Imagine yourself in Cameron’s situation: you’re thirteen years old. After contracting a virus that weakens your heart, you cannot join in with your classmates’ exhilarating games. Suddenly there’s new hope – a doctor tells you that he can give you a working heart through a process called xenotransplantation. He can give you a pig’s heart.
Pig Heart Boy is a play that tackles this concept. Based on the book by award-winning author Malorie Blackman and adapted for the stage by Winsome Pinnock, this story aims to get the audience thinking about how they would react in this difficult situation. Is it right to breed animals for organ donation? Is it ethical to genetically modify them for this? What would you decide to do?
To make it easier for the audience to consider these questions, we as the audience are included in the play throughout. From the moment you set foot in the theatre, the atmosphere engulfs you – the room is darkened and a continuous, subtly changing heart beat pulses from a speaker raised up on what looks like scaffolding, sending vibrations throughout the room. Cables of red light emerge from this speaker, wrapping around the scaffolding and glowing in time with the heart beat to symbolise arteries, veins and capillaries. TV screens showing static are dotted around the stage. Unable to ignore the odd setting, we as viewers are wondering what is going to happen even before the play had begun.
The set and lighting design was the perfect mix of unsettling and thought-provoking. This may come as a shock after the eerie description I have just given, but this show was filled with absolute joy from beginning to end! Cameron was portrayed by Immanuel Yeboah who perfectly captured the vulnerability and curiosity of a thirteen-year-old in this inconceivable situation. When faced with his dilemma, Cameron is both aware that the outcome could be fatal but also hopes that he might gain special powers like Spiderman. These contrasting thoughts show Cameron’s varying levels of maturity, allowing the audience into his world and exude feelings of empathy.
Yeboah’s mannerisms and the way he spoke were spot on for the character of Cameron, as were those of his fellow classmates – totally believable as young teens in the process of finding themselves. Christina Ngoyi (who played Cameron’s best friend, Marilyn) was particularly strong in capturing the naivety of a young girl worried about her best friend and the guilt that she feels when she has to break his trust. At their age, breaking a “pinky promise” is a bigger worry than a major surgical procedure.
Most cast members play one of Cameron’s classmates and at least one other role in the production. As well as classmate Rashid, Akil Young portrays Cameron’s father, Mike, an optimist who thinks about the bigger picture and what the transplant could do not only for Cameron but for scientific and medical progression too. Christine During plays Cathy, Cameron’s mother, whose maternal instincts make her apprehensive about the transplant as she is concerned for the safety of her son. Young and During play these roles fantastically, evoking strong emotional reactions from the audience. They are fantastic in this production and I look forward to seeing what they go on to do next.
Cameron’s Nan (played by Chia Phoenix) represents the middle mark of the pig-heart debate and is able to rationalise both sides. Her character also brings a running theme of gratitude, encouraging the audience to think about their own personal blessings. Phoenix is amazing in this role, wise and effortlessly funny. It was only when I got home and read my programme that I realised she also plays Trudy – the pig that is being used for Cameron’s heart transplant and appears to him as a “pigment” of his imagination. Dressed in my favourite costume in the entire show, Trudy is a bright pink cheeky ball of energy and reminded me of Cat from BBC’s Red Dwarf (a reference for the nerdy dads out there - too niche?!).
Another costume that I loved the design of was that of Dr Bryce, the surgeon carrying out the genetic modification of Trudy the pig as well as the transplant itself. He appears in a white coat – not the usual coats that a surgeon would wear but because we are seeing this from Cameron’s point of view, Dr Bryce looks more like a rapper. Dr Bryce is portrayed by Tre Medley, who combines kooky with clever, explaining the difficult process of xenotransplantation in terms young Cameron would understand. Medley is brilliant in this role, providing an unwavering American accent and allows his character to be funny yet serious when necessary.
The aspect of the show that I loved most was how the direction incorporated elements of dance and physical performance into the story. Scenes where the students played games in the swimming pool were visually beautiful, the actors moving in slow motion to emulate ripples underwater. One of my favourite scenes was Cameron’s dream sequence while he was under anaesthesia when undergoing the transplantation. Here, the cables I mentioned previously were lit up in multiple colours and appeared to vibrate while the actors moved in an ethereal manner.
While this play deals with a very difficult situation for such a young person, Pig Heart Boy is the perfect coming of age story about love, friendship and family. Shows where the cast play multiple roles can sometimes be a little jarring, however the cast of Pig Heart Boy transition between characters flawlessly to the point where I sometimes did not even notice! I have come away from this thought-provoking, joyous show smiling and counting the things I am grateful for.
Pig Heart Boy is at the Tanya Moiseiwitsch Playhouse until Saturday 15 March 2025 before continuing on a nationwide tour. I cannot recommend this fantastic show enough – get your tickets now here!
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