Hip-hop version of Medieval tale Pied Piper heads to Scarborough Spa
A hip-hop retelling of a medieval fable Pied Piper, featuring young people alongside a cast of seven professional beatboxers, arrives at Scarborough Spa later this year.
The re-imagining follows a group of children who work at the pie factory in Hamelin, where there is both a music ban and a serious rat problem.
Told through beatboxing, live-looping, hip-hop, grime and contemporary theatre, Pied Piper transforms the medieval tale into a high-voltage sonic experience where the enigmatic Piper shakes up a sleepy town with nothing but a microphone and his voice.
Written and composed by hip-hop theatre practitioner and artistic director Conrad Murray – creator of the hit stage production and BBC adaptation of Frankenstein: How to Make a Monster – the production draws on years of innovative vocal work and youth-led music theatre with the BAC Beatbox Academy.
Murray will work with local young people to form a community chorus to play the townspeople of Hamelin, who appear on stage at key moments in the story, alongside the professional cast.
Conrad said, “One of the reasons we created the show was because we wanted to show off the possibilities of the human voic, as well as the incredible skills of young people specifically from working-class backgrounds who don't usually get access to the theatre.
“We chose Piper because it’s a story which shows how we as humans need art, we need creativity and we need it to be in our lives and in our schools. Ultimately, I want people to leave the show feeling like they’ve seen something that's so beautifully crafted and that there’s hope for the future.”
It is being produced by East Riding-based ARCADE.
Co-aArtistic director and chief executive of ARCADE said: “For us as producers, this is more than just touring a show, we are touring the notion that young people deserve to be centre stage.
"Pied Piper brings the opportunity for hundreds of young people to take part in workshops, preparing them to perform alongside an incredibly talented professional cast of diverse performers – an incredibly special experience that will be remembered forever.
“We hope Pied Piper sparks the idea of the possibility of a creative career for the next generation, especially in areas outside London where often opportunities are lacking.”
It is on at Scarborough Spa on Sunday March 22 at 2.30pm and Monday March 23 at 10.30am.
Tickets: scbo.littleboxoffice.com