Hamed and Hessam Amiri’s book ‘The Boy with Two Hearts’ takes the stage this autumn, exposing the journey of a family of refugees, to the audience, for an eye-opening and unique theatre experience.

 

The story of ‘The Boy with Two Hearts’ follows the journey of a family living in Herat, Afghanistan in 2000, when it was under Taliban control. The play begins with Fariba, (Hamed, Hessam and Hussein’s mother), explaining that she feels that women are experiencing the brunt force of the Taliban rule, and speaks out against their condemnation of Afghan women’s freedom; this causes a spiral of events set in motion by their critical escape from Afghanistan, in search of the safety of the UK, where Hussein, who has an undiagnosed, potentially life-threatening heart condition, is hoping to receive the medical care he deserves.

 

The play, adapted by Phil Porter, who has written plays and libretti, utilises dual-roles, as the cast each play multiple characters, highlighting their own proficiency in acting as well as the sheer number of people involved in the Amiri family’s escape. Porter also uses subtitles, shown on the set, which allowed the characters to speak in Farsi, as well as the singer, Elaha Soroor, to add to the performance; the audience could read what the characters were saying as well as hear it, which reminded the audience that this whole play revolves around a book, explaining a true story. After recently seeing the show, Pub Perera described it as a show that “Sheds light on how hope drives people to make an arduous journey.” The power of language is undeniably explicit in this play, which emphasises that we should be listening to others’ stories: especially ones less palatable in the first instance.

 

‘The Boy with Two Hearts’ has struck the balance between being captivating and easy-to-follow, making it an cathartic performance, with much to take away from it. Based on a true story, this play has moved away from the metaphorical and theoretical to anchor on the harshness that this story is about people's real lives.  

 

This show will continue to run from 1st of October to the 12th of November 2022, at the National Theatre, London, so don’t miss out on this opportunity for tickets!