Award-winning poet, playwright, and author Joseph Coelho OBE is bringing their acclaimed poetry collection Overheard in a Tower Block to life on stage at Little Angel Theatre. This powerful coming-of-age drama explores themes of family, friendship, courage, and self-discovery through vivid storytelling and imaginative puppetry.
Coelho’s work often draws from personal experiences growing up in Roehampton, blending urban realities with myth and magic to create relatable yet thought-provoking narratives. The adaptation promises to captivate audiences aged seven and up with its heartfelt exploration of growing up in the city.
Performances run from 22 May to 27 July 2025 at Little Angel Theatre. Tickets are available now
You’re bringing Overheard in a Tower Block to Little Angel Theatre. What can you tell us about the show?
It’s a play inspired by my hometown of Roehampton in Wandsworth and the things that occur when two school children get on the wrong side of three very creepy statues on their estate. It’s a story about friendship and family and growing up with some magic folded in. We have some brilliant performers creating the world of Sebastian and his family and friends and some fantastic puppets bring the magic and poetry to life.
Your poetry often blends myth, magic, and urban life. How does this unique combination enhance the storytelling in Overheard in a Tower Block?
I find that magic acts as a metaphor helping us to manifest difficult themes and emotions. In this the magic of the play explores feelings of upset and confusion when family dynamics change in a young persons life.
Growing up in Roehampton clearly influenced your work. How did your childhood experiences shape the themes of this poetry collection?
I was constantly inspired by the juxtaposition of the concrete estate and the wide open spaces of Richmond park and the surrounding area. Roehampton always felt like a very magical place to me and I’ve always been keen to show children familiar with estates that they can be places of magic too.
Overheard in a Tower Block captures the emotions of adolescence and self-discovery. What challenges did you face adapting such personal poetry for the stage?
It’s personal in the sense that I am drawing from experience, as all writers of course do, but in the writing it becomes something quite separate. I’m writing a story about Seb and his family and his experiences so my focus becomes as act of listening to the characters and the stories they want to tell. So, I guess the challenge is listening closely and staying true to those characters as opposed to being tempted to re-tell my life story or to have the characters respond in a way I would that doesn’t necessary overlap with how they would choose to respond.
As a former Children’s Laureate, how do you see your role in inspiring young audiences through literature and theatre?
I want to create the best work I can for the young audiences I’ve had the honour of working with over the years. I want young people to be inspired to feel seen and to be moved by the stories I share with them and I hope that be creating compelling work I help create the next generation of engaged readers and theatre goers and maybe even writers and theatre makers.
What would you say to anyone thinking of booking to see Overheard in a Tower Block?
This is a story which began life as a poetry collection in 2017, it was then long-listed for the Carnegie Medal for writing and became in a sense the first of a trilogy of verse novels the latest of which – The Boy Lost In the Maze, did win the Carnegie Medal for Writing in 2024. All this to say that this story has sat with me for a long time and has had a long life and yet I still find more surprises within it myself, that is why I jumped at the chance to adapt it into a play with the wonderful Little Angel Theatre.
Seeing it come to life under Samantha Lane’s direction and with the considered performances of Clarke and Elliot has been a complete joy for me and, I am sure, will be a pleasure for those who come to see it. So, in short, book it, bring a young person and be moved by a tale of creepy and creeping statues, of poetry and friendship, of magic and family,
