WHEN Nick Ahad was growing up in Keighley, he went to the Alhambra to see the panto. It fostered an early love of theatre that would shape his career, in various ways.
This month the playwright, critic and broadcaster returns to the Alhambra to see his acclaimed stage adaption of The Boy at the Back of the Class. And he might bring along a special guest – his Olivier Award.
As reported in the T&A, the play won Best Family Show at the Olivier Awards – the Oscars of the theatre world – in April.
“When the producers told me we’d be finishing the second tour at the Alhambra I was over the moon. Now that we’re coming to town as Olivier winners, I can’t imagine a bigger thrill,” beams Nick.
Suitable for audiences aged seven-plus, The Boy at the Back of the Class is about Ahmet, a boy who has fled war-torn Syria and arrives in a British school, initially struggling to fit in. Based on the novel by Onjali Q Raúf, the family adventure is a timely story about friendship, kindness and compassion, engaging children in discussions around refugee rights.
The Boy at the Back of the Class runs at the Alhambra Theatre from May 19-23. Call (01274) 43200 or visit bradford-theatres.co.uk
*Nick what are audiences in store for with The Boy at the Back of the Class?
“It’s thrilling, it’s exciting and I think it’s surprisingly funny. The thing I’m particularly proud of is that I’ve managed to jimmy in as many jokes – including terrible dad jokes – as I possibly could. It’s really moving as well. I’ve been moved by this play so much, from rehearsals to every single time I see it on stage. I’m in floods of tears every time.”
* What’s the basic premise?
“It’s about a little boy from Syria, he joins a classroom in the UK, where a group of young people become his friends and they decide to try and help him find his family. In that brilliant, beautiful, innocent way that children have they come up with what they think is the most obvious solution.”
Serkan Avlik as Ahmet
* What attracted you to Onjali Q Raúf’s novel?
“The story is really important and so huge-hearted. And it tackles possibly the biggest question that faces us as a society: How do we want to treat people that need our help? The book does that magnificently. It’s such an honour to have been trusted to tell this story on stage.”
* What challenges did adapting it present?
“It was a really difficult thing to adapt because you have the hero of the story who doesn’t speak any English. My first major challenge was: How do you possibly put that on stage? So I was very excited when I realised a way to do just that.
Then there are the practical elements of a story where you have a football match or end up going on the Underground, on a literal great big adventure. Designer Lily Arnold and director Monique Touko came up with a smart way to achieve it.”
* Did you consult with Onjali during the writing process?
“We had a lovely first meeting where she said she was happy to let me do the adaptation, then after the first draft she gave some notes and again for rewrites I’ve done for the new tour. She disagrees on some things, I disagree on some things, then we find a place where we’re both happy.”
* Did you find any common ground with her?
“Loads! Onjali is Bangladeshi and so am I. We’re forever told that people with our background are kind of low performers at school To have someone like Onjali, who shares my background, write a best-selling book that kids are reading in schools and those kids think she’s an absolute hero is really inspiring. We shared experiences as people of colour living in the UK today. A lot of that informed the book and ultimately the story we both wanted to tell on stage.”
Serkan Avlik and Sasha Desouza-Willock. Image: Manuel Harlan
* Does the story seem even more timely now than when the book was published?
“It feels more urgent now than ever. What we’ve seen over the two years since we first toured the show is a ramping-up of the hostility and danger that people like Ahmet face. I’m really sad that we are where we are, but also hopeful that this story will in some way help to change some minds.”
* Do you feel it’s important that children understand why people become refugees?
“Absolutely. On the first tour we got letters from school kids, one was from a little girl who said: ‘I’ve never met a refugee before but after seeing the play I’m going to make friends with one’. Refugees and asylum seekers have become the bogie man, thanks to stories we’re told, but this story shifts that narrative.”
* How are touring productions and regional theatre crucial to the arts?
“This is a drum I can’t bang loudly enough. The reason I’m a playwright, a theatre critic and arts presenter is because I got to see the RSC at the Alhambra when I was eight. Without shows coming to venues outside London we won’t have a future generation of artists because until you can see it you can’t believe that you can be it.”
* What’s the importance of children’s theatre?
“It goes back to me seeing the RSC when I was at primary school in Keighley. I’ve done a bit of children’s theatre. They respond in the most extraordinary way. The fact that children were behaving like our production was a panto when we first saw it with an audience, out of their seats, booing the baddies, makes you realise how honest they are.”
* What do you hope children take from The Boy at the Back of the Class?
“We live in a scary time where we’re told to concentrate on things that separate us. I hope they leave this thinking about things that connect us instead, as well as thinking that we can change the world. I always write about what it’s like to be a minority in Britain today, which this does. But I don’t shy away from big crowd-pleasing work, which I hope this is too.
“I can’t tell you how much it means to me to put on a play at the Alhambra. It’s where I first saw theatre. Later, when I was there reviewing shows I used to think ‘What would it be like to write something that could play here?’ Now I get to find out.”
* The Boy at the Back of the Class runs at the Alhambra Theatre from May 19-23. Call (01274) 43200 or visit bradford-theatres.co.uk