Review: THE BOY WITH TWO HEARTS, National Theatre
Photo credit: Jorge Lizalde
At its most basic explanation, theatre is an exercise in empathy. We choose the stage over screen to remove the barriers that protect us from potentially devastating stories. To realise these characters and emotions in three dimensions. And in the case of The Boy with Two Hearts, the true nature of the piece allows for this at an exceptional and heartbreaking degree.
This true story is based on one family's journey of escape from Afghanistan after their mother speaks out against the Taliban and has a death warrant issued upon her. Not only must the family escape against all the odds but one of the three brothers suffers with multiple heart conditions. They really are up against everything; the worst of our world has to offer and yet their spirit as a family, and more specifically as a brotherhood, stays consistently strong.
It's fantastic that this story can be told on a stage such as The National Theatre, as it provides the widespread platform that stories such as this deserve. This production gives a voice where many of the general public have only heard statistics. It helps to humanise headlines and allow for more understanding of the very real struggle people go through every day across the world.
The cast of the show play the family of five, and multi-role surrounding characters, in interesting and unique ways - think Come From Away but with a twist, as multiple cast members may play the same part at different times. When they are a group together, their chemistry and youthful innocence is fantastic, especially when juxtaposed with the devastation that they are going through. There's something even more saddening about seeing children accept this as the norm, when no human should have to go through this. Shamail Ali, Farshid Rokey, and Ahmad Sakhi (as Hessam, Hamed, and Hussein respectively) have a clear and authentic onstage relationship that provides the emotional heart of the show, allowing its story to reach its full potential.
The cast is joined by a solo singer, Elaha Soroor, who provides a backdrop to the story that wonderfully expands the emotional scope of the show. There's an ethereal depth in her voice that wraps the audience up and envelops them further into this story. The set is minimal, and enhanced by creative video design by Hayley Egan, which provides a greater sense of accessibility thanks to its use of creative captioning. All elements combine on the Dorfman stage to create an experience that is both truly theatrical and incredibly grounded in reality.
It's the cast's chemistry, paired with director Amit Sharma's keen eye for the timing and placement of emotional beats, and on top of that, the lived experience of writers Hamed and Hessam Amari that make this play one of the best pieces of theatre to come out of the National in recent months.
***** Five stars
Reviewed by: Callum Wallace
The Boy with Two Hearts plays at the National Theatre until 12 November, with tickets available here.
Please find below a selection of links to provide aid to families in similar positions to those as in The Boy with Two Hearts: