Redemption, with text and lyrics by James Meteyard and music by The Last Skeptik (internationally acclaimed DJ, producer and composer, behind the score of critically acclaimed play Superhoe at the Royal Court Theatre), will premiere at The Big House in their Islington venue – from Wednesday 17 November.
In a time of accusation and outrage, what does forgiveness look like?
The path to Redemption is hard to see, and even harder to walk.
Redemption follows explosive Maz and her truth-telling bars as she rails at the world and runs from a life in care. When she meets Tayo, a gentle soul with silky smooth vocal folds, they take the first steps of their musical career, but can they hold on to each other when promised the bright lights of success? A powerful new play-with-music, Redemption explores themes of grief, trauma, family and forgiveness.
The Big House opened their venue in Islington in October 2018, offering both a theatre and a space to help young care leavers. The company’s work offers counselling, long term mentoring, training and workshops for young people to unleash their creativity and build confidence whilst participating in theatre and film. No-one is auditioned, but selected on the basis of need.
Directed by Maggie Norris (Artistic Director of The Big House), this production brings together an incredible team of artists with young performers for a show that will share the company’s ethos of making high-quality artistic work with a social impact.
The Last Skeptik said: ‘It is an honour to be working alongside the amazing team at Big House, with the next generation of talented actors and performers. It’s been a long road bringing Redemption to life given its original form way back before Corona in 2019, and James Meteyard has done an incredible job making such an emotive and heart wrenching script. It means a great deal to empower, encourage and propel the confidence of young people, as from my own experiences growing up in London with various bumps in the road – I can see the incredible merit in showing people the joy and purpose that art can bring.’
Maggie Norris, Artistic Director of The Big House, said: “The struggle facing the UK’s theatre industry as a result of the Covid-19 lockdown is extremely worrying. We are determined to stay open and find new ways to engage our audience. The Ballad of Corona V was designed to enable small groups to promenade through a live performance safely. We are delighted now to be able to open our doors to larger groups to see REDEMPTION, a bold creative experiment mixing the sizzling text from James Meteyard with The Last Skeptik’s beats.”
Redemption is at The Big House 17th November to 11th December 2021.
