|
 Felix
Humble’s father has just died, Flora, his mother, wants to marry George,
his ex-girlfriend’s father, Felix can’t decide what to do with his
father’s ashes and his stutter has returned. For a theoretical physicist
who has mastered the intricacies of quantum mechanics and the ‘string’
theory, such minor problems ought to be easy to handle, but in this
Hamletesque comedy, Felix seems unable to cope.
Humble Boy is an achingly funny look at life, love, lost
dreams and loneliness. From the dysfunctional and long-suffering
neighbour Mercy to Rosie (with whom Felix has had a brief fling), the
play is peopled with characters who are at times hideously familiar to
an audience. Their relationships and conversations are spiced with wit
and vitriol in equal measure and whilst Felix waits for his ‘Eureka
moment’, the domestic world disintegrates around him.
In a stunningly created garden-in-the-round, Humble Boy
brought July in January to The Mission Theatre. A cast of Next Stage’s
strongest actors helped further to dispel the post-Christmas blues and
provided the perfect alternative to the traditional pantomime fare of
the January theatregoer. |
