Hamed Amiri came to the UK as a refugee at the age of 12. To put it mildly, he's had his fair share of challenges growing up during his transition into adulthood. He's now a motivational speaker and influencer in the education sector, and a board member at Coleg Gwent, Wales. Oh, and along with his brother, an author. And now their book has been made into a play too.
So, on Monday night Stuart and I went to see said play, The Boy With Two Hearts, at the Dorfman Theatre on London's glitzy South Bank.
It tells the true story of one family's escape from the Taliban and their flight and fight to save one of their three sons who is suffering from a severe heart complaint. So, it is the story of two journeys; the first via Afghanistan, Russia, Ukraine, Germany, France and eventually to the UK, the second through the NHS.
They are both brutal journeys but heart-warming ones too. The production is meta and visually appealing. Glowing writing appears on stage in both English and Farsi as the action proceeds. As do various captions, iconography and imaginary that help to drive the drama forward.
Rather like Flight (Bridge Theatre), Europe (Donmar Warehouse) and Flee (currently on Netflix) it is a story we have partly heard before. The unimaginable journey of the refugee. But I would say here it fulfils its mission perfectly - sharing the family's story with a wider audience and changing perceptions surrounding refugees and diversity.
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