Review: The Boy At The Back Of The Class (Bristol Old Vic / UK Tour)

Review by Seth Wilby

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

How do you make a good family show? That was the question buzzing through my mind on the way to the Bristol Old Vic last night. Kids' theatre is so important to introduce a new generation to this magical medium, but it’s also so much more than that. It can make you laugh, it can make you smile, and it can teach you more about the world. And I’m pleased to say that The Boy At The Back Of The Class does all of that, and more.

Based on the 2018 novel by Onjali Q. Raúf, The Boy At The Back Of The Class follows a group of Year Five children after the empty chair at the back of their classroom gets filled by Ahmet, a nine-year-old Syrian refugee. What follows for Ahmet’s peers is an education, and also a self-driven quest to befriend Ahmet, and reunite him with his family.

What makes the play so special is its heart. Nick Ahad’s adaptation balances kindness and hope with the tragedy in the background of the story by telling it from a child’s perspective. This means that, instead of offering haunting reflection, it delivers a heartwarming message on compassion and understanding those who are different from us, which can expand to much wider contexts. When asked why she would want to help Ahmet, nine-year-old Alexa questions why she wouldn’t. “He’s exactly the same as me”, she responds. And with that one line, you can feel the world become a slightly nicer place.

Ahad’s writing can achieve both extremes. For the adults in the room, there are tear-inducing moments, as we juxtapose the childhood innocence portrayed on stage with the harsh realities of our world. Yet, for the children, this won’t seem like a story about that, but, instead, one on the power of friendship and kindness, with enough fun spy sequences and toilet humour to keep them fully engaged, as well as an entertaining diversion from what’s ‘realistic’ for the final storyline. This message is never overly preached, but instead neatly woven into every element of the story- the questions after the children overhear the phrase “filthy refugee boy”, for example, are answered with a classy and educational honesty.

By placing children at the forefront, a young audience connects with the story and its accessible nature, with much of that down to Alexa, who tells our story. Played by an undeniably likeable Sasha Desouza-Willock, Alexa embodies all that the story is about, endlessly emitting compassion, innocence, and understanding. Through the story of Alexa’s late father, we take a dip into tales of childhood grief, delivered affectingly by Desouza-Willock, and, through her quest to befriend Ahmet, we are reminded of all that’s good about the world. Her questions are thoughtfully answered by her mum and teacher (both played brilliantly by Natasha Lewis), and her eagerness to make things better for Ahmet is spectacularly hopeful.

As we progress into the second act, Ahmet, who has been mainly just a discussed presence, gains his own voice. Behind his “eyes like a lion”, Serkan Avlik’s portrayal has given us glimpses of fear and the occasional glimmer of hope, such as when he’s invited to join in a football game. Watching Ahmet grow in confidence and as a character is genuinely moving, yet it’s in the second act that he delivers the most powerful moments of the show, when explaining his journey to England, and those he lost along the way. It’s a genuinely heartbreaking scene, delivered with such powerful intent you could hear a pin drop, yet Ahad achieves this in such an elegant way that children will see the sorrow, but not dwell on it, instead focusing on how the future can be better.

The whole cast takes on their duties nobly and effortlessly manages the difficult task of portraying children without seeming obnoxious. The standouts have got to be Alexa’s friends, “The A-Team”, played by Abdul-Malik Janneh, Petra Joan-Athene, and Jonny Warr, who each bring childlike individuality to their roles, bouncing around the stage and infusing the production with joy and fun.

Monique Touko’s direction (with co-revival direction credited to Amy Crighton) is tight and energetic, taking full advantage of the theatrical medium in a way that ensures this is a superb introduction to theatre. Keeping a room full of kids attentive for two hours is not an easy task, yet the audience did not drift for a minute, thanks to the liveliness and pace. Touko uses Lily Arnold’s set (a mesh of those climbing frames you always saw at school, but probably never got to use) excellently, bouncing us between locations and having the cast scramble across them to provide an even more dynamic quality to scenes.

The Boy At The Back of The Class is a spectacular piece of children’s theatre that I, despite being far from its target demographic, loved! It’s brimming with compassion, education and a poignant hopefulness, and executed to a sophisticated perfection in a show that should be mandatory viewing for children and adults alike. You leave the theatre buzzing, as a better person than you were when you entered, and with hope that the future generation will ensure the world follows suit.

The Boy At The Back Of The Class plays at the Bristol Old Vic until 4th April. Tickets from https://bristololdvic.org.uk/whats-on/the-boy-at-the-back-of-the-class

It continues to tour until 23rd May with dates and tickets at www.theboyatthebackoftheclass.co.uk