The action takes place in the eighteenth century.
The benevolent Thomas Coram has recently opened a Foundling Hospital in London called the "Coram Hospital for Deserted Children". Unscrupulous men, known as "Coram men", take advantage of the situation by promising desperate mothers to take their unwanted children to the hospital for a fee. The story follows a range of characters, focusing on two orphans: Toby, saved from an African slave ship; and Aaron, the deserted son of the heir to an estate, as their lives become closely involved with this true and tragic episode of British social history.[1]
Productions
Coram Boy at the Imperial Theatre, New York
The show was first staged at the National Theatre in London from November 2005 until February 2006. It returned to the National Theatre from November 2006 to February 2007.[2]
The play then moved to Broadway at the Imperial Theater, starting previews in April 2007, and officially opening for a month-long run in May 2007.[3] The show was nominated for six Tony Awards but did not win any.
Melly Still was the director and co-designer (with Ti Green) of both the London and New York productions with Paule Constable designing lighting and Chris Schutt on sound. Still also directed the December 2011 production for Bristol Old Vic at the Colston Hall and the production was designed by Anna Fleischle, with lighting by Bruno Poet, and sound by Schutt. Adrian Sutton composed the music for all four versions.[4]
Coram Boy is frequently produced in Britain by Universities, Drama schools and amateur groups.
Alice Ashbrook — Esther Lawrence / Bethan Barke / Peggy Edwards
Edward Ashbrook — Tobey Barke / Cameron Fraser
Mrs. Hendry/Mrs. Milcote — Catherine Swingler
Thomas Claymore / George Frideric Handel — Joe Hall
Thomas Ledbury (young) - Johannes Moore / Max Macmillan
Dr Smith/Thomas Ledbury — Ed Birch
Aaron — Toby Yapp / Finn Lacey
Toby — Joe Sharpe
Miss Price — Anna Houghton
The production also included a local cast of Coram children and a local ensemble.
Music
In the National Theatre and Broadway versions the music is performed by a 16-member onstage choir and a seven-piece chamber orchestra. In Bristol the orchestra was expanded to 20 musicians and the choir was joined at the end of act 2 by a local chorus of 40 performers. The music includes parts or adaptations of Handel's Messiah and Theodora, as well as over an hour of original music consisting of songs, period-style dance, and chamber music, as well as dramatic underscoring.[5]
Outstanding Director of a Play (Lucille Lortel Award)
Outstanding Set Design (Ti Green & Melly Still)
Outstanding Lighting Design (Paule Constable)
Olivier Award Nominations (no wins)
Best new play (Helen Edmundson)
Best performance in a supporting role (Paul Ritter)
Best Director (Melly Still)
Best Sound (Christopher Shutt)
References
^Edmunson, H. (2005), Coram Boy: Based on the novel by Jamila Gavin, London: Nick Hern Books.
