Blue Boy Entertainment show Naima Khan what it means to launch a hip-hop revolution.
Low expectations generally precede urban interpretations of anything classic but nothing will surprise you more than Blue Boy Entertainment's hip-hop revival of Pied Piper at the Barbican Theatre.
Having been issued ear plugs and a warning about the loud bass as I collect my ticket, I begin to wonder if Blue Blue Boy Entertainment joining the Barbican as an artistic associate might take some getting used to. My scepticism seems justified when a teeth kissing admonishment is boomed through the theatre about how the disembodied voice of a south Londoner doesn't want to to see no videos on youtube so we best not be filming on no mobile phones and he don't wanna hear no hollerin' at our boys so we best keep our mouths shut or something to that effect. It's urban - we get it.
Ridiculous welcome aside, my scepticism doesn't last long. We barely have time to notice that the musical opening sounds as though it's been taken from a bad medical drama before a knife rips through the backlit curtain revealing the graffiti covered exterior of a warehouse and the voice of Shredder mumbles something about the time and place into which we've been dropped. Immediately the stage is over run with rats. These menacing teens dressed head to toe in black sweats move with an unsettling agility. I can in no way do justice to the incredible aesthetics of this performance. The infestation of dancers pours from every corner of the stage, the theatre is being overrun. They jump off the stage into the audience and I physically jump back out of fright.
The Pied Piper is the well known story of a rat-catcher who offers to rid a town of its rodent infestation. When his payment fails to show up, he lures away the town's children to punish the adults who short-changed him. This street dance version brings numerous innovative dimensions to this simple, dark story. In this version, The Pied Piper not only fends of the rats but first has to prove his talent by defeating vampire bats, mosquitoes, crickets and a nest of vipers. This means we get to watch seven bare midriffs slowly, sensuously strut across the stage destroying an innocent city boy before they try their tricks on the Pied Piper. The dancers move with power and grace, captivating the audience. Introducing the different pests, is a stroke of genius from director and designer Ultz. It varies the pace and presents us with a number of creepy habitats to navigate. The neon fly trap of the mosquitoes is particularly impressive. The dancers are so light footed and quick you half-expect them to fly up into the air to escape their predator.
There is unexpected, physical humour when the governors of the town appear. Looking like the love children of Boris Johnson and an unknown Chinese official with a pituitary problem, the four awkward, suited plebs potter across the stage with their heads in their hands desperate for a solution.
The brief but poignant use of video powerfully brings to the foreground the social ills that have become white noise in modern media. Without being didactic, it resonates with today's youth. The footage from news, documentaries, CCTV, and sporadic images of newspaper clippings makes us realise the scaremongering power held by news media.
Michael Asante deserves due credit for the music which as well as plunging you into the dark enclaves of an urban dystopia, abandons you there to make sense of it for yourself. The audience treat this production like a concert. They whoop and scream because whilst the dancing is undeniably impressive the music invites them to show their appreciation. This production is powerful, dignified, graceful and innovative at every opportunity. Forget your preconceptions, there is no way to anticipate the turns this interpretation takes.
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