Vamos Theatre, “the UK’s leading full mask theatre company”, has announced a second UK tour of Boy on the Roof, written and directed by Rachael Savage.
Boy on the Roof is the story of an unlikely friendship between Liam, a teenage boy with ADHD, and his 91-year-old neighbour Albert. Performed without words, it features a cast of three playing multiple parts: mask and physical theatre actors Angela Laverick and Emilie Largier, and Cirque du Soleil performer Aron De Casmaker.
With full face masks made by Russell Dean of Strangeface, the production features a full-length score and and film projection.
Vamos spent a year learning from people’s personal experiences of ADHD, in particular those of teenagers and parents. Savage had the idea for one of the characters to have ADHD after working with theatre-maker Gavin Maxwell, who was diagnosed as neurodivergent in adulthood.
She said, “when Gav was diagnosed with ADHD in his mid-30s, it was a huge revelation; the label he’d always carried as a ‘bad kid’ had a reason behind it. I’d like Boy on the Roof to raise awareness about ADHD as a real condition that has a huge impact on a person’s life, sometimes negatively but also positively.”
Boy on the Roof will tour from Thursday 6 February until Sunday 9 March, visiting Wolverhampton, Warwick, Corby, Chesterfield, Nottingham, Brecon, Hereford, Shrewsbury, Birmingham, Colchester, Ipswich and Worcester.