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14 Phonebox Magazine | April 2025Childhood illness, identity and the choices we make to survive might not sound like ideal topics for a stage production, but Pig Heart Boy has proved that theory wrong, says Phonebox%u2019s Tom Johnston.Award-winning British author and former Children%u2019s Laureate Malorie Blackman%u2019s novel Pig Heart Boy has been adapted and made ready for the stage, and it%u2019s coming to Northampton%u2019s Royal & Derngate next month as a powerful new production.Currently touring the UK, the play, adapted by Winsome Pinnock and directed by Tristan Fynn-Aiduenu, is a poignant adaptation of the 1997 book exploring themes of illness, identity and survival. Cameron, the main character, has always dreamed of living a normal life: making friends, going to school, and diving to the bottom of his local swimming pool. But his world is turned upside down when he is diagnosed with a serious heart condition and faces an urgent need for a heart transplant. With time running out, Cameron is off ered a new heart, and he fi nds himself having to face a diffi cult decision. How far will he go to get the life he desperately wants back?%u201cThough I wrote the story a while ago, it is still as relevant today as it was when fi rst published, and the topic of organ donation is still an urgent one,%u201d says Malorie Blackman. %u201cIt will be a thrill for me to see how audiences react to the challenges Cameron faces in the play.%u201dPig Heart Boy is a co-production with Unicorn Theatre, Sheffi eld Theatres, and Children%u2019s Theatre Partnership, marking an interesting collaboration between leading institutions dedicated to creating thought-provoking theatre for young audiences. The cast includes Immanuel Yeboah as Cameron, Tr%u00e9 Medley as Dr Bryce/Andrew, Akil Young as Mike/Rashid, Christine During as Cathy/Julie and Christina Ngoyi as Marilyn/Elrich/Presenter.The development of Pig Heart Boy was helped by a group of young creative associates who have experience with health conditions and through the Unicorn%u2019s partnership with Great Ormond Street Hospital%u2019s GOSH Arts, who have facilitated a relationship with the children, families and staff with a focus on cardiology wards. Pig Heart Boy is at the Royal & Derngate Theatre from Wednesday 21st to Friday 23rd May.Heartfelt topics put to the test