Brandon University (BU) Theatre is preparing to stage the Canadian debut of Boy, a play by Leo Butler that was named one of the top 10 plays of 2016 by The Daily Telegraph in London.
The production will run from March 2 – March 5 at the Evans Theatre at BU.
Boy follows a day in the life of Liam, a young boy without much in the way of a stable home, struggling to find his place in the world. Liam is awkward and unsure of himself, as much grappling with notions of manhood and masculinity as he is with finding purpose in his life.
Fresh out of school but with no job or guidance, Liam wanders London trying to find something, someone, he can hold on to. His interactions with strangers are clumsy – blundering advances toward girls and women collide with eye-wateringly embarrassing attempts to connect with guys he can look up to, the ‘big brother’ figures he desperately craves. But all his attempts are misplaced. He cannot seem to judge situations or people, lacking the experience or skills to assess either. He cannot fathom that there are bad influences out there, and people he should be wary of. No one has ever taught him or shown him. So instead, Liam lurches from one fumbled attempted connection to another.
Lurching from laughter one moment to tears the next, the audience sees modern big-city life through the eyes of a 17-year-old boy, the kind of kid you would pass on the street and never notice.
England’s Radio Times called Boy “the kind of thing to turn first-timers on to theatre forever.”
BU Theatre director James Forsythe met Butler and obtained the rights for the Canadian premiere after seeing the play in London in May 2016.
Boy will begin at 8 p.m. on March 2, 3 and 4, and at 2 p.m. on March 5. The play runs about 85 minutes without an intermission. Tickets are $10 and available at the door. The Thursday, March 2 showing is free for students of Brandon University, Assiniboine Community College and Brandon high schools. The production is not suitable for children.
Contact
- Brandon University
- communications@brandonu.ca
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