BIG UP! - A Hip Hop Puppetry Show Comes to Southbank Centre and Embarks on Tour

UK Champion Beatboxer Grace Savage, rapper/singer Dorcas Sebuyange, and performer puppeteers Clarke Joseph Edwards and Teele Uustani perform Theatre-Rites and 20 Stories High's Big Up! - a captivating hip hop puppetry show celebrating music, the importance of play, and the power of imagination.

Four performers arrive on stage to find nothing is ready. No set, no instruments, no puppets. No rules. They create a world full of joy and chaos, where objects come to life and everything is possible. A perfect show for little people who want to be Big, and Big people whoa??just might have forgotten how to play.a??

Big Up! was developed with Young Adult Parent and Carers and their children, and originally conceived in 2019. It is the second collaboration between celebrated children's theatre company Theatre-Rites and ground-breaking young people's theatre company 20 Stories High, following the success of their hip hop puppetry show for young people, The Broke 'n' Beat Collective.

Sue Buckmaster (Artistic Director, Theatre-Rites): 'We are thrilled to present Big Up! at the Southbank Centre over Easter and to take the show to more cities, engaging with audiences across the UK.

It's not always easy being little and figuring out what the rules are, and it's sometimes overwhelming to be Big and forget what it's like to just play. Big Up! revels in the possibilities of these situations and it is heart-warming to see audiences, little and Big, responding to the show - the moments of joy and surprise they share together during the performance and the lively conversations with which they leave the theatre.

It is fantastic that Grace Savage joins us for the 2020 production of Big Up! She is a young woman who makes a huge impact not always playing by the rules and really knows how to have fun. We also welcome new puppeteer Teele Uustani to complete the company alongside the sublime singer/rapper Dorcus Sebuyange and playful puppeteer Clarke Joseph Edwards, who have both been with the show since its conception.'

Keith Saha (Artistic Director, 20 Stories High): 'When we originally created Big Up!, I was inspired by the young culturally diverse working-class parents and carers I knew through 20 Stories High, who told me that not only did they seldom see their stories on stage, but neither did they see the art forms they loved - including hip hop.

Those young parents and carers and their little ones were crucially part of the development of the show. However, what we've created is a universal story, exploring the highs and lows of being a young child - and the rollercoaster of being a parent or carer at any age. It explores how creativity and imagination is a collaboration between parent and carer and how they can both be inspired by each other. I know that is definitely true of the relationship I have with my kids.'

Tour Dates

Southbank Centre, London
15 - 19 April 2020 at 11am + 3pm
Tickets: southbankcentre.co.uk
£14 adult / £10.50 child / concessions 25% off (limited availability)

Cast, Doncaster
25 April 2020 at 2.30pm
Tickets: castindoncaster.com / £8 adult / £6 child

the egg, Bath
2 - 3 May 2020 at 11.30am + 3pm
Tickets: theatreroyal.org.uk / £9 adult / £8 child / Lapseats (0-24 months) £1.50

caravan, Brighton Festival, Brighton
10 May 2020 at 5pm
Tickets: brightonfestival.org / £8 / £6 under-16s

Theatre Peckham, London
14 May 2020
Tickets: theatrepeckham.co.uk

Lakeside Arts, Nottingham
17 May 2020 at 1pm + 3.30pm
Tickets: lakesidearts.org.uk / £8.50 - £9.50 / £5 students

The Marlowe, Canterbury
27 May 2020 at 1.30pm + 28 May 2020 at 11am
Tickets: marlowetheatre.com / £10.50

Birmingham Hippodrome
30 May 2020 at 2pm
Tickets: birminghamhippodrome.com

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