This performance made me feel cooler just watching it.
Let me set the scene… imagine a harsh world where the Hoodies rule and ASBOs are rife. There is only one man who can save us… The Pied Piper.
The choreography was devised by Kenrick ‘H20′ Sandy. It was a smooth mixture of Hip Hop/ Breakdancing and Martial Arts, using animal styles for each of the gangs.
The five gangs were all diverse, not only with their different fights/dances, but their costumes were simple and evoked the spirit of each gang. For example the Cobras swaying and rocking, ready to pounce were scantily clad women.
Another fantastic device was found in the Mosquito gang, all of them were wearing black but they were also wearing white gloves which are the only thing that could be seen in the dim light mimicking these flying insects
My favourite characters were The Man – four performers dressed in suits with oversized paper mache heads on (a permanent shocked expression on their faces), symbiotic in their movements, sometimes moving in canon.
These characters were so emotive with their movements, I found myself booing loudly at the stage, much to the bewilderment of the surrounding audience members (although it was the matinee so it wasn’t too bad).
The simplistic and up-to-date reworking of a classic tale is breathtaking. Ultz (the director) focuses on the beauty and strength of the dancing rather than bombarding us with extraneous speech and information to get the message across, and it works fabulously.
The cherry on this calorie-laden sundae, the piece de resistance was a snippet of community theatre. A number of local children, who had been working with the company came on in the final scene as the children saved from the oppression of the ASBO gang and they werent bad, in fact i was a tad jealous, I wished I was there layin’ down my moves!
posted by Ems
• Ems reviewed, Blue Boy Ents presents The Pied Piper – A Hip Hop Dance Revolution, at the Northcott Theatre, Exeter. She went to the matinee performance on Saturday, June 6.
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