Based on Jamila Gavin’s novel and first staged at the National Theatre in 2005, Coram Boy is an emotionally overwhelming play, set against the backdrop of cruelty, murder and music in 18th century England.
Alexander, the son of Lord Ashbrook, is disgraced when he runs away from his father and the family estate to follow a career in music, leaving behind his illegitimate son, Aaron. His young mother arranges for the baby to be taken by the mysterious Otis Gardener, a sinister character who promises a better life for abandoned children.
So Aaron starts his life in the Coram Hospital for Foundlings and his fate is tied to that of Toby, an orphan saved from an African slave ship. But as he grows into a young man, it becomes clear that Aaron has inherited his father’s musical ability, a gift that could ultimately reunite his family.