Winner of an Edinburgh Fringe First Award 2011
Boy wants to be bad like the rest.
Dad wants the best for the Boy.
Man wants the Boy to do what’s best.
This timely, urgent and razor-sharp drama sees a teenage boy fighting to save his reputation. Questioning where responsibility lies, Mad About the Boy explores the growing divide between the generations who gave, those who earned, and those who demand respect.
‘Urgent…intelligently written, well-acted and thought-provoking.’
The Daily Telegraph
An Iron Shoes Production in Association with the Unicorn Theatre
Recommended for ages 14+
David is an international lighting designer working in theatre, dance, ballet and opera.
Dance productions include Absent Made Present (New Commissions for ROH2 Linbury, Royal Opera House), Peter and the Wolf (European/UK Tour and New York), Secret Garden Ballets (Hatch House, Somerset); Andersen’s Fairy Tales (Bulgarian National Ballet) and Die Walkuré (Denmark New Opera).
Recent theatre credits include Blues In The Night (Hackney Empire); Smallholding (Hightide Festival and Soho Theatre); Bloodshot (UK Tour, Vienna, Canada and St James’s Theatre, London); The Pillowman and The Beauty Queen Of Leenane (Leicester Curve); The Sound Of Music (Cork Opera House); Mad About The Boy (Unicorn, Young Vic and Bush Theatres); Puss In Boots (Hackney Empire), FEN (Finborough). Other work at the Unicorn Theatre includes The Velveteen Rabbit, Hannah, Henry the Fifth, Dr Korczak’s Example and A Winter’s Tale. Extensive work at the Nuffield Southampton includes Don Quixote, Twelfth Night, God of Carnage, Hamlet, Three Sisters (TMA Award), A Streetcar Named Desire, Frankenstein, Nelson, Playboy of the Western World and many others.
Off-Broadway designs include Unsuspecting Susan starring Celia Imrie and Tabloid Caligula.
David is an Associate of Iron Shoes Theatre.
Gbolahan Obisesan recently held the role of Genesis Fellow/Associate Director at the Young Vic Theatre. In 2018, Gbolahan’s adaptation of the Booker Prize-nominated novel The Fisherman will premiere at HOME, Manchester (New Perspectives Theatre). Previous directing credits include: 2017 Olivier-nominated Cuttin’ It (Young Vic, Birmingham Rep, Sheffield Crucible, Royal Court, Yard Theatre); Off The Page, a short film for the Royal Court/Guardian’s microplays season; We are Proud to Present…, 66 Books (Bush Theatre); How Nigeria Became: A story, and a spear that didn’t work (Unicorn Theatre); SUS, The Web (Young Vic). Gbolahan was awarded the Director in Residence at the National Theatre Studio as the recipient of the Bulldog Princep Director’s Bursary in 2008.
James studied at Wimbledon School of Art. Theatre includes: Jason and The Argonauts, The Nutcracker and The Mouse King, The Velveteen Rabbit, Henry the Fifth, A Winter’s Tale, Dr Korczak’s Example and Not Now, Bernard all at the Unicorn Theatre. Charlotte’s Web and Disgraced for Singapore Repertory Co.; The Island Nation for The Arcola Theatre; Jane Wenham – The Witch of Walkern (Out of Joint); The Edge (Transport Theatre); The Scarecrow’s Wedding (Scamp Theatre); Little Shop of Horrors, Worst Wedding Ever and On Golden Pond (Salisbury Playhouse); Jefferson’s Garden (Watford Palace); Macbeth and Tory Boyz (Ambassador’s Theatre); Albion (Bush Theatre); Absent Made Present (Royal Opera House); Orpheus and Eurydice and Our Days of Rage (Old Vic Tunnels). As associate artist for Iron Shoes he has designed: Fen (Finborough Theatre); Mad About the Boy (UK tour) and My Beautiful Black Dog (Bush Theatre).
John has recently been appointed co-director of the North Wall in Oxford working alongside Ria Parry. The North Wall is an exciting arts venue that champions new work and the development of emerging artists working in theatre, music, dance and the visual arts.
He trained and worked as an actor for several years before expanding his work to include writing and directing for the theatre and television. In 2003 he became joint artistic director of the National Youth Theatre and combined the artistic directorship of the NYT with a prolific freelance writing and directing career. He has written and produced work for television, radio and the stage. John has also developed a reputation for developing burgeoning comedy talent and has seen collaborations lead to Perrier nominations, and the winning of both “So Think You’re Funny?” and the BBC new talent award. John co-wrote and directed the sketch show The Ginge, The Geordie and The Geek which had sell out runs at three consecutive Edinburgh Festivals and saw the show commissioned by the BBC for a series in 2013.
