“Refugee Boy” at Northern Stage

TUE 18 – SAT 22 MAR
Tue, Fri & Sat 7.30pm, Wed 10am & 6pm, Thu 6pm

The stage adaptation of Benjamin Zephaniah’s celebrated novel, Refugee Boy comes to Northern Stage.  As a brutal war rages between Ethiopia and Eritrea one teenage boy is brought to Britain by his parents and left alone in Berkshire. To protect him from the war. To find a new, safe home.

Alone, in a weird new world Alem is bounced between children’s services and the Refugee Council, all the while he is trying to grow up, just like every teenage boy. In this strange grey country Alem meets three unexpected allies as he struggles to be seen as more than just the Refugee Boy.

At a time when the subject of refugees is on the front of many papers, this play looks at many of the real issues faced by people who come to the UK to seek refuge. Adapted for the stage by Lemn Sissay (Official Poet of the London Olympics 2012) who has drawn upon his own life experiences to produce this powerful and pertinent script, Refugee Boy is an affecting, hilarious production that pulses with energy, love, loss and hope.

“For all the darkness, Sissay weaves in poetry, laughter and, as the sky beyond the ruins clears to starlight, moments of awe” The Times ★★★★

“Gail McIntyre’s pacy and impressively seamless production” The Guardian ★★★★