A new British musical, The Cereal Café, inspired by the opening of the Cereal Killer Café in East London and the Shoreditch riots of 2015, is to get its world premiere at The Other Palace.
Based on the childhood fantasies of two young brothers, an extraordinary café is opening on the vibrant streets of East London. But its presence will result in unimaginable consequences. In a threatened neighbourhood, fighting to survive gentrification and rising property prices, something so simple as cereal will divide the community.
Encroaching re-development is threatening residents in one of London’s poorest and most culturally diverse neighbourhoods. But when two young brothers arrive from Northern Ireland with an idea for a cafe that stimulates childhood nostalgia, members of the community are brought together to fight against the loss of all that they hold dear. While many turn to the new cafe for comfort, its arrival is feared by some in the community.
Tensions build and feelings boil over. This fictional story, inspired by a café which became the focal point of the Shoreditch anti-gentrification riots of 2015, explores how people with conflicting views can come together in very unlikely places during the most challenging of times.
Jacob Dorrell, the show’s creator, said: “The Cereal Café is a story set in a neighbourhood experiencing rapid re-development, so it addresses issues affecting many inner city areas around the UK. It’s a real collision of light and dark, where subjects so far apart all somehow come together. This is reflected in the show’s sound-world, mixing musical theatre, pop, rock and cinema.”
The cast will be Norma Atallah, Fanta Barrie, Thomas Grant, Rosalind James, Julie Legrand, Harveen Mann, Minal Patel, Keith Ramsay, Howard Samuels, Tosh Wanogho-Maud.
The Cereal Café – Book and Lyrics by Jacob Dorrell and Tom Ling, Music by Adam Dickinson – will get a limited workshop production at The Other Palace from Thursday 28 February to Saturday 2 March.
