Review: Wolf Play

This is a great play. The plot is based on a true story first published by Reuters, titled The Child Exchange, which detailed events involving US citizens using the internet to abandon children adopted from overseas.

The story here involves Ash, a boxer, on the verge of a pro debut fight and in a relationship with Robin, who has agreed to adopt a six-year-old Korean boy she saw ‘advertised’ on the internet. The boy's original adoptive father, Peter, tries to regain guardianship – especially when he comes to realise the boy will have no ‘dad’ figure in his life.

Caught in the middle, the boy lives through his experiences as a lone wolf looking for a family connection. The play ends with a tense courtroom battle for legal guardianship, which ends with neither side winning the fight; the child turns his back on both parties feeling he's being neither seen nor heard.