Wonder Boy Playtext

by Ross Willis

‘What use is a boy who can’t say his own name?’

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.

Wonder Boy is a ‘boundingly imaginative’ (The Times) play 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.Ross Willis’s play Wolfie also won Best Play at the 2020 Writers’ Guild Awards, and Best New Play at the 2020 Off-West End Awards.