What do you get if you bring together an award-winning YA novel, an inventive beatbox soundscape, six courageous kids and the producing powerhouse behind 2019’s sell-out production of Noughts and Crosses?
The answer is Crongton Knights, a new staging of Alex Wheatle’s explosive coming of age adventure, making its world premiere at the Belgrade Theatre from 8th to 22nd February.
Adapted for the stage by acclaimed playwright Emteaz Hussain, Crongton Knights is co-directed by Pilot Theatre’s Esther Richardson (Noughts and Crosses) and the Belgrade’s own 2021 Co-Artistic Director Corey Campbell (Club 2B, Freeman).
Telling the story of a group of teenagers who band together to help a friend in need, the show pulses with inner-city sounds created through beatbox compositions by Conrad Murray (whose show Frankenstein: How to Make a Monster was the highest rated at this year’s Edinburgh Fringe), all performed live by a multi-talented cast.
Life isn’t easy on the Crongton estate, and for McKay and his mates, it’s all about keeping your head down. But when a friend finds herself in trouble, the “Magnificent Six” band together and set off on a mission that goes further than any of them could have imagined.
The show is based on the critically acclaimed YA book of the same name, which won the Guardian Children’s Fiction Prize in 2016. Following the sell-out success of 2019’s Noughts and Crosses, it is the second of four shows to emerge from a consortium between the Belgrade Theatre Coventry, Pilot Theatre, Derby Theatre, York Theatre Royal and Mercury Theatre Colchester, set up to create new theatre for young audiences.
Author Alex Wheatle said: “The story is about people coming together and how we are stronger together than apart, that’s the message. When I first picked up a pen, I wrote poetry and I tried being a reggae artist. Whatever I’ve been doing, I’ve always just tried to express that love is more powerful than hate.
“There is so much division these days, and politicians emphasise that division rather than looking at what brings us together. That’s what Crongton Knights is about, that people can come together and that’s powerful, especially if there is something they have come together to fight against.”
At the heart of Crongton Knights is the story of McKay (Olisa Odele, Chewing Gum, E4; Scarborough, BBC), who lives on the fictional South Crongton estate. Ever since his mum died, his dad has been working all hours to keep the bailiffs from the door and his older brother is always out on the streets, tempting trouble. One night, he heads out on a heroic mission to retrieve a mobile phone for his friend Venetia (Aimee Powell, Freeman, Strictly Arts; Club 2B, Belgrade Theatre and Strictly Arts), which has been taken by her ex-boyfriend, and finds himself facing hood rats on a power trip, violent gangsters and more.
Additional casting for the show includes Marcel White (Freeman, Strictly Arts), Kate Donnachie (Frankenstein: How to Make a Monster, Battersea Arts Beatbox Academy), Khai Shaw (Little Baby Jesus, Orange Tree Theatre), Nigar Yeva (Give Me, Soho Theatre; Salome, Bunker Theatre), Simi Egbejumi-David (Shit-Faced Shakespeare: Romeo and Juliet) and Zak Douglas (Night Light, Mandala Theatre).
Set design is by Simon Kenny (The Gift, Eclipse and Belgrade Theatre; Black Men Walking, Eclipse and Manchester Royal Exchange) and created in Coventry at the Belgrade Production Services workshop. Lighting is by Richard G Jones (The Railway Children, York and London; Sweeney Todd, Barrow Street Theatre and Off-Broadway).
Playwright Emteaz Hussain said: I just love the way Alex has written the world of Crongton. Even though it’s fictional, I really related to it because it’s multicultural in an intelligent and intricate way. It’s about white working-class people, black people, Asian people, all different people living in a city together and that’s something I can relate to and something I don’t see written so well very often.
“Theatre can be thought of as a middle class, white, middle aged arena. I hope because of the company we have, because of Alex and because of the story itself we will attract a diverse audience. We’ve got to just keep at it and keep telling these stories.”
Crongton Knights premieres at the Belgrade Theatre Coventry from 8-22 February ahead of a UK tour. Tickets are available to book now by calling the box office on 024 7655 3055 or visiting www.belgrade.co.uk
Comments