Review: Pied Piper @ Barbican (5 – 14 March 09)
Three years and an Olivier Award later, the return of Boy Blue Entertainments Pied Piper – A Hip Hop Dance Revolution is a dazzling triumph.
With an Olivier Award to its name, the Theatre Royal Stratford East production deserves its promotion where it comes off superbly on the large Barbican Theatre stage. The 30 plus company of dancers have room to move,. The action takes place throughout the set where the acoustics are clear as a bell and lighting is effectively used. Multimedia video projections even find their way into the show.
Moulding Robert Hamelin’s famous story into a modern-day parable of media-driven hysteria, hooded youths, criminal gangs and society’s decline works well. Into this environment steps the vigilante justice of the Pied Piper. But retelling the fable isn’t really the issue here. The voice of the piece is delivered through Michael ‘Mikey J’ Asante’s atmospheric music, the choreography of Kenrick “H2O” Sandy and the direction and set design of Ultz.
Their voices are expressive, innovative, in your face and versatile street dance routines – individual and group style – tell a tale of morality, violence, defiance and aggression.
The tale unfolds through set-piece synchronised routines. In a series of contemporary dance confrontations, the Pied Piper [a charismatic and powerfully built Kenrick Sandy] challenges his adversaries.
Each battle is a display of individual dance skills and co-ordinated choreography of passion, aggression, with fluid movement and backbreaking, gravity-defying body contortions. It’s mesmerising. The question is asked: “is this freestyle dance movement?”. But it’s actually the adept, graceful and technical virtuosity of highly skilled and well-trained performers. The next generation takes a bow in a vibrant scene of pre and early teenage dancers.
This is an energetic showcase where the demands on the human body are pushed to the maximum. Over 90 minutes in seven chapters divided into fast paced scenes it’s a test that the 38-member cast pass with honours.
A powerful, defiant, and energetic piece of theatre.
Pic: Robert Day
Pied Piper – A Hip Hop Dance Revolution
@ Barbican, March 09
Boy Blue Entertainment
Choreography by Kenrick ‘H2O’ Sandy
Music by Michael ‘Mikey J’ Asante
Directed and designed by ULTZ
A Theatre Royal Stratford East Production
