Both hip-hop music and Shakespeare’s theatre represent energetic and inventive forms of expression.  Both are full of poetry, word play and lyricism.  Both deal with what it is to be human, and issues from people’s lives, and of course just like Shakespeare’s work, hip-hop is all about the rhythmic tension of words.  The similarities between hip-hop music and Shakespeare’s theatre are striking.  As a media-savvy popular entertainer and talented businessman, we think hip-hop would have been Shakespeare’s thing - a truly old-school Jay-Z.

THSC SHOWREEL!

AKALA / THSC ON CNN!

HIP HOP SHAKESPEARE LIVE!

Both hip-hop music and Shakespeare’s works as a form of cultural expression are often misrepresented in that hip-hop is not given the intellectual credit it deserves in an academic, literary or poetic sense.  At the same time, Shakespeare is often presented from a culturally “high brow” viewpoint which for many young people makes his work seem irrelevant to their lives and therefore sometimes incomprehensible and boring, when in fact Shakespeare in his day was seen in a similar light to that which many rappers are viewed today: his works popularised social and economical commentary as a form of entertainment and were often directed not just at the upper levels of society but also very much at members of the Elizabethan ’street’.

HIP HOP SHAKESPEARE: RICHARD II LIVE TOUR (FEAT. BASHY + AKALA + Special guests) - TOUR DATES/TICKETS: http://bit.ly/thsc-tickets

“Hip Hop Shakespeare: Richard II Live” is an innovative live concept show produced by our Artistic Director “Akala” that will tour 6 cities in England to showcase emerging youth talent supported by a full live band and share the stage with renowned special guest hip hop/spoken word artists.  Supported by Arts Council England, the Hip Hop Shakespeare: Richard II Live tour will also feature a series of Richard II-themed lyric-writing and performance workshops taking place at a local ‘Access To Music’ College prior to the live performances to engage young people aged 13-25 years old in order to develop emerging new talent across the country.  Selected workshop participants will also be given the opportunity to take part in the live tour, gaining new opportunities to share the stage with professional artists.

“Hip Hop Shakespeare Live” performances aim to explore the social, cultural and linguistic parallel’s between the works of William Shakespeare and modern day hip hop artists through the fusion of live music, spoken word theatre and other art forms engaging audiences of all ages. Music venues across the tour will operate an ‘all age’ policy (check individual venue websites for more info using ticket link above).

WATCH a sneak peek of Hip Hop Shakespeare: Richard II Live on CBBC’s Blue Peter (25th April 2013): http://bit.ly/bluepeterclip

During 2013 we are proud to announce the roll-out of the “In My Mind’s Eye” project.  Supported by the Heritage Lottery Fund, this project will provide opportunities for young people considered ‘hard-to-reach’ aged 13-25 across London boroughs to research, explore and celebrate British heritage utilising digital media and oral traditions to bring alive iconic London locations historically linked to Shakespeare’s life and work. The project will focus primarily on heritage skills workshops, historical location visits, research and archive skills training, peer mentoring and digital skills training (digital archiving). Participants will use this learning as a basis to create multimedia interpretations. Skills gained will inspire the creation of a digital learning resource to encompass an archive of their own interpretations of Shakespeare’s work.

The digital learning resources will also  include: various teaching aides, an online game, a mobile phone app, short films developed during the project and photographic exhibitions/screenings in heritage buildings across London, demonstrating Shakespeare’s relevance in the 21st Century.  Watch this space for more updates on the project journey!

Mumbai LitLive Festival - 1st Nov 2012

75min full live performance hosted by Akala and featuring our Associate Artists Angelina ‘Jipse’ Roz and Lori-Analytical with very special guests ‘Engine-Earz Experiment’ as our house band in the Tata Theatre, NCPA, Mumbai.

Larmer Tree Festival - 15 July 2012

5pm: THSC workshop hosted by Akala in the Big Top tent

10.30pm: Akala live band performance of tracks taken from his last album ‘Doublethink’ and new mixtape ‘Knowledge Is Power Vol. 1′

Indonesia  - 24 & 26 June 2012

Akala represents The Hip-hop Shakespeare Company in our first performance in Southeast Asia.  As part of a series of performances taking place in Yogjakarta and Bandung, Akala will be collaborating with Yogjakarta’s very own hip hop supergroup ‘Yogja Hip Hop Foundation’ (who incorporate ancient Javanese scripture within their hip hop songs) as part of an arts project sponsored by the British Council.

Philippines  - 5 & 6 July 2012

Camden Crawl - 5 May 2012

Hip Hop Shakespeare Live returns once again at one of Camden’s most legendary venue: ‘The Jazz Cafe’ as part of Camden Crawl 2012 - a series of performances taking place from 1.30pm-5.30pm. For more info go to: http://www.facebook.com/thecamdencrawl

World Book Night  - 23 April 2012

For the month of April Hip Hop Shakespeare will produce a series of Dickens-inspired live performances, taster workshops and a one-off ‘Hip Hop Dickens’ live performances featuring many of THSC’s Artist Associates and Peer Leaders as part of the City Read London Festival/Dickens 2012 celebrations.  Check out Hip Hop Shakespeare Live performances on Shakespeare’s birthday at World Book Night! For more info go to: http://bit.ly/JaCMgq or http://www.facebook.com/cityreadlondon

Barbican Weekender  - 3/4 Mar 2012

Come join us for a series of live performances, taster workshops and a one-off ‘Opera-In-A-Day’ THSC production as part of the Barbican Weekender - featuring many of THSC’s Artist Associates and Peer Leaders. With all activity being FREE of charge this action-packed weekend is not to be missed! For more info go to: http://bit.ly/thscbarbicanweekender

Bath Literature Festival - 3/4/10/11 March 2012

Join us for a series of short Hip Hop Shakespeare Live performances in the Sky Arts Den at the Bath Literature Festival! Performances to feature our finest wordsmiths; THSC Artist Associate ‘Anthony Anaxagorou’ and Peer Leader ‘Toby Thompson’! For more info go to: http://bit.ly/thscbathlitfest12

First Direct Dialogue Festival - 4 Nov 2011

Check out our next THSC Live performance at the First Direct Dialogue Festival at St Peters, Notting Hill W11 8pm.

