The Boy with wings: quick links
The Boy with Wings: patchy journey
From the moment the lights rise, The Boy with Wings plunges the audience into a swirl of alien wars, parkour and puppetry. Adapted by Arvind Ethan David from Lenny Henry’s popular children’s novel, the production aims to thrill young audiences – but the journey is patchy.
Tunde Wilkinson (Adiel Boboye), aged 12, suffers mysterious back pains and a fear of the dark. Under the watchful eye of his protective mother Ruth (Mia Jerome), he seems ordinary – until he sprouts wings and discovers he is the son of avian alien warriors. His father (Stephan Boyce) appears late in the play, while feline Queen Juba (Jessica Murrain) arrives on Earth searching for him. Tunde and his friends Dev (Samir Mahat) and Kylie (Millie Elkins-Green) navigate intergalactic conflict while learning about courage, friendship and identity.
The Boy with Wings: uneven pacing
The pacing is uneven. The first half drags under exposition and Juba’s long Shakespearean-style monologues, which, while delivered with gusto, are heavy for the target age of seven and over. The second half, by contrast, rushes through key revelations and the interplanetary showdown, leaving the climax feeling rushed and undercooked.
Boboye is a likable and sympathetic Tunde, balancing nerves and emerging bravery. Jerome provides a warm, witty anchor as Ruth. Mahat and Elkins-Green generate genuine energy as Dev and Kylie, with Elkins-Green’s rapping particularly sparky. Murrain dominates as Juba, though the length and tone of her speeches sometimes clash with the comic and sci-fi elements, leaving moments of tonal dissonance.
The Boy with Wings: technically ambitious but inconsistent production
Technically, the production is ambitious but inconsistent. Laura McEwen’s set shifts effectively between Earth and outer space, and Gillian Tan’s lighting adds sparkle and video-game-like flair. The video projections for the parkour sequences are imaginative, yet the on-stage physicality is limited – what might have been thrilling backflips are reduced to a cautious forward roll. The wing reveal, central to Tunde’s story, begins with animation before he appears with physical wings on stage. It’s the crescendo of the first act, yet it entirely fails to lift off. Some inventive stagecraft or puppetry could easily have made his first flight genuinely thrilling. Sound balance occasionally muffled dialogue and lyrics, dulling the punch of the musical numbers.
There are fleeting wins: interactive ‘Which way did he go? panto-style moments drew genuine cheers from the children, and the cast handles these lighter beats with charm. Yet the tonal shifts – from comic to epic to lyrical – create a patchwork that never fully coalesces.
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The Boy with Wings: more stagecraft or puppetry needed
Other opportunities are missed: the video in the parkour scenes is creative and effective, but we lack real physicality – a couple of backflips would have thrilled young audiences far more than the one cautious forward roll we get. Similarly, the first-act wing reveal could have benefited from stagecraft or puppetry rather than relying on animation alone.
The Boy with Wings is imaginative and ambitious, blending rap, puppetry and intergalactic adventure while championing diverse characters. It does not quite soar, but there is enough energy, humour and charm to keep young audiences engaged–- and may spark a first taste of live performance for those new to theatre.
If only Tunde’s wings could carry the show as effortlessly as he carries himself, this intergalactic adventure might truly soar.
The Boy with Wings will be performed at The Rep until 30 August 2025.Â