20 Stories High and Theatre-Rites join forces to create a unique mash up of hip-hop, theatre and puppetry bringing together 4 amazing artists: beat-boxer Hobbit, b-boy LoGisTics , singer/rapper Elektric , and puppeteer Mohsen to form The Broke ‘N’ Beat Collective. In Spring 2016 we toured to Liverpool, Birmingham, Corby, Manchester, Bolton, Belfast, Rossendale, Canterbury, Oxford, Huddersfield, Oldham and London. In July 2016 we returned to Birmingham and performed during the Assitej On The Edge Festival, winning the Young Critics Choice Award.
August 2017 took us to Bristol, where the collective performed at the Tobacco Factory Theatre as part of the Bristol Puppetry Festival. They then headed to the Ruhrtriennale Festival in Germany for a run at Jahrhunderthalle Bochum.
CAST
Beat-boxer – Hobbit (Jack Hobbs)
B-boy – Ryan LoGiStIc Hartson
Singer/Poet – Elektric (Elisha Howe)
Puppeteer – Mohsen Nouri
CREATIVE TEAM
Written and Directed by –
Sue Buckmaster and Keith Saha
Design – Miriam Nabarro
Lighting Design – Doug Kuhrt
Sound Design – Jon Everett
Puppet Design – Paul Vincett and Jemima Robinson
Puppet Makers – Matt Hutchinson,
Paul Vincett & Becky Johnson
(Stitches and Glue)
PRODUCTION TEAM
Production Manager – Simon Sturgess
Company Stage Manager – Laura Hammond
Technical Stage Manager – Adam Stewart
“Sometimes when I can’t stand on my own two feet / Or the voices in my head feel cracked and incomplete / I turn up the volume of my Broken Beats / The Big Heavy Bass sends moves flowing to my feet / Melodic rhymes fill my head and make me feel oh-so-sweet / Cos my Broken Beats help me feel alive / And not so Broke and Beat.”
“...ARGUABLY THE MOST INNOVATIVE PIECE OF THEATRE TO HIT LIVERPOOL SINCE THE CURIOUS INCIDENT OF THE DOG IN THE NIGHT TIME.”
Liverpool Echo
“THIS IS THEATRE AT ITS BEST. RAW, THOUGHT-PROVOKING AND WITH A MESSAGE THAT NEEDS TO BE HEARD.”
North West End
Hoody Boy, puppeteered by Mohsen Nouri