Lionboy (Tricycle Theatre)

Lionboy is one of the numerous family shows on offer in the capital at this time of year and, like many, has a hero, a villain and a strong story. However, unlike more traditional offerings, it has some big questions at its heart.

The story is set in the future where phones are powered by the sun, there are wind farms in the Thames and no cars. So far so good, but big corporations – in particular one called The Corporacy – now have more power than countries, threatening democratic choice. The Lionboy of the title is Charlie Ashanti, a boy who can speak cat – a skill which turns out to be jolly useful when he comes home one day to find his scientist parents have disappeared.

His cat friends tell him The Corporacy are to blame. Local wide boy Rafi (Angel Lopez-Silva), who’s in their pay, tries to kidnap him too but Charlie gives him the slip. He sets off on a fabulous journey to find his parents, beginning on a boat on the Thames and joining up with a floating circus on its way to Paris.

Charlie's extraordinary language skills come into their own when he meets the circus lions. He soon learns that they are desperately unhappy and homesick. Should he help them or continue with his quest to find his parents? His choice takes him by way of the Orient Express and hot air balloon to the foot of the Atlas mountains. Here he comes face to face with the dreaded Corporacy itself and its dastardly plans to increase profits are revealed. Corporacy values are challenged by Charlie in a boxing match between him and Rafi where it’s not blows but ideas such as competition versus cooperation that are exchanged. Tellingly it is Charlie’s final question, "who voted for the Corporacy?", that delivers the knock out blow.

Writer Marcelo Dos Santos has crafted the play from a trilogy of stories by Zizou Corder and at times the sheer weight of plot threatens to overwhelm, but the exuberance of Complicite’s production keeps the story on track to its happy conclusion.

Martins Imhangbe as Charlie is a strong lead whose charm and energy powers the show. He is supported by an equally strong ensemble directed by James Yeatman and Clive Mendus – who also plays the dastardly CEO of The Corporacy. Between them they create a colourful blend of dance, circus and story-telling. The music, composed by Stephen Hiscock, who also plays an extraordinary array of percussion during the show, is a vital element of the show’s success.

Lionboy is a show that succeeds on many levels – at its simplest it’s the story of a boy who talks to cats who sets off to find his parents and rescue them. It’s also the story of the fight of the individual for freedom.

Lionboy continues at the Tricycle until 10 January