By Lewis MacLean.
The first thing that caught my eye (and ears) in Wonderboy – which opened at MAST Mayflower Studios last night – was the use of vivid colourful shapes and funky music courtesy of innovative use of digital technology.
‘This was new’, I thought and as time went on, the use of digital technology became a strong tool in the form of live screen capturing and great signposting for phonetical purpose. It all delivered to what I felt was the overall philosophy of the play – inclusion.
However, amidst the bright lights and floating letters, I honestly did not anticipate having my heartstrings plucked so hard.
Almost every character in this play seemed so familiar to me that I was constantly trying hard to remember where I had met them before. The acting on its own was enough to make the experience worthwhile, but captivation came in all formats – digital technology, wordplay, timely humour, crushing tragedy, and even just old fashioned stage presence.
Great use of technology that both assisted the narrative and strengthened the inclusive philosophy.
The story is essentially about a young boy called Sonny who has a severe stutter. The audience are invited to see the world from his point of view, we learn of his disability and the tragic emotional torment behind it.
We also get a peek of the broken society him and his friends live in. It’s not an intense therapy session, as the script is padded with quality comedy, but the play does offer plenty of questions to walk away with, if you care to ask.
Alongside the heart-warming story of Sonny’s struggle, there’s a wider social context available in the form of frustrated teachers struggling with suffocating bureaucracy in a cash strapped teaching industry. The ‘ villain’ of the story is the head of school, but even they are given enough chance to explain themselves, fighting their corner against the competitive struggle of school funding cuts.
Under the surface you could be forgiven for thinking the character is seemingly supressing mental health issues of their own. Our hero of the tale expressed himself through art as communication when speech wasn’t available, proving the creative arts can be, for some, a necessity as opposed to a luxury.
The dedication of the song interpreter and live word capture was equally inspiring, coming from a person who grew up with a heavily hearing and speech impaired cousin, but I never thought to learn a word of sign language.
Wonderboy teaches us that Inclusivity is king. It runs until Saturday, so do yourself a favour, leave the cinema and the musicals, take one night off and immerse yourself in a genuine tale of human spirit – you can look, hear and even feel for yourself.
Tickets for Wonder Boy (Tuesday 5 – Saturday 9 November 2024) are on sale at mayflower.org.uk or 02380 711811.
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