Mad About the Boy

As you walk into the theatre, a teenager in a Nike zip-up hoodie and sneakers is dancing to a bass-heavy hip hop beat. He stops, smiles, looks directly into your eyes – and keeps dancing. The boy (Bayo Gbadamosi) is caught in a downward spiral and nobody can save him—nobody can stop his mad dance. Not his father, his counsellor and certainly not you.

In this new play written by Gbolahan Obisesan and directed by Ria Parry, fresh, witty and convincing dialogue is delivered by compelling actors. A compassionate investigation into the plight of inner-city youth, the show carries with it implications that stretch beyond any neighbourhood and across borders.

Gbadamosi fabulously embodies a hard-nosed teen infused with a street-tough capitalistic sense of individualism. And we can never really be sure if this boy is truly “bad” or if he is just doing what he needs to do, or thinks he needs to do, in order to survive.

How can we save our youth living in an environment where peer-pressure and violence controls everything? How can fathers and sons learn to communicate? What can people do when the odds are stacked against them? These are the questions Mad About the Boy movingly explores – but in the end, you’ll have to decide for yourself.