On Thursday my son Max and I were invited to the press night for Desert Boy, the result of a collaboration between director/musician, Felix Cross and writer, Mojisola Adebayo at The Albany, Deptford. The play begins in Deptford (a few miles from where we live) with teenager Soldier Boy, on the threshold of life and death with a knife in his belly. A stranger appears to him and takes him and us on a journey, back 300 years to his home in the Sahara, a slave ship, America to pick cotton, and onwards. Throughout the play we are returned to Soldier Boy’s life story in South London.
The play is a wonderful, absorbing and very moving fusion of physical theatre, a fascinating and poignant story and fabulous music, ranging from rapping to beautiful a cappella singing that made my heart surge. The humor felt relevant, making both my son and I laugh.
Desert Boy at The Albany