Pig Heart Boy

'I used to love swimming. Won medals for it. But when your heart has been affected by an infection it's like having a ticking time bomb inside you… tick… tick… tick… tick…'

Cameron is thirteen, and all he wants is to be normal – have friends, go to school, and dive to the bottom of his local swimming pool. But he desperately needs a heart transplant and time is running out.

When he's finally offered a new heart, Cameron must choose between a pig's heart that works… or a human heart that doesn't. How far will he go to get his life back?

Malorie Blackman's celebrated novel Pig Heart Boy was shortlisted for the Carnegie Medal and adapted by the BBC into a BAFTA Award-winning TV series. This stage adaptation by Winsome Pinnock was directed by Tristan Fynn-Aiduenu and first performed in 2025 at the Unicorn Theatre, London, in a co-production between Unicorn Theatre, Sheffield Theatres and Children's Theatre Partnership. The play won Best Show for Children and Young People at the 2025 UK Theatre Awards.

'A powerful story about friendship, loyalty and family'Guardian on the novel Pig Heart Boy