REVIEW
​Billionaire Boy, Garrick Theatre
21 July 2021
✭✭✭✭☆ 4/5

There are some things that money can’t buy. And you can take that on good authority from David Walliams, best-selling author of 26 books that have, combined, sold over 40 million copies worldwide, spanning 55 languages. Lucrative – and occasionally controversial – TV career aside, Walliams is inarguably something of a literary juggernaut, and it’s no surprise therefore that his novels are quickly being adapted for TV, film, and the stage.

Certainly, this production of Billionaire Boy is quite gleefully Walliams-esque in its impish humour, glittery campness and affectionate – if rather stereotypical – parodies of British culture. The story follows Joe Spud (the eponymous boy) whose father is a billionaire toilet paper tycoon. Joe is friendless and bullied, and, in a bid to finally make a true friend, convinces his father to let him join the local comprehensive school and pretend to be a normal, non-billionaire boy.

To divulge too much more of the story would be to spoil what is undoubtedly an engaging and at times thought-provoking piece, but audiences can expect a surprisingly diverse range of songs, some amusing vehicular set-pieces (think electric scooters, a motorcycle, and even a helicopter!) and reliably excellent turns from the nine-strong cast, the majority of whom play multiple roles with an almost giddy relish. Benedict Martin and Rosie Coles are particular delights: Martin brings a caricature-like quality to his roles as Joe’s slightly useless father and as the fearsome bully Dave Grub, while Coles seems to be on stage in a different costume, role and even accent with every passing scene – one minute she is the snooty Miss Spite, the next she is the villainous twin Sue Grub, then, for much of Act Two she is Sapphire, the dim-witted and outrageously superficial love interest of Joe’s father.

There is star quality throughout the cast, though, with Matthew Gordon and Jake Lomas believably earnest as Joe Spud and his on-again, off-again friend Bob, and Emma Matthews clearly enjoying chewing every available bit of scenery as the disgusting but oddly likeable Mrs Trafe. Irfan Damani, Matthew Chase, Raj Swamy and Mared Lewis bring the world to life, slipping in and out of the limelight as memorable featured characters, a slick and well-choreographed ensemble, and, at times, stagehands; the scene changes were executed with precision and flair by the company.​

The songs, like some aspects of the show’s technical and set design, call to mind the RSC’s popular production of Matilda. Individual characters all have their moment to shine, and the lyrics are enjoyably wordy and playful, although perhaps in places not entirely accessible for the young audience for which the production seems to want to play. That said, there’s plenty for everyone to enjoy, and a few nods and winks for the grown-ups with them (try singing “We fold paper around our souls” out loud)… 
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It is indeed difficult to definitively ascertain exactly the target audience for Billionaire Boy: there is no shortage of toilet and “gross-out” humour that seems best-suited for 5-8 year olds, but the show is never too shy to riff on humour that, while not exactly “adult”, is surely designed with grown-ups or at least older children in mind. One song is devoted entirely to common phrases employed by teachers (“Walk, don’t run”, “It’s not my time you’re wasting”, “If it’s so important, why don’t you tell the whole class” etc.) and plenty of others are quite lyrically complex and unconventional in form. If aiming at young children, one might expect at least a few simple songs with repeated, catchy choruses – think “When I Grow Up”, “Tomorrow”, “Bad Guys”, or indeed anything from a Disney musical – but Billionaire Boy does not seem interested in this, favouring mostly shorter, less conventionally-structured songs that do nonetheless bring flavour and life to the story.

This production of Billionaire Boy is presented by the Birmingham Stage Company, who have a rich and highly successful history of adapting popular children’s literature for the stage: the company’s credits include George’s Marvellous Medicine, various iterations of Horrible Histories, and Walliams’ own Gangsta Granny. Company founder and director Neal Foster is the mind behind the magic: for Billionaire Boy Foster adapted the novel for the stage, wrote the songs, and directed the production. Foster and his company can mark this production of Billionaire Boy as yet another success.

​Ashton Moore

David Walliams Billionaire Boy (click here for more)
Garrick Theatre
2 Charing Cross Road, London, WC2H 0HH

Tickets start from £19
Box office: 0330 333 4811
www.nimaxtheatres.com

17 July – 22 August 2021
 
Running time: 2 hours