Wonder Boy - by Ross Willis (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

Sonny is twelve. He stammers and is finding his way in a world ruled by vicious vowels, confusing consonants, and the biggest beast of all - small talk. His only escape is with a comic-book hero of his own creation, who helps Sonny soar above his reality.

But when he's cast by the headteacher in the school production of Hamlet, he soon discovers that language is power - and the real heroes are closer than he thinks.

Ross Willis's play Wonder Boy is a 'boundingly imaginative' (The Times) drama about the power of finding your own voice. It was first directed by Sally Cookson, performed at Bristol Old Vic in 2022, named Best Play at the 2023 Writers' Guild Awards, and revived for a UK tour in 2024.

Review Quotes

'Audaciously inventive, sparky yet sensitive, giddily enjoyable... an extraordinary exploration of adolescence... Willis can make quotidian detail startling... Even the stage directions ping... Willis's play unfolds itself in miraculous ways. It's some kind of wonderful'

--Guardian

'Boundingly imaginative'

--The Times

'Few things in theatre can match the electricity of a first-night crowd that believes what they've just seen will join the canon. Wonder Boy, by rights, should be on the school curriculum tomorrow... Willis' writing has all the roguish energy of a Year 8 inner-city classroom... Willis has a terrific theatrical imagination and his dialogue also sizzles... a work designed to celebrate and find joy in overcoming adversity. You can't help but be washed along with it'

--WhatsOnStage

'A welcome treat... as heartwarming as it is heartbreaking... impressive stuff'

--British Theatre Guide

'Exhilarating... Ross Willis has a terrific feel for words... inspiring, irrespective of age'

--Observer

About the Author

Ross Willis is a playwright from Bristol, the UK. His plays include: Wolfie (Theatre503, London, 2019) and Wonder Boy (Bristol Old Vic, 2022).

Wolfie won Best New Play at both the Writers' Guild Awards and the Off-West End Awards 2020, and also earned him a nomination for Best Writer at the 2019 Stage Debut Awards and Most Promising Playwright at the Evening Standard Theatre Awards. He won the 2019 Royal Court and Kudos Fellowship and the 2019 Channel 4 Playwright Award. He has been described as 'a fresh and fearless voice' in British theatre.