The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind @sohoplace – “uplifting, important and unlike anything else on stage right now”
The Royal Shakespeare Company‘s The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind is based on the true story and memoir of William Kamkwamba, a bright and curious 13-year-old boy living with his family in an African farming village.
From a TED Talk at the age of nineteen, to a book, a film and now a musical on stage, William’s story has reached audiences all over the world. Set in 2001, when a devastating drought hit Malawi and crops failed across the country. William’s family, like so many others, were pushed to the edge of survival, scraping by on a single meal a day.
When his father can no longer afford the fees, William is forced to drop out of school. Determined to keep learning, he sneaks into the local school library, where he discovers a book about windmills and realises that if he can build one, he could generate electricity, pump water, irrigate his family’s parched fields and save them from starvation.
Dismissed and doubted by neighbours and even by his own father, William scavenges scrap from a local junkyard, piecing together bicycle parts, pipes, an old fan and rusted metal. With the help of his friends and against the odds, he builds a working windmill from rubbish.
The musical explores his relationship with his father (a proud farmer struggling to accept that his son’s strange experiments might be the family’s only hope), the strength of his mother and sisters, the impact of climate, poverty and politics on rural African life and the power of education, curiosity and stubborn hope.
Being staged at @sohoplace means the actors enter and exit the stage through walkways around the audience. In this show it creates corridors of harmonies, with the cast moving around the auditorium as they sing and adding wonderful layers to the music.
Shelley Maxwell‘s choreography is joyous and the score blends modern musical theatre with the most uplifting African sounds.
What confused me a little was how the villagers, having been starving and visibly growing frail, suddenly found the energy to carry on with no real explanation as to how they were still surviving. Perhaps the daughter, who had moved to the city, was sending money home, but this question never quite seemed to be answered.
Set into the stage are large hatches that open to reveal soil, which is raked to sow the crops. It is a lovely visual touch, but it becomes a little distracting with no real payoff in the story (I had been hoping the ending might reveal a fruitful harvest).
The opening of the show is also a little strange. The first ten minutes of the cast greeting the audience and encouraging them to dance could easily be cut. I think it was trying to create a feeling of community, but it ended up feeling a touch tiresome.
The performances are wonderful. As the lead character, William, Alistair Nwachuckwu (star of the recent short film ‘A Friend of Dororthy‘ with Miriam Margolyes) has a beautiful tone to his voice. Whilst none of the vocals in the show feel perfect, they are authentic and real and there is something very beautiful about Alistair’s tone. Idriss Kargbo also deserves mention as he stands out with his youthful and sassy portrayal of William’s friend Gilbert.
By the end, William’s invention brings light, water and possibility back to his village. It is ultimately a story about resilience, family, the value of knowledge and what one young person can achieve when no one else believes it is possible.
The Boy Who Harnessed The Wind is an uplifting and important story, beautifully and authentically told. It’s a bit long and not all of it makes sense, but there’s nothing else quite like it on stage right now and that makes it very special indeed.
★★★★
West End Wilma
Photos by Tyler Fayose
