The Hip-hop Shakespeare Company proudly presents a site-specific version of its current production Richard II LIVE! as a series of pop-up live performances and illustrations retelling one of William Shakespeare’s most lyrical plays set in the heart of the Portobello Road Market and surrounding areas. The illustrations will steer the reader on a journey that will come alive creating a trail of scenes taking place ‘live’ in action in various Portobello locations.
The interactive production is interwoven with the heritage of the locale and the communities within those spaces, reflecting the areas steep musical history. Scenes linked on the ground will also be linked to digital and social media platforms, encouraging audiences to move around the area and discover new spaces.
Drawing on mass community audience participation, local market traders, general public and local youth are incorporated into each pop-up performance as singers, rappers, poets and actors in each scene, as well as supporting the overall production. This showcases the impact of existing and new local communities working together. Their stories and culture can be expressed and intertwined with day-to-day realities, building an appreciation for a new dimension in performing Shakespeare’s work combined with elevating the history of the local area, through prose and live performance.
ABOUT THE ARTISTS
The Hip-hop Shakespeare Company founded in 2009 is a Portobello Road-based youth-driven music theatre production company aimed at exploring the social, cultural and linguistic parallels between the works of William Shakespeare and that of modern day hip-hop culture. By merging multiple art forms (music, poetry, literature, dance, digital media and theatre), we engage young people across the UK and globally through high quality education programmes (including workshops and long-term residency projects), live events and touring music theatre productions. Delivering bespoke education programmes that offer young people a different view of the arts, it produces interactive live music events/theatre productions, showcasing the work of up-and-coming young talent, who share the stage with established artists, poets and actors. Performers typically include high-profile special guest artists who are joined onstage by the renowned Hip-hop Shakespeare live band and undiscovered young talent all performing a medley of songs inspired by scenes/themes/quotes from famous Shakespeare plays and Sonnets.
http://www.hiphopshakespeare.com/
