Full casting announced for LAUGHING BOY at Jermyn Street Theatre

Jermyn Street Theatre have announced full casting for the world premiere of Laughing Boy, which plays at the venue from 25 April-25 May.

Written and directed by Stephen Unwin after Justice for Laughing Boy by Sara Ryan, the cast includes the previously announced Janie Dee as Sara, Forbes Masson as Rich and Alfie Friedman as Connor, alongside Lee Braithwaite (Cowbois, RSC) as Owen, Molly Osborne (The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Southwark Playhouse) as Rosie, Charlie Ives (A Christmas Carol: A Ghost Story, Nottingham Playhouse) as Will, and Daniel Rainford (Noises Off, Theatre Royal Bath) as Tom.

The production is designed by Simon Higlett, with lighting by Ben Omerod, sound by Holly Khan, video design by Matt Powell, SFX design by Anna Wood. and casting by Ginny Schiller.

Laughing Boy is a true story. It is the story of Connor Sparrowhawk. Connor is 18 and is, well … Connor. He loves buses, Eddie Stobart, and Lego. He‘s also autistic and has learning disabilities. When he dies an entirely preventable death in NHS care, his mum Sara can’t get a straight answer as to how it happened. But Sara and her family won’t stop asking questions and soon an extraordinary campaign emerges. Demanding the truth, it uncovers a scandal of neglect and indifference that goes beyond Connor’s death to thousands of others.

This is that story but is also a portrait of Connor himself - a young man who generated enormous joy in his family and friends, a boy who was surrounded by laughter and love wherever he went.

Both personal and political, Sara Ryan’s impassioned, frank, and surprisingly funny story bursts onto the stage for the first time.

Stephen Unwin said: "It’s a real honour to bring Connor Sparrowhawk’s story to the stage and I’m touched that Sara Ryan has entrusted me with it. I just hope Laughing Boy catches the love and laughter, the grief and the commitment, and the creativity, energy and blazing commitment that was the mark of the original campaign for justice for Connor and a better world for so many. As the father of a young man with learning disabilities and epilepsy, this runs deep.”

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