Review: THE BOY WITH WINGS, Polka Theatre
Photo credit: Jake Bush & Adela Ursac
On a blisteringly hot afternoon, it was good to escape into the cool and welcoming auditorium of Polka Theatre to see The Boy with Wings, a co-production with Birmingham Rep. Lenny Henry’s popular children’s book has been adapted by Arvind Ethan David, with songs written by him and Khali Madovi.
The book was written to meet a need rightly identified by Henry, to create fantasy for children with non-white characters. Tunde, our hero, is twelve and still a bit afraid of the dark. He also has back pain, later revealed as the sprouting of wings. His mother turns out to be a scientist, given the task of looking after Tunde, who is actually an alien from an avian planet. That planet has been perpetually at war with a planet of cats, one of whom we meet in the form of Juba. Tunde and his friends get involved with this interplanetary war and eventually help him reunite with his long-lost father.
There’s a lot going on here; not a problem perhaps in a book, where the imagination can do all of the heavy lifting, but putting interplanetary warfare on the tiny Polka stage is a big ask. Too big, in fact, and the two key events that end each act, Tunde sprouting wings and flying, and his role in bringing peace to the two planets, are not seen at all, just reported on. It would have been good to have ended the first half with at least a puppet of Tunde flying overhead.
Adiel Boboye makes his professional debut as Tunde, and provides a sympathetic portrayal of the young hero. His friends are played by Samir Mahat and Millie Elkins-Green, the former effective at parkour and Elkins-Green clearer than the rest of the cast when rapping, a skill where diction and sound balance is crucial if the audience are to hear the words.
Stephan Boyce is the avian leader, imposingly winged, and Jessica Murrain gives a full-spirited portrayal of Juba the cat, doing her best with some very long speeches, and the requirement to speak in rather clunky verse a lot of the time. The best performance comes from Mia Jerome as mother Ruth, engaging, believable and always audible, not always the case in a cast where too much of the dialogue is lost at times, whether through uneven balance with the music or unclear diction.
Daniel Bailey’s production benefits greatly, however, from the set and costume design by Laura McEwen. She has managed to make the familiar Polka stage look deeper than ever before, and her designs for the wings and the interplanetary creatures all match up to expectations. Fans of the book will want to see the story put on stage, and they will have the chance to do so at Polka till 16 August before transferring to the Studio Theatre at Birmingham Rep.
*** Three stars
Reviewed by: Chris Abbott
