Electrifying political gig theatre – Blaze FM is a pirate radio station that keeps on kicking in the midst of court orders, injunctions, shutdowns by DTI, and outright attacks against Black music. This play with music from The Big House will take you back to the mid-2000s featuring Jungle, Grime and Drill.
Would you mind giving us a brief insight into what your show/event/performance is?
X and Anais (cast members): Blaze FM is explosive political gig theatre with Jungle, Drill and Grime music telling the story of a family-run pirate radio station in the early 2000s. Hughbert, a descendant of the Windrush generation, is trying to raise his two children in a run-down council flat in East London. We follow his struggle to keep the radio going while fighting deportation and repression. Blaze FM is about community, freedom of speech and the fight to give oneself a voice even when you’re constantly getting squashed down. And they do it through music. We get to see the musical journey of inner city London, how it starts from Jungle and Garage to Grime all the way through to Drill.
Tell us about the creative team and the process involved?
Maggie (Director), Shemzy (Musical Director) and Raheem (Assistant Director):
The Big House is a London-based charity supporting young people at risk of social exclusion through various programmes, mixing theatre and long-term pastoral care to unlock their potential. Our work emerges from our members. It goes through stages of development, from the exchange of ideas in our drop-ins to workshops and early read-throughs. Everybody is feeding into it through shared stories, interests, struggles and music. Music is central to the lives of people here, and often their parents too. The creative team uses the workshop resources of The Big House to test-run ideas and get feedback.
In order to nurture people who are non-actors and haven’t had traditional training, we create a safe, playful space where we break down barriers and build confidence. We listen and find out what our members feel strongly about. Then tailor the material that we are presenting to their strengths and commission really strong writers who are collaborative. They will need to write a piece that is malleable like a piece of clay, that can be moulded to the cast
As a director, I’ve learned so much from the cast. They’re fierce in a way that trained actors are not, and they take risks and go to deep and dark places in a very open and musical way. I have learned so much about the human spirit, and how those people with the least opportunities cannot be silenced, cannot be ignored. The beauty of this piece is seeing the people rise up
How does it feel coming to the Fringe?
Andrew, Marcus and Aliaano (cast members): Making our Fringe debut with Blaze FM feels like an incredible opportunity to bring a raw and dynamic show to a new audience and to share our unique perspective on music and life. We have a duty to share with people who’ve never heard this kind of music, who don’t know about the history of pirate radios, so they understand what those early pioneers did. None of us come from traditional theatre backgrounds, so to be able to bring something like Blaze FM and all our differences to the Fringe is going to be very, very special.
With shows from all over the world at the Fringe, what sets yours apart?
X (Cast member) and Shemzy (Musical Director): What sets this show apart is definitely its message and the music. It teaches community, love, unity, togetherness and freedom of speech. It’s an all-Black cast of young people who have come through The Big House from various challenging environments, with backgrounds and stories similar to those represented in the play. We’re coming to represent something that is true to our lives and cultures in an authentic way on a big stage, and that’s special. The use of music in the show also sets it apart. Our composer, Jammz, used to run his own pirate radio back in the day, so he was able to compose music that is really authentic to what was coming out back then. And just like every piece of rap out there, the music isn’t just there to sound nice; it conveys a message, it advances the story, and it immerses you in the story, in the era, in a way we haven’t seen many shows do before. You know, you’ve seen the comedy show, you’ve seen the deep, emotional show, you’ve seen the physical theatre piece, you’ve seen all of that, but you haven’t seen this. Blaze FM encapsulates everything, so if you want to see something that’s daring, expressive, educational but at the same time extremely entertaining, then this is the show.
Is there anything specific you’re hoping the audience will take away?
Aliaano and Marcus (cast members): We hope the audience can realise that when they hear people rapping on the radio, there’s a lot more to it than just spitting lyrics and making music for fun. Folks have a voice, and they should be allowed to use it. There are messages in the lyrics and there are people to hold up. We can see Hughbert, for example, he’s speaking out on behalf of his community when the government ignores