Winner of the Best Family Show Olivier Award 2026, The Boy At The Back of The Class returns to Blackpool Grand this week, sharing a heartwarming tale of a refugee boy finding his place in an English classroom. GCSE drama student, Safina Stack, attended opening night.
Told from the point of view of nine-year-old school children, The Boy at the Back of the Class is a book to play adaptation that tells a heartwarming story of refugee Ahmet, seated at the back of a Year 5 primary school classroom. The story tackles issues associated with immigration, such as the spread of misinformation or how negative viewpoints can affect children and others in general.
Despite these serious themes, the play is intended for children and the tone is kept light and humorous through the use of four characters: Josie, Mike, Tom and the narrator/main character, Alexa – a quartet also known as ‘The A Team’.
Whilst the first half of the play focuses on the mystery surrounding the titular Ahmet, the second half delves deeper into his past and what The A Team can do to help make his future better.
Opening night of the play at Blackpool Grand Theatre saw multiple changes in cast members who were sick, causing swings and understudies to step in. Despite this, all the adult cast gave very convincing performances of the children they were playing and every actor completely embodied the character they were portraying.
The use of multi-roling was hardly noticeable due to the excellent execution from all the cast members, helping you easily invest in the range of characters shown. Supporting cast members depicting two classroom bullies did a phenomenal job at transforming into adult side characters.
The set, made up of metal bars resembling a school climbing frame, was used intuitively as characters swung and climbed impressively and seamlessly through the action of the play. There was also an effective use of lighting, behind the bars and on the actual shapes. I personally liked the motif when Ahmet eyes were described as ‘like a lion’ – the background flashes red, turning Ahmet into a black silhouette. Techniques like this were very effective and really captivated the audience.
The book, by Onjali Q. Raúf which has become a staple in primary school reading, was originally published in 2018, so the play takes place then. Despite this, the play had been updated to contain multiple modern references and props, helping a younger audience engage and relate to to the story. On arrival it was great to see lines of primary school children ready to enjoy a night at the theatre, especially to see a story with such an important moral played out.
When it comes to an older audience members, I personally liked the reference to ‘To Kill a Mockingbird’, another book that was later adapted into a play which I recently saw at The Lowry. There are clear parallels between the two stories and taken together they demonstrate the generational cycle of hate, discrimination and a lack of acceptance. The story may have transferred from the 1960s Southern States to a modern day British classroom, but racial prejudices sadly endure.
It’s easy to empathise with the characters, whose story resonates with young people who are just discovering their identities, and adults who recognise the injustice and oppression.
As Alexa states in the play, ‘It’s not bad to be different, it’s just different’. That one line captures the heart of the play. It’s a story that encourages empathy, promotes tolerance, challenges assumptions and reminds us how powerful kindness can be, especially when it comes from children who are still learning what the world should look like. Maybe that’s what makes it so powerful. It doesn’t just tell us things need to change, it shows us how change can start.
The Boy at the Back of the Class is at Blackpool Grand Theatre until 9th May. Tickets are available here.
