The Boy with Two Hearts
Author: Hamed and Hessam Amiri, adapted for the Stage by Phil Porter
Publisher: Haymarket Books
Print Length: 88 pages
Genre: Screenplay
Area: Afghanistan, Europe, The United Kingdom (UK)
People: Afghan
Topic: Asylum & Asylum Seekers, Refugees & Forced Migration, Asylum & Refugee System, Refugee Resettlement, Lived Experience, Smuggling & Trafficking, Politics & Power, Medicine & Healthcare, Execution, Courage, Family, Hope, Humanity, Love, Resilience, The Notion of Home
You know, I honestly believe he has two hearts? A heart that fails him, of course. But another that keeps him going – a heart that won’t be beaten!
A story of hope, from Afghanistan to Wales.
Herat, Afghanistan, 2000. A young mother makes a speech demanding freedom for Afghan women, angering local Taliban leaders who issue a warrant for her execution. With no choice but to run, the Amiri family embark on a long and terrifying journey out of Afghanistan and across Europe with the UK as their ultimate goal.
Thrown into an unfamiliar world of fake passports and untrustworthy handlers, the Amiris must learn how to live with nothing and avoid capture at all costs. But with their eldest son Hussein’s life-threatening heart condition growing steadily worse, the journey soon becomes a race against time.
Will they beat the odds and reach the UK in time for Hussein to receive the surgery he so badly needs?
The Boy with Two Hearts is the story of a family in danger and a love letter to the NHS. This extraordinary true story reveals the courage and humanity behind each refugee story, showing that hope and a sense of home can be found in the most unlikely places.
This edition was published to coincide with the production at the National Theatre in London in October 2022.
Table of Contents
This book is a screenplay script for the theatrical stage The Boy with Two Hearts.
Hamed Amiri is an author, playwright and public speaker. He is the author of The Boy With Two Hearts, the book about his family’s perilous journey to seek refuge in the UK in an attempt to prolong his brother Hussein’s life. His family’s experiences led him to become an ambassador for the Welsh charity Daring to Dream. He is also the co-host of a podcast with his brother Hessam, where they talk to guests about the challenges and joys of life.
Source: https://hamedamiri.co.uk/
More from Hamed Amiri in this library, click here.
Hessam Amiri works as Global Digital Performance Manager. He has won many digital awards and spoken at various digital marketing events. In 2021, he became one of the youngest judges for the UK Search Awards. He has worked to transform his family’s story into a play and a new virtual reality experience for the digital world. Outside the world of digital, Hessam is a Governor for University Hospitals Bristol & Weston and an ambassador of Daring to Dream charity.
Source: https://www.performancemarketingworldawards.com/hessam-amiri
More from Hessam Amiri in this library, click here.
Phil Porter is a writer and playwright. He graduated from The University of Birmingham in 1999 with a 1st Class degree in Drama And Theatre Arts. Since then, he has worked full-time as a writer. His plays include Stealing Sweets And Punching People (Theatre 503 and Off-Broadway), Smashed Eggs (a play for children, winner of the Arts Council Children’s Award, commissioned and first produced by Pentabus), Isolated Children In Far Away Places (Manchester Royal Exchange Studio) and Broken (London and Edinburgh fringe). His short film The Lizard Boy, written with and directed by James Tovell, has been produced by Hardboiled Films and will premiere this autumn. He is currently working on commissions for Birmingham Rep, Paines Plough and the Unicorn Theatre and developing a number of television and film projects.
Source: https://playsfornewaudiences.org/pages/playwrights__phil-porter
More from Phil Porter in this library, click here.