I had a tough time explaining The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time to my friend. “The play is sad and hopeful, but mostly intense and a little scary,” I told her. “A boy tries to find out who killed a dog, then he goes on a train trip to London.” She was skeptical. “It doesn’t sound very scary.”

But in the hands of playwright Simon Stephens, it really is. Like the 2003 book by Mark Haddon on which it’s based, Curious Incident is told from the perspective of 15-year-old Christopher Boone, a young man living in small-town England, whose self-described “behavioral problems” make ordinary things—and people—overwhelming and confusing. While Haddon’s apparent portrayal of a child with Asperger’s syndrome has been criticized by some advocates since the book’s release, Haddon has resisted efforts to make Christopher an archetype.

In any case, the play—which won a boatload of Olivier and Tony awards upon its debuts in London and New York, respectively—is designed to get viewers into Christopher’s head. Because he’s alarmed by noises, certain sounds are deafening in the theater: cracking open a beer can, a distant vacuum cleaner whirring, subway doors opening. The handful of actors work with a scheme of exacting, precise projections designed by Jared Mezzocchi, who also co-directs with Round House artistic director Ryan Rilette. Mezzocchi’s designs turn the sparse set into a hand-drawn, pop-art world, making Christopher’s after-school routine into a video game, for example, or a trip through the London Underground into a sort of action movie. Some of these displays are less inspired than others: During one late scene about a math test, screens behind the action are emblazoned with … math problems.

The plot—which begins with that dead dog mystery and quickly shifts into a different mystery concerning Christopher’s parents—moves at a breakneck pace. At the center of it is Christopher, played tirelessly by Harrison Bryan, and the voices and faces that swirl around him. It’s the quiet moments between Christopher and his anxious father (Cody Nickell) and beloved teacher, Siobhan (Tessa Klein, in a sort of omnipresent, Obi-Wan Kenobi-style role) that are meant to anchor the show. But amid the highly technical shell, the emotionally resonant sections, many made of lengthy monologues, feel oddly flat.

One exception is a lovely sequence in the first act, in which Christopher explains with great technical detail and imagination how he’d explore outer space. The set is alight with digital stars and galaxies, yes, but the real marvel is in the choreography of the ensemble helping Christopher mime space travel. In this technical and human feat, accomplished by a dozen hands working together, it’s a reminder that even the most computerized of productions need a little heart.

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time runs at Round House Theatre through Dec. 22. Tickets $46-$93. Runtime two hours and 35 minutes with one intermission.