Words by Lesley Finlay

Theatre for children: it should be compulsory.

Here is where they learn to navigate the complicated world around them. And you don’t get more complicated than prejudice, racism, parental messages and growing up.

This is the task of the tricky play, the Boy at the Back of the Class, which delivers these themes in a hard-hitting yet joyous way at the Marlowe Theatre in Canterbury.

Adapted from the novel by Onjali Q. Rauf, it is the tale of Y6 children dealing with arrival in their class of Ahmet, a refugee from Syria, who took the dangerous journey across land and sea (in one of the ‘small boats’) to the UK.

He is gradually befriended by well-meaning and thoughtful classmates, who come up with an incredible plan to find Ahmet’s family.

The young audience listened, enraptured – some even held their hands up to catch an imaginary ball, testament to the empathy they felt for the actors.

There was still silence during the scenes where stereotypical views were voiced and the moment of nostalgia when Ahmet sees the pomegranate, a poignant symbol of home.

Shining a light on bigotry means you have to feature stereotypes: the white super rich and the white super poor.

But what is unique about this story is the role that parents and schools play in breaking down prejudice – and this is where the play is most successful.

Director Monique Touko galvanised her cast to tell this story energetically through words, music and dance. If you can’t catch the play, make sure you buy the novel, which has been hailed as a modern classic.

If you managed to see this show at the Marlowe and enjoyed it, look out for the spectacular War Horse, coming up in October, adapted from Michael Morpurgo’s class tale.