Some set designs instantly make sense. Paul Wills’s clever arrangement of television screens and speakers, all linked up by glowing capillary-like tubes, encapsulates Malorie Blackman’s 1997 novel about a boy whose pig-heart transplant leads to a media frenzy. Andrew Exeter’s lighting switches from blood red to cool blue for scenes when 13-year-old Cameron repeatedly puts himself – and, eventually, his new heart – to the test when diving at his local pool.
Blackman’s novel is itself a deep dive: this “what would you do?” book for young readers considers ethics, animal rights, othering and empathy. Keeping the pre-social media setting, Winsome Pinnock’s new adaptation draws upon the heightened poetic style of Blackman’s opening chapter. Pinnock retains the narrator’s spirited interest in wordplay, boosts the wisdom of Cameron’s Nan and makes water more of a unifying theme throughout the story. Her version also takes a thrilling new turn towards the end.
