Guantanamo Boy- Live Theatre Review

On 6th November 2013, my drama class and I attended a theatre production play called ‘Guantanamo Boy’ at the Half Moon Theatre. Guantanamo Boy is based on a Novel, written by Anna Peera, with a theatrical adaptions made by Dominic Hingorani. The play is based on true event based on the 9/11 attack. The story revolves around a boy called Khalid, (Antonio Khela) a fifteen-year-old Muslims boy from Rochdale, who is abducted from Pakistan whilst on holiday with his Mum. Khalid is accidentally caught up in an extremist protest and captured by the American military, which happen to confuse him with being a terrorist. He’s then taken to Guantanamo Bay for three years. The whole story looks at the

The play is about a boy called Khalid, play by (Antonio Khela), who is an ordinary 15 year old from Rochdale. He's passionate is on football, enjoys joshing with his friend, has his adolescent eye on a pleasant white girl and finds his sari-clad, gently pushy mum a bit much. He is also obsessed with very sophisticated violent computer games which are his downfall when his mother drags him to India to visit family. There in India he is suspected as a terrorist, he ends up in ‘Guantanamo Boy’, where he time there is both painful and darkening.

Cast:
Antonio Khela- Khalid Written and Directed by Dominic Hingorani
Bhawha Bhawsar- Mum/Abdul Designed By Rachana Jadhav
Roisin O’ Loughlin- Niamh/Agent Based on the novel by Anna Perera
Edward Nkom- Holgy/Wade

Acting/ Directing
The main characters were Khalid, mum Niamh and Holgy. The production of the play had used a variety of rolling for all the actors and actress except for the exception of Khalid. Throughout the whole play, Khalid changes his physicality, tone and facial expressions from the beginning of the play. This is because he had experienced, which had taken an effect on his life, something that’ll he’ll never, ever forget, as it one of the moments in in time that has taken effect into humanity. We as the audience can see the pathway he takes as the characters, which has been portrayed by Antonio Khela performances.

Levels had used effectively in the performances when the actors had to climb onto the scaffolding. This had shown the audience the purity and enthusiasm of the youth that they had portrayed through the performances. The also gets the audience members to interact with the actors and actresses as it makes them feel as though, they are part of the storyline. This too can be related towards Khalid, who had happened to be trapped behind the chicken wire in the demonstration. He also calls out to the audience asking for their help, this again makes the audience feels as they part of the play. After calling out for help, which he doesn’t receive, everything around him falls silent as he would have while being in Pakistan. We as the audience can tell from his facial expression that he was helpless and powerless.

The audience is positioned around the stage, while the actors and actresses are performing. This is because we as the audience members are able to get the whole watch the performers in depth, whole catching each actor and actress’s body language, facial expressions. Furthermore we are able to in depth with the play as we can the full view of everything which is going around in the play.

The creation of the play forms with the idea of globalisation and the clash of cultures. At the beginning of the play both Khalid and Niamh swap lines in Gaelic, whilst in Guantanamo Bay, Abdul, one of the prisoners is teaching Khalid some words and phrases in Urdu. At the beginning of the play, it is seen that Khalid appears to have many friends on an online game, connected with people in Pakistan and Cairo. However when he is captured by the American forces, it is seen by the audience members that they do not speak the same language and are not able to communicate properly. At the end of the