He is Co-artistic director of Iron Shoes, a company established in 2009 to develop and produce new writing. The company is alumnus associate company of the Bush Theatre. It has won two fringe first awards and is about to produce a new play called Fragment.
Ria is Joint Artistic Director and co-founder of Iron Shoes, an Associate Company at the Bush Theatre.
Ria is currently directing THEATRE FIRST for National Theatre Learning and is developing a project with the Young Vic called THE WEB.
Productions include ON GOLDEN POND by Ernest Thompson at Salisbury Playhouse, THE WINTERS TALE: RE-IMAGINED at Regents Park Open Air Theatre, DR KORCZAKS EXAMPLE by David Greig at the Unicorn Theatre, TALES OF WINTER at the Southbank Centre, FEN by Caryl Churchill at the Finborough Theatre, OUR HEARTS IN THE BALANCE at the British Museum, CRUSH by Paul Charlton at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival and UK National Tour.
Ria has worked extensively with young people including REWIND, a devised production made in collaboration with young refugees and asylum seekers, and a young people’s production of KING LEAR, both at the Young Vic.
Ria directed the sell-out UK national tour of the critically acclaimed MAD ABOUT THE BOY by Gbolahan Obisesan, including performances at the Young Vic, Bush Theatre, Unicorn Theatre and Bristol Old Vic.
Ria has won two Scotsman Fringe First Awards for MAD ABOUT THE BOY and CRUSH, produced by Iron Shoes. She was awarded the Leverhulme Bursary for Emerging Directors 2010/11, becoming Resident Director at the National Theatre Studio.
Theatre includes: Uncle Vanya (parallel production); The Litter, The Gods Are Not To Blame (Young Vic); Little Baby Jesus (Oval House Theatre); Brothers Size and Death Of An Anarchist (Dunraven Sixth Form).
Film includes: The Swarm (Stray Bear), Mission London (Fidelity Films).
Theatre includes: award-winning Mogadishu (Lyric Hammersmith/Manchester Royal Exchange/Tour); Party Time/One For The Road (JMK Award winner); Jason and the Argonauts, The World Cup of 1966, Project D-I am Mediocre (BAC); Julius Caesar, Burn (Synergy Theatre Project); The Fixer (Almeida); Come Out Eli (Time Out-Best New Production/Tour), Winged (Tristan Bates Theatre); Cruising (Bush); A Midsummer Night's Dream, All The Right People Come Here (Wimbledon Theatre); The Victorian In The Wall, The Girlfriend Experience (Royal Court); Days Of Significance, Pericles, Winter's Tale (Royal Shakespeare Company); Amato Saltone (National Theatre/Shunt); the multi-award-winning original cast of War Horse (National Theatre).
Film includes: Rains of Fear, One Man and His Dog, Plotless, The Refugee.
Television includes: Bad Education, Little Britain, Extras, The Sight, Dead Ringers, Coming of Age, Fur TV, Stupid!, The Slammer, Hotel Trubble, Vivien Vyle, The Legend of Dick and Dom, Doctors, The Bill (Best Newcomer-Screen Nation Nomination 2008 RTS, BAFTA-winning ensemble 2009).
Theatre includes: Taming of the Shrew (Southwark Playhouse); Love Love Love (Paines Plough / Drum Theatre Plymouth / National Tour), Unrestless (Old Vic Tunnels), Accolade (Finborough); Ramshackle Heart (Public Theatre New York); Arse, Shove (Theatre 503), Mad Forest (BAC); Jonny Macabe (Arcola); The Merchant of Venice, The Tragedy of Thomas Hobbes, The Taming of the Shrew, A Midsummer Night’s Dream (RSC); Signs of Rust, 1 in 5 (Hampstead Theatre); Fanny & Faggot (Finborough & Trafalgar Studios); Flamingos (Nabokov); The Wonder: A Woman Keeps a Secret (BAC), 24 Hour Plays: Ready (Old Vic); Romance, The Strange Case of Donovan Ray (Old Vic New Voices); Nikolina (Nabokov - Theatre Royal Bath); Bedtime for Bastards (Nabokov).
Film, television and radio include: The Bill, Morris: A Life With Bells On, A Simple Man, Howard Everyman, Mayfly, Ready.
