The Boy At The Back Of The Class, UK Tour (2024)
Written by Hollie for Theatre & Tonic
Disclaimer: Gifted tickets in exchange for an honest review.
Caution: This production contains flashing lights, strobe lighting, theatrical smoke, pyrotechnics, haze and replica firearms.
This Children’s Touring Partnership production has arrived at Leicester’s Curve this week. Established in 2010 the company is proud to produce ambitious and imaginative adaptations and productions and The Boy At The Back Of The Class is definitely that!
Adapted for the stage from the bestselling novel by Onjali Q. Raif, a children’s author and activist who works with frontline refugee response teams. The novel is a firm favourite in the primary school curriculum across the country as it presents the themes of loss, loneliness and love. Curve’s main theatre was the perfect setting for this timely adaptation due to Leicester’s history of immigration and its large and culturally diverse population.
The production opens with the song ‘Story of my life’ and that is exactly what this is. The story of the protagonist Ahmet’s life, played by Farshid Rokey, is told from two different perspectives across both acts of the show. Ahmet is a Syrian refugee who is new to the classroom as well as new to the country. We have all been new to school at some point in our own lives and have been there on our first day but we haven’t all been new to school and unable to understand or talk to anyone. The first act tells the story of Ahmet’s life as he joins his new school but from the perspective of a girl in his class called Alexa, played by Sasha Desouza-Willock.
The diverse cast of actors set the scene in the school classroom and play different characters throughout the production. The adults were playing children’s roles but this felt very natural and they portrayed the mannerisms of modern day children to perfection. As well as Alexa, a range of children’s personalities and characters are depicted, such as Michael, who is played by Abdul-Malik Janneh, a neuro-diverse boy who is absolutely hilarious!
As Ahmet begins at the school, the A team as they are otherwise known, are very inquisitive and begin to ask their teacher Mrs Khan, played by Priya Davdra, lots of questions so that they can find out more about him. During the first act the story is told from the children’s perspective as they begin to worry about Ahmet as well as struggle to understand his circumstances as his are so far removed from their own.
The children in the production and the audience members begin to develop their understanding of Ahmet and his journey to England as the story develops. The themes of racism, ignorance, trafficking and compassion are cleverly interwoven throughout the story but also provide a realistic depiction of what life can be like for refugees new to the country. Some of the characters cast their judgment based on the minimal information they have learnt about Ahmet and at the beginning of Ahmet’s time at the school, the other children didn’t even know what the word refugee meant.
The scenery, designed by Lily Arnold, has been really cleverly created and is adapted with each new scene along with different levels across the stage and seamless transitions. Kloe Dean as movement director has worked with the scenery and different styles of dance to provide the audience with emotional pieces of choreography, and these elements are brought together really well by Director Monique Touko.
At the close of Act One, Ahmet declares ‘Why doesn’t anybody understand me?’ Ahmet’s confidence in speaking the English language has developed over time and he begins to enjoy playing football with his classmates. After the interval, the second act is effectively a mirror image of the first as it provides us with Ahmet’s perspective as his teacher allows him to tell his new friends the story of his life.
His school is now his refuge and his safe place and as the other characters start to learn that ‘Kindness is more powerful,’ Ahmet grows in confidence. It is all a part of his story. As a Primary School teacher in a Leicester City school myself, the majority of our pupils face these exact issues and feelings as they join their new classes with limited English in a new city on the other side of the world. I was intrigued to see how the ideas and feelings were portrayed on stage and this production provided the perfect story of Ahmet’s life.
People are like jigsaws, made up of lots of different pieces and this production shows us that perfectly.
The Boy At The Back Of The Class continues to play at Curve until Saturday 8th June 2024.
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