Young people from Leeds star in a hip-hop family musical with beatboxing, live-looping and grime

A hip-hop retelling of a medieval fable, Pied Piper, featuring local young people alongside a cast of seven professional beatboxers – including a winner and a top competitor of the UK Beatbox Championships – will open at Leeds Playhouse next month.

Written and composed by hip-hop theatre practitioner and Artistic Director Conrad Murray, creator of the hit stage production and BBC adaptation of Frankenstein: How to Make a Monster, the production draws on years of innovative vocal work and youth-led music theatre with the BAC Beatbox Academy.

The re-imagining of the classic tale follows a group of children who work at the pie factory in Hamelin, where there is both a music ban and a serious rat problem. Told through beatboxing, live-looping, hip-hop, grime, and contemporary theatre, Pied Piper transforms the medieval tale into a high-voltage sonic experience where the enigmatic Piper shakes up a sleepy town with nothing but a microphone and his voice.

Director 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 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 beautifully crafted and that there’s hope for the future.”

Each performance of Pied Piper will feature a community cast of young people from across the Leeds City Region. Members of Leeds Playhouse’s Youth Theatre will collaborate with participants from Buzz, the Playhouse’s programme for young people with learning disabilities, Autism, and Profound and Multiple Learning Disabilities, to form the core of the community chorus. Participants have been taking part in workshops led by the Pied Piper company, learning microphone techniques, beatboxing, and rapping, before being invited to perform live onstage as part of the production. Young people from Buzz will be working closely with rapper, poet and dramatist Testament (aka Andy Brooks) to develop and refine their skills for their role in this inclusive company.

The cast of Pied Piper includes Aziza Brown, David Bonnick Jr, Celeste Denyer, Alex ‘ABH’ Hackett, Alex Hardie, Jevoughn Greg-Fuller, Catriona Malbaski, and Conrad Murray.

The creative team includes Concept and story Conrad Murray & Lara Taylor; Written, composed and musically directed by Conrad Murray; Co-directed by Conrad Murray and Ria Parry; Assistant direction by Amelia Thornber; Dramaturgy by Lisa Goldman; Set & lighting design by Ben Pacey; Costume design by Erin Guan; Sounds design by Ed Clark; Dance Captain Alex Hardie; Stage Management by Andrew Aldis; Sound Engineer Niccolo Conti and RODIUM Ltd is produced by Impossible Producing.

Original performers and devisers: Aziza Amira Brown, David Bonnick Junior, Alex Hardie, Kate Donnachie, Chris Maylor, Conrad Murray, Ananya Panwar, Lakeisha Lynch-Stevens.

Pied Piper premiered in 2023 at Battersea Arts Centre, winning an Offie Award for Music/Sound for Theatre for Young Audiences.

Pied Piper plays at Leeds Playhouse 12 – 14 March. Tickets are available here.