The festival line-up includes the legendary John Cooper Clarke, Tim Key and of course THSC Live featuring a special guest! For more info go to: http://bit.ly/thsclivedialogue

Merge Festival - 19 Nov 2011

We are producing a bespoke ‘Hip Hop Shakespeare Live’ experience in an extraordinary location in the Bankside area…The Bear Pit! Our final show as part of the Merge Festival 2011, this performance takes place on 19th November at 6.30pm at the Bear Pit, 1 Bear Gardens, London SE1 - not to be missed!! For more info go to: http://bit.ly/thsclivemerge

Here’s an exclusive track “Sold Our Souls” from the Maida Vale session by the 5 Hip Hop Shakespeare Competition winners.

CLICK HERE to listen to THSC on Ras Kwame’s 1Xtra show on Sunday 20th September!

Check out the winning entries of the Hip Hop Shakespeare Competition:

Benicao

Simeon

Tom

Jordan

Tolu

For more exciting news about the Hip Hop Shakespeare Competition in partnership with BBC Blast - check out Blast’s revamped website!

Hip Hop Shakespeare showcase at the Southbank Centre, London on 25th July 2009 at 5pm! Part of the London 2012 Cultural Olympiad Open Weekend

Open to ALL ages (fully accessible)

Rap, sing or perform a spoken word inspired by William Shakespeare and win the chance to perform a live session with MOBO award-winning artist Akala and special guest award-winning rapper Bashy at the legendary Maida Vale Studios to be broadcast on 1Xtra!

This project is part of the London 2012 Cultural Olympiad and has been granted the Inspire Mark, which recognizes outstanding projects that are inspired by London 2012.

If you are aged 13-19 and want to enter the competition, record an audio or video recording of yourself performing your original verse as a rap, song or spoken word in 60 seconds or less.

Your verse should be based on one of the following five Shakespearian themes:

• Power Struggle
• Consequences
• Love and Desire
• Wealth and Poverty
• State of the Nation

We’re looking for:

• An engaging performance
• Originality and artistic flair
• Lyrically reflects both Hip Hop and Shakespeare

The Prize

Five winners will be invited to a two-day masterclass to be held in London with award-winning rapper Akala and in demand, emerging hip-hop talent, Bashy. The winners will also get the chance to show their skills alongside them at a Maida Vale session to be broadcast on 1Xtra’s Introducing Homegrown with Ras Kwame.

How to enter

To enter the competition click here to go on the BBC Blast’s Hip-Hop Shakespeare page NOW!

Joint Press Release from The Hip Hop Shakespeare Company and City Gateway - 17th February 2009

Legendary Hollywood/Shakespearean actor, Sir Ian McKellen and MOBO award-winning hip-hop artist Akala will launch The Hip-Hop Shakespeare Company at City Gateway Limehouse youth club on 17 February, 6pm.  

The juxtaposed and unlikely duo will work with 30 disengaged young people with a passion for music in a workshop entitled Sound and Fury – that seeks to explore their creativity through a series of unique interactions with the works of Shakespeare, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world’s preeminent playwright.

Sir Ian has already tried his hand at being an MC, on a previous visit to City Gateway he found himself putting Shakespeare’s famous Sonnet 18 to a hip-hop beat, a production, which was aired around the World on the BBC Today programme, and was keen to emphasise the similarity between The Bard and rap lyrics.

Stressing the importance for local businesses and residents to be involved in projects like this Sir Ian commented: “There’s a terrific need for people to feel they belong as there are disparate groups in the borough. You have the very rich and poor, high achievers and school leavers and bringing them together is key.”

Akala said “This project is really about challenging perception, by challenging the perceptions of both Hip-Hop and The Bard and highlighting the similarities between what we assume are two disparate worlds we aim to challenge the perceptions many young people have of themselves and the world around them and also to inspire their natural creativity”.

The “Sound and Fury” lyric-writing and performance workshop is the official launch of The Hip-Hop Shakespeare Company and will be the first in a London tour in association with Arts Council England with a planned nationwide tour with BBC Blast.  It aims to challenge preconceptions and explore the poetry, word play and lyricism present in both hip-hop and classic theatre.

The workshop, taking place at 6pm on Tuesday 17th February, is a once in a lifetime workshop for young people in Tower Hamlets, one of the most disadvantaged Boroughs in the country. The session runs at the City Gateway Limehouse Youth Club, E14 8BN, run in partnership with Poplar HARCA.

For further information or to register your interest in attending the workshop please contact Emma Macorison at Kallaway (emma.macorison@kallaway.co.uk) for more details of the event and to reserve a place.

Last year Akala ran a pilot of the “Sound and Fury” lyric-writing and performance workshops in conjunction with the BBC, on the Blast Tour 2008 in: Newcastle, Swindon, Sheffield, Glasgow, Derby, Liverpool, Gloucester, Salford and London.   As part of the last leg of the Blast Tour, on 13th September 2008 a group of youngsters, directed by Akala, performed a special hip hop re-working of “Othello”, outside the National Theatre on the South Bank, as part of the Thames Festival.