The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind
The Swan Theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon
★★★★☆

IN our grave new world, we all need something to cheer us up. The RSC’s new feel-good “fairy tale” has the great advantage of being true.

Fourteen-year-old William Kamkwambi living in a rural village in 2002 Malawi, hitherto thought of as “the breadbasket of Africa,” watched his community perish from famine caused by a combination of prolonged extreme weather conditions and political mismanagement.  

Excluded from school through poverty, he nevertheless pursued an interest in mechanical engineering through books from the library and, by using waste bits from local dumps, he was able to build an electric-powered windmill turbine to work life-saving water pumps.

This marvellous story of human ingenuity and youthful determination has been celebrated in books and a prize-winning film and here, in the hands of a large talented company, is premiered in Stratford’s smaller venue before travelling to the West End.

The show is bursting with energy, colour and sound and is crying out for a large-space presentation. Nevertheless, director Lynnette Linton has managed the limited space allowing choreographer Shelley Maxwell’s all-dancing production to breathe.

A musical lives or dies by its songs and Tim Sutton’s music and lyrics are especially well served by the cast, both harmonised as a whole and especially in some of the moving solo numbers by Sfiso Mazibuko, playing William’s father.

The story-line is simple, dealing with the progress of William Kamkwamba (Alistair Nwacukwu) from frustrated schoolboy to triumphant inventor. His faithful dog is on hand throughout, puppeteered by Yana Penrose.

There is reference to the background politics to the famine when there is an election visit from the smoothy local candidate who has a protester at government corruption removed by accompanying heavies before casting money to the crowd.

After moving scenes of suffering from starvation, including Khamba’s the dog, and a menacing dance of death led by Shaka Kalokoh, all ends well when William’s windmill begins to turn.

The show deserves to do well but I fear for its survival in the saccharine-drenched musical theatre world of the West End. After all, it’s about something serious and real!

Runs until March 28. Box office: 0789 333-111: rsc.org.uk.