The Boy with Two Hearts opens at the National Theatre this October

The Boy with Two Hearts opens at the National Theatre this October.

Wales Millennium Centre’s widely acclaimed adaptation of Hamed and Hessam Amiri’s book will play at the Dorfman theatre from 1 October to 12 November 2022.

The production is directed by Amit Sharma and adapted for the stage by Phil Porter. The cast is Shamail Ali, Houda Echouafni, Dana Haqjoo, Farshid Rokey, Ahmad Sakhi and Lisa Zahra, performing alongside the award-winning Afghan vocalist and composer, Elaha Soroor.

Completing the creative team are set and costume designer Hayley Grindle, lighting designer Amy Mae, sound designer and co-composer Tic Ashfield, movement director Jess Williams and video designer Hayley Egan. Casting is by Sarah Hughes CDG and associate director is Sepy Baghaei.

Herat, Afghanistan, 2000. When a young mother speaks out against the Taliban, she and her husband are forced to flee their home and country with their three sons.

Embarking on a long and terrifying journey across Russia and through Europe, they seek final refuge in the UK.

But, as their eldest son’s life-threatening heart condition worsens and requires urgent surgery, their escape soon becomes a race against time.

Hamed and Hessam Amiri said: “When this production was first staged at Wales Millennium Centre, it was emotional to see our family’s journey come to life on stage and to relive those many precious moments we had along the way. We were amazed by the reaction from audiences and critics as they lived those moments with us, and are so excited to be reaching an even wider audience as the play comes to the NT.

“We can’t wait to share our story again with as many as people as possible. Our hope is to simply give the audience a chance to see our family’s journey through a different lens, and the human experiences behind the word refugee.”

For more information and tickets, visit nationaltheatre.org.uk