Adapted from Lenny Henry’s book The Boy With Wings, this show for children flies into the Polka Theatre in Wimbledon this week. Young Tunde (Adiel Boboye in his stage debut) seems to be an ordinary, if rather nervous, 12-year-old boy.
His mother (Mia Jerome) is rather overprotective, and his father (Stephan Boyce) seems to be on a particularly arduous sales trip, and he’s started to get niggling pains in his back.
We, the audience, are brought into the confidence of a talking cat called Juba (a sleek and sure Jessica Murrain), who is seeking a special boy who has magical powers. In fact, the boy has wings.
How the two story threads of Tunde and Juba come together is fairly entertaining, although it takes the whole first act for the big reveal, and I longed for a bit more dazzle and technological wizardry.
Arvind Ethan David’s adaptation offers songs (written with Khalil Madovi), a bit of video work (by Gillian Tan, but surprisingly underused given the subject matter), and some audience interaction to keep the little ones happy.
There are puppet birds who gossip, and Tunde has two best friends Kylie (Millie Elkins-Green) and Dev (Samir Mahat), who draw him out of his shell. It would have been good to see more puppet work and offer a real sense of scale.
Parkour, video games, and a father who just happens to be otherworldly, are the key triggers of The Boy With Wings. It also offers a diverse representation of characters and cast.
Some of the lighting work by Tan is excellent, particularly a moment when the stage floods with stars, while Madovi’s sound design allows ambient sound and rap beats into the tale. The set and costumes by Laura McEwen were impressive.
The Boy With Wings is a tale about growing up, doing the right thing, being heroic, and not being afraid that life might be dangerous. It has a sense of the absurd and of science-fiction, and of personal resilience.
The show is a good one, with strong performances, but could fizz and flash with more innovation, a consideration of the spectacular aspects of the story, and possibly even a sprinkle of magic for the whole auditorium.
I’m giving this 3 stars.
The Boy With Wings continues at Polka Theatre until 16 Aug with details here.
Image credit: Jake Bush & Adela Ursac