Interview: Pig Heart Boy at Newcastle Theatre Royal

 Bringing Pig Heart Boy To Life On Stage

Pig Heart Boy 

Newcastle Theatre Royal 

Tuesday 29 April – Saturday 3 May 2025

Based on Malorie Blackman's classic children's book, the stage version of Pig Heart Boy has been hailed by reviewers as "beautiful, hilarious, thoughtful and special" and "a stunning production of a well-respected story". Having opened in London, Pig Heart Boy is making its way around the country, and is being performed at Newcastle Theatre Royal this week until Saturday 3 May with its creator saying "Though I wrote the story a while ago, it is still as relevant today as it was when first published."

Leading man Immanuel Yeboah agrees. "It speaks to issues that affect young people," says the actor, who plays schoolboy Cameron in Winsome Pinnock's adaptation, "and it addresses the need for more organ donors, especially in the black community."

In the story Cameron is diagnosed with a serious heart condition and is in urgent need of a transplant. He is offered a new heart, but with a shortage of human donors the heart in question belongs to a pig named Trudy. Tensions at home and school ensue as Cameron is faced with a life-changing decision, then becomes a media sensation.

The character is a joy to play for Immanuel, who says: "He's cheeky, intelligent and shy but he has a confidence underneath that shyness, which is shown through how articulate he is in describing to the audience what is happening to him. I'm really enjoying delving into his emotions and testing my own heart through his story - asking myself 'Do I have a good heart?' and 'What is my relationship with my friends and my family?'"

The stage adaptation, he feels, honours the spirit of the book. "The thing I respect about Malorie is that she doesn't patronise young readers. She really tells it like it is. Like the novel, the play is very emotional, very physical and intense, but it's balanced beautifully with the playfulness of it."

Blackman is a celebrated British author and former Children's Laureate. She wrote Pig Heart Boy in 1997 to explore childhood illness, identity and the profound choices we make to survive. 

Christine During, who plays Cameron's school crush Julie and his mother Cathy in the stage production, read it when she was aged eight or nine and recalls: "I went on to read Noughts and Crosses and now doing this show has given me the urge to go back and look through her full catalogue of stories. I've always loved this particular story because it's about resilience, having a purpose in life, understanding what your goal is and the fact that that can change depending on what is going on in your life at the time. It's about relationships, all of those different dynamics and how layered they can be."

She's passionate about the need for organ donors in the black community. "There aren't a lot of black people on the donor list. That means that with a young black boy like Cameron their chances of finding a donor are much slimmer because you need somebody who shares a very similar genetic make-up. This play shines a light on how important it is to have conversations around what it is that we do with our bodies after we're gone - the relationship between the physical and the spiritual and how they can be separated so that your body can be used for betterment after your demise."

How significant is it being in an all-black cast, in a show based on a book by a black writer? "It ensures authenticity and we're honouring the story in the way that it needs to be told. With the language that is used, the reactions our characters have, the world that it builds, all that needs to feel real - whether that's for a black family watching themselves on stage or for a white family, an Asian family, anyone. It's about being welcomed into this space and seeing that we go through the same things but this mannerism or that word is expressed in this particular way for people of Afro-Caribbean heritage."

Christina Ngoyi plays Cameron's best friend Marilyn, a doctor and scientist named Dr. Ehrlich, TV presenter Rhys Evans and a newspaper reporter. She was familiar with Malorie's books from school and was especially fascinated with the subject matter of Pig Heart Boy. Relationships are one of the key themes of the story for Ngoyi, who says: "It's really beautiful seeing how Cameron interacts with everyone and how everyone interacts with him as a child who has an illness. It shows audience members grace and compassion and how those can go a long way."

Christina sees theatre as an equally therapeutic experience for the audience. We hold people's emotions, we navigate them through the story and we allow them to feel these things that maybe they didn't even realise they needed to tap into. That's such a beautiful thing."

As a creative arts therapist as well as an actor, Phoenix salutes the healing power of theatre. "Creative arts therapy is about understanding the power of creativity, what it does to the brain, creating new neurological pathways, helping you work around what you've gone through. In school my drama teacher said 'You allow people in the audience to have a cathartic experience, you are able to connect with them and take them on this journey, and you've got the power of emotion in your hands'. That has stayed with me. They can cry, they can laugh, then they leave feeling lighter."

Representation is as important to Olivia as it is to her co-stars. "It's beautiful to have these black stories showcased and to have that representation. Then on the flip-side of that it is nice for other people to learn about our worlds and our stories, people that aren't from our culture that actually might feel uncomfortable asking these questions. This show is a warm invitation to come and see an insight into our world."

Bringing young people into the theatre is crucial. "That's the reason I'm sat here talking with you today," Freeman smiles. "I think it's a beautiful thing to be able to open the minds of children and show them that it's art but it's also a job that they too can do if they really set their hearts and minds to it."

Photos: Ali Wright

Tickets:

Pig Heart Boy plays Newcastle Theatre Royal Tuesday 29 April – Saturday 3 May 2025. Tickets can be purchased at www.theatreroyal.co.uk or from the Theatre Royal Box Office on 0191 232 7010.

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