19:45, Tue 17th – Sat 21st November 2015 at ADC Theatre
Michaelmas Week 6

Based on Jamila Gavin’s novel and first staged at the National Theatre in 2005, Coram Boy is an emotionally overwhelming play set against the backdrop of adolescent love, abandoned babies, cruelty, murder, social prejudice, friendship and the music of 18th century England.

At the heart of this play is the story of two boys from very different backgrounds. Alexander, the son of Lord Ashbrook and a musical prodigy, runs away from a life of duty as heir to the family estate in pursuit of personal and creative freedom. Meshak Gardiner is the impoverished, mentally-damaged son of the sinister Otis – a man who promises a better life for abandoned children. During their troubled adolescence these very different life journeys become intrinsically bound, particularly through Aaron, the illegitimate son Alexander unwittingly leaves behind.

Though Aaron starts his life in the Coram Hospital for Foundlings, as he grows into a young man it becomes clear that he has inherited his father’s musical ability, a gift that could ultimately reunite his family.