Olivier Award-winner Sally Cookson (A Monster Calls) directs the critically acclaimed Bristol Old Vic production of Wonder Boy by Ross Willis, an inspiring story about the power of communication, coming to Theatre Severn 30 September – 2 October.
Winner of the 2023 Writers’ Guild Award for Best Play, Wonder Boy is a heart-warming and inspiring story told through the experiences of 12-year-old Sonny who lives with a stammer. Sonny must find his way in a world ruled by vicious vowels, confusing consonants and the biggest beast of them all – small talk.
Making their professional theatre debut are LAMDA graduates Hilson Agbangbe (Princess Mirror-Belle) who plays Sonny and Naia Elliott-Spence (La Boheme) as Roshi. Ciaran O’Breen (Can Bears Ski?) plays Captain Chatter with Eva Scott playing Wainwright (Fool Me Once- Netflix; EastEnders) and Jessica Murrain (As You Like It; King Lear) as Sonny’s Mum/Fish. Actor Matt Lim who attended Shrewsbury School between 2002 – 2007, will also understudy the role of Captain Chatter.
Packed with playful humour and thrilling original music, all performances of Wonder Boy will include live Creative Captioning on stage throughout. On Tuesday 1 October at 2.30pm, an Audio Described performance will take place for blind and partially sighted theatregoers, followed by a British Sign Language interpreted performance on Wednesday 2 October at 7.30pm.
Sally Cookson, Director of Wonder Boy said “The play is about what happens when a person communicates differently and the challenges they face when fluent speech is the expected societal norm. It felt entirely natural to include Creative Captions as part of the overall design of the show to tap into the major theme of communication.”
Beki Poole, Theatre Severn’s Marketing Manager said “We’re thrilled to be welcoming the cast of Wonder Boy later this month. Wonder Boy is a hugely accessible production open to all, and we can’t wait for audiences to experience this powerful production.”
Wonder Boy opens at Theatre Severn on Monday 30 September and runs until Wednesday 2 October.
Tickets can be booked through the Box Office.
Shropshire Live is regulated by