Writer: Joakim Daun
Director: Maria Jose Andrade
If only The Boy were stranger, this tale of two refugees and a grief-stricken mother might work. But Joakim Daun’s script tells us everything to such an extent that the play’s narrative seems improbable. If we knew less, we might believe more.
Daniel, a man presumably in his 30s, has come to England with a young boy, Emilio, who isn’t his son. They are refugees and the play begins with them being processed. The authorities presume that Emilio is Daniel’s son and Daniel does nothing to correct them. It’s best that they stick together; after all, they share the same language, the same traditions, the same country.
Another story appears, at first unrelated to Daniel and Emilio’s arrival. Liz is on the phone to her dad. Their relationship seems tense, but she is excited to show him her new baby. Tragically, it dies before he gets a chance to visit. Later, Daniel, with Emilio in tow, comes to clean her house. Quickly, Liz begins to love Emilio as her own child.
There’s little more to the story as Daniel and Laura tussle for Emilio’s affection, but the scenario never feels authentic and Liz’s intentions never seem wholly benevolent. She is aloof and condescending, not much different from the female social workers and case workers Daniel and Emilio have met since they stepped foot on English soil. Shereen Roushbaiani plays all these women in the same manner.
Of course, Emilio needs a mother figure in his life, but Daniel’s care and love are more authentic and Daniel seems genuinely kind. The play’s publicity suggests that The Boy is ‘heartwarming’ but instead Liz’s strange interest in Emilio and unwarranted hostility to Daniel means that you hope that she never gets to keep the boy.
Jerome Ngonadi is more sympathetic in his role as Daniel. The ‘newcomer’ to England works hard and is always trying to do the right thing despite the rules that he has to follow. Ngonadi does well to show Daniel’s exasperation and fatigue. As Emilio, Eva von Elgg is a charismatic presence on stage, but the script gives von Elgg little to work with. This boy is very one-dimensional.
Ophir Burton’s jazzy sound design is an odd choice for this examination of belonging. Of course, jazz is often improvised and perhaps it’s a metaphor for the way that the three characters are improvising, making things up – such as family- as they go along. Possibly that is the music’s aim, but the jazz makes this play feel very old-fashioned.
The creative team should be commended on trying to tell what now is, unfortunately, a familiar story in a new way, but at the moment The Boy fails to convince.
Runs until 4 November 2023
