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Why Laughing Boy - and his doggedly determined mother - will move you to tears, writes GEORGINA BROWN
Connor's mum, Sara, calls her son LB, short for Laughing Boy. Also London Buses, which her fun, funny child cuddled as others kids cuddle teddies. He hated shops, loud noise and darkness.
He's intent on getting revenge on the leviathan that took his leg, and the play's two big scenes — encounters with sperm whales on the ocean waves — are genuinely thrilling: one ending with the stage bathed in red light, signifying the gory mess that killing one of these huge beasts involved. Orphaned British-Asian Frankie (Laila Zaidi) works at her local cinema in Milton Keynes with her 'sister-cousin' Goldy (Katie Stasi); a chance meeting there with Bollywood director Prem (an underused Navin Kundra) takes her to Mumbai, to star in a film. Andy Kumar's costume designs add lustre — saris unrolling to form a film backdrop when the action moves to Mumbai is an inspired touch — and the talented cast elevate the otherwise unmemorable songs: a mix of stirring pop ballads and Bollywood beats by Niraj Chag and Tasha Taylor Johnson.
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