve managed to do for the last 30 years."

- The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time is at Liverpool Empire from Tuesday to Saturday. Visit atgtickets.com

DAVID MORGAN