Review: BILLIONAIRE BOY, King's Theatre, Glasgow
Based on the bestselling book by David Walliams, Billionaire Boy is a story about Joe Spud, the richest boy in the country. Joe's dad is the inventor of BumFresh toilet paper and for Joe's birthday he thinks nothing of giving him a cheque for two million pounds. The Spud's have everything money can buy but Joe is missing the one thing he really wants- a friend.
Joe (Matthew Gordon) convinces his Dad (Jason Furnival) to let him leave his posh private school to go to the local comprehensive. While his dad pays £200,000 a term for his private education, Joe says the other children look down on him because of how his father earned their money. He doesn't want anyone at his new school to know how rich he is to ensure that he has friends that like him for him but it proves difficult to hide his wealth when his dad drops off his homework by helicopter.
Filled with bum gags, fart jokes and all other kinds of disgusting bodily function based humour Billionaire Boy is delightfully gross and will definitely appeal to children. The songs are pleasant enough and never outstay their welcome.
The cast take on multiple roles throughout the performance and are also responsible for trying to tame a slightly misbehaving set. An innovative set piece built from loo rolls takes centre stage and is rotated to become different settings. There are doors on the set that open to transform the piece but occasionally they don't stay open or closed when they're supposed to!
It's quite a sweet story as the Spuds realise that the things that make them truly happy are the things that can't be bought. The characters are well fleshed out and from the occasional gasps in the auditorium- it seems the audience were definitely invested in their wellbeing.
While it can be a little bit predictable in places, I think Billionaire Boy will strongly appeal to its target audience and lovers of the book. With a good story and convincing performances it makes for a fun way to spend a dreary January evening.
Billionaire Boy runs at the King's Theatre, Glasgow until 19 January.
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