Review: PIG HEART BOY, Unicorn Theatre - Tour

Photo credit: Ali Wright

Cameron is 13, a keen swimmer and coping with a progressing heart condition. Caused by a virus, his heart failure is so serious that only a transplant can save him; but one donor heart that might have suited him has already ended in disappointment. The only hope seems to be a new procedure by which a pig heart is transplanted into a human.

This was all science fiction when Malorie Blackman’s well-known novel for children was written in 1997, although 2022 saw the first use of this procedure in real life. Today, a young person like Cameron would be offered the much wider range of medications for heart failure which now exist, but the focus of this piece is much more on the ethics and implications of cross-species procedures, and the ensuing issues.

Pig Heart Boy has already been adapted into a TV series, but this Children’s Theatre Partnership production, with Sheffield Theatres and the Unicorn, is a remarkable theatre piece, not just dramatising but also illuminating and developing the concepts in the book.

Although the basic storyline remains almost the same (apart from the last moments), various characters have been gender-switched and Cameron’s friendship group and family are brought into sharper focus as is necessary for the 1 hour 40 mins runtime. Aimed at 9-13 year olds, Winsome Pinnock’s skillful and sympathetic adaptation is truthful, convincing and also very funny. The young people in the audience were hooked from the beginning and engrossed to the very end, quick to recognise the truth of the portrayal of families and friendship.

We first meet Cameron at the swimming pool, and then at school, where his friend Marilyn and his possible love interest Julie are quickly sketched in as are the other classroom characters. At home, we meet his parents and begin to learn about their difficult relationship. We are quickly drawn into the new idea of a pig heart transplant, a decision that threatens to tear apart Cameron’s parents.

The research scientist proposing the procedure is broadly drawn, and played with wit and verve by Tre Medley. We are firmly into science fiction here but that is no drawback when staged as well as it is here. From then on, we hurtle from one phase to another, with the audience hanging on every development and aghast when Cameron decides to tell his best friend – in strictest confidence of course – what is to happen. As we all knew would happen, the news gets out and the successful procedure is followed by difficult issues with the press and animal rights protestors.

It's a great story, already successful in other forms, but what makes this theatrical version so successful is the combination of a skilled cast and a wildly inventive production team. All of the cast are able to switch in a moment from one character to another, with Chia Phoenix perhaps leading that field with four roles including a sympathetic Nan and a feisty pig called Trudy. Christina Ngoyi has four roles too, but mainly gives a sensitive portrayal of best friend Marilyn. Cameron’s conflicted parents are believably played by Christine During (also making her mark as Julie) and Akil Young. In the central role, Immanuel Yeboah is startingly good, making contact with the audience from the first few moments and quickly getting us on side as his confidantes. He even, at one point, gets us all to practice deep breathing with him.

A talented cast then with no weak links; but Tristan Fynn-Aiduenu’s production lifts the experience on to a whole new level. Design from Paul Wills that mixes metaphor with artefact, hinting at the period setting but also reminding us at all times of the beating heart that is the centre of the story, is skillfully enhanced by Andrew Exeter’s lighting. Also central to the piece is the combination of music (XANA) and movement (D K Fashola), with whole sections of the story told without dialogue.

A stunning production of a well-respected story, wholly suited to the target age range but likely to be enjoyed by many other audiences as well. It’s touring to Sheffield, Liverpool, Salford, Coventry, Wolverhampton, Norwich, Newcastle, Poole, Northampton, Canterbury and Leicester between now and June – a must for your diary!

***** Five stars

Reviewed by: Chris Abbott

Pig Heart Boy plays at London’s Unicorn Theatre until 22 February, with further info here.