Review: Billionaire Boy at Wolverhampton Grand Theatre is triumph for all family
A couple of pertinent questions were answered by this adaption of David Walliams’ best seller Billionaire Boy.
The first is: What happened to all the toilet paper at the start of the pandemic?
And the second: How do you land a helicopter on stage during an indoor theatre production?
Well, most of those missing toilet rolls clearly went into building the Billionaire Boy set and the second has to be seen to fully appreciate.
Everything about Birmingham Stage Company’s performance brings a smile to your face – from the loo roll set, to the helicopter, to the songs and (my daughter’s favourite character) newsagent owner Raj, who makes an amusing appearance in pretty much every Walliams story.
The story picks up with Joe Spud, played by Wolverhampton actor Matthew Gordon.
Joe is the son of a billionaire toilet paper entrepreneur and has everything money can buy – except a friend.
Sick of being ‘The Bumfresh Boy’ – as christened by his bullies – Joe leaves his private school to join the local comprehensive, hoping to keep his identity a secret.
Unsurprisingly, it doesn’t last long and so the story unravels from there as Joe seeks not only a true friend, but his father’s love as well.
The musical numbers came as a bit of a surprise, but they were all hits – particularly the one formed of things teachers would say, such as: “Walk, don’t run” and “You’ve not just let yourself down, you’ve let the whole school down”.
The biggest testament to this show was the round of applause at the end and that everybody left Wolverhampton's Grand Theatre grinning from ear to ear.
My daughter and I loved Gangsta Granny – but this was even better. An absolute triumph for all the family.
Billionaire Boy continues at Wolverhampton Grand until Sunday, with tickets starting from £9.50 (plus £4 fee per booking) for Thursday 1.30pm, Thursday 7pm and Friday 10.30am. Tickets start at £12.50 (plus £4 fee per booking) for Friday 7pm, Saturday 2pm, Saturday 7pm and Sunday 11am.
