REVIEW | The Boy At The Back Of The Class, Rose Theatre Kingston
Farshid Rokey (Ahmet) in TBATBOTC. Credit Manuel Harlan.Written by Zoe
*Disclaimer: Gifted tickets in return for an honest review
Adapted by Nick Ahad
Directed by Monique Touko
“Is kindness more powerful than anything?”
An idea that reverberates throughout Nick Ahads and Monique Touko’s powerful stage adaptation of The Boy at the Back of the Class.
Based on the novel by Onjali Q. Raúf, this is the story of Ahmet, a young boy who has fled his war-torn country, in search of refuge. Alone, and separated from his family, Ahmet must now navigate school, friendships, bullies, and of course, finding his family.
The play begins with a single blue sheet that’s pulled up from the centre of the stage. Four school children (adult actors) swoosh the parachute up in the air. They take turns running underneath, lunging, diving, and looking up at the blue dome above them in amazement. Heightened by Giles Thomas’ sound design, there’s a lightness about this moment, as if the world is full of possibilities for these children. Contrasting with this, the second half of the play begins with the same blue sheet, but this time it represents the sea that Ahmet had to cross to reach England. Farshid Rokey (Ahmet) treads over it, filled with fear. It’s a simple yet symbolic prop that’s executed well.
Sasha Desouza-Willock is Alexa, the viewpoint character and, at points, the protagonist of the story. Alongside, is her ‘A Team’; Michael (Abdul-Malik Janneh) – clumsy and the record holder of gold stars, Tom (Gordon Millar) – the American kid, and Josie (Petra Joan-Athene), the fastest kid in school. Then there’s the class bully, Brenden (Joe McNamara), and the oh-so-spoilt Clarissa, played by the hilariously, brilliant Zoe Zak. They achieve the mischievous, playful, and curious nature of 9-year-olds, flawlessly.
Alexa, Michael, Tom, and Josie are curious about Ahmet, The Boy at the Back of the Class. Unlike some of the adults in the play, the children are instinctively kind to Ahmet; they want to get to know him, Alexa gives him a Sherbert lemon and Josie invites him to play football. But they don’t know why he’s not speaking or where he’s come from.
Lily Arnold’s set consisted of a large gym apparatus covering the back of the stage. It aided the characterisation of the children as the actors swung, leaned, climbed, and dangled from it, just as 9-year-olds would. The apparatus then becomes the staff room door, playground, a place for the ‘A Team’ to hide, a clock, a bus, the walls of Buckingham Palace, and a television screen. Arnold’s design is multifunctional yet uncomplicated and allows the imagination to run wild.
When Ahmet shares his heartbreaking past, the four best friends make it their mission to find Ahmet’s parents. A letter to the queen and an adventure to Buckingham Palace follows.
There’s an innocence about seeing the story unfold from the children’s perspective, which in turn has a bigger impact on the subject matter at hand. They unknowingly strip back the political complexities as their focus is on family and friendship. Alexa states towards the end of the play, “Ahmet is all of us”, and it was difficult to hold back the tears.
Rokey’s performance as Ahmet is superb. He captivates the audience through very little dialogue, but his body language and facial expressions speak volumes. We see Ahmet transform from the shy, anxious boy at the back of the class, to a confident, happier boy, surrounded by friends.
Although the pace dropped at times and certain transitions could have been slicker, Ahad and Touko’s adaptation is almost perfect. Despite being aimed at children, this production is for everyone.
Amongst the comical classroom chaos, this is a powerful and poignantly relevant story that has been beautifully brought to life.
The Boy At The Back Of The Class is performing at Rose Theatre Kingston until 22 February ahead of a UK tour. All of the information is available here.
☆ ☆ ☆ ☆
