“Pig Heart Boy” the pseudo-eponymous tale of Cameron (Immanuel Yeboah), the 13 year-old-boy who suffers a life with a seemingly terminal heart condition. This clever, challenging yet puny production sees a young boy faced with a big question – whether to take a radical surgery and accept a heart though experimental xenotransplantation? Nevertheless, all who are connected to Cameron travel on a journey through the lens of existential questioning of reality, ethics, society and identity. Based on the novel by Malorie Blackman, and adapted for stage by Winsome Pinnock, Tristian Fynn-Aiduenu, as Director, has skilfully taken this production from page to stage at The Playhouse Theatre, Liverpool.
The production opens with an interesting set to the beat of an iambic throb. The visceral motif doesn’t stop there as rope lights create a venous system which almost makes the set anthropomorphic. The stage is dressed with ancient relics of yesteryear (rear projection TVs) and ‘oldskool’ speakers from the 90s – ideal, as this production has something to say.
I’ll start with the sound design as, for me, it was a star of the show, created by XANA. A careful mix of polyphony and ostinato synthesised sounds created the aural feeling of electrocardiographic beats spliced with some banging tunes straight of the back of a NOW! CD. One thing the audiophile in me has to state, but it did get better, the opening of the production started with a contest between the poetic patter of Cameron and the non-diegetic SFX which made it tricky to suspend disbelief – if that what was desired. As I say, it got better.
The ensemble were fantastic, but, of course, we quickly see that they are more than that. Nobody gets off lightly in this production and multi-rolling is key. This was done well by the cast to a large degree, albeit, some of the auxiliary characters of the cast sometimes lost momentum and clarity of accent and nuance. That said, there was not a weak actor on stage and all utterly commendable within their own right. A real strength of this cast was the non-verbal-communication. DK Fashola as movement director did that really clever thing where movement wasn’t the main vehicle of the production, but it certainly got us there faster. I almost always tighten up and brace when there is any hint of slow motion but here it was done well, biomechanically well, and this total theatre production was clearly developed by an excellent company.
Totalling just 1hour 50 minutes including an interval, this is a snappy performance – it’s the end of Act One before you know it, and Act Two is even shorter. Even though the performance is short, we really do see a strong narrative arc, and moreover, real development and change in all of the characters. Immanuel Yeboah as Cameron does a fantastic job – a well-modulated poetic voice. My favourite character though was ‘Nan’ played by Chia Phoenix often physically and narratively in the background, she gained the affection of the audience and evoked tears-all-round when she sadly passes in a tasteful, stylised yet not satirised, death. Her character really turned the mirror on the audience and through her anecdotal quips brings out the heart-warming but morally provocative elements of the production. I must say, Phoenix’ secondary role of Trudy the disco-queen donor pig was a bit too much for me on a sober Tuesday evening – don’t listen to me though, it got a squeal out of the KS2 audience members below!
Andrew Exeter’s lighting deserves a mention. The use of projection and lighting was clever, I'm sure XANA and Paul Wills as Designer enjoyed working together as there was a real synchronicity of visual-aural experience which I really appreciated.
All-in-all, a great show with a stellar cast and company who have created an excellent production of a great novel. It’s a shame my Circle was at <50% capacity as it deserves a full house.
This production runs from Tuesday 18th to Saturday 22nd March 2025 before moving to the Lowry and then South.
Reviewer: Nick Hill
Reviewed: 18th March 2025
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