ARCADE has announced that Pied Piper, a hip-hop family musical blending beatboxing, live-looping, grime and contemporary theatre, will tour nationally from 21 February to 25 March 2026.
Written, composed and musically directed by Conrad Murray, the production reimagines the medieval tale for a modern audience. Set in Hamelin, where a music ban and a rat infestation plague the town, the story follows children working in a pie factory as the enigmatic Piper shakes up the status quo using only his voice and a microphone.
The show features a cast of seven professional beatboxers and musicians, including top competitors from the UK Beatbox Championships, alongside local young people who will join the performance in each tour location. Pied Piper originally premiered at Battersea Arts Centre in 2023, winning an Offie Award for Music/Sound for Theatre for Young Audiences.
Conrad Murray said: “One of the reasons we created the show was because we wanted to show off the possibilities of the human voice, as well as the incredible skills of young people specifically from working class backgrounds who don’t usually get access to the theatre. We chose Piper because it’s a story which shows how we as humans need art, we need creativity, and we need it to be in our lives and in our schools. Ultimately, I want people to leave the show feeling like they’ve seen something that’s so beautifully crafted and that there’s hope for the future.”
Sophie Drury-Bradey, Co-Artistic Director and CEO of ARCADE, added: “For us as producers, this is more than just touring a show, we are touring the notion that young people deserve to be centre stage. Pied Piper brings the opportunity for hundreds of young people across the country to take part in workshops preparing them to perform alongside an incredibly talented professional cast of diverse performers – an incredibly special experience that will be remembered forever. We hope Pied Piper sparks the idea of the possibility of a creative career for the next generation, especially in areas outside London where often opportunities are lacking.”
The cast includes Aziza Brown, David Bonnick Jr, Celeste Denyer, Alex ‘ABH’ Hackett, Alex Hardie, Jevoughn Greg-Fuller, Catriona Malbaski and Conrad Murray.
Pied Piper is a Battersea Arts Centre and rODIUM co-production, produced on tour by ARCADE and funded by Arts Council England. The production is supported by Derby Theatre.
Listings and ticket information can be found here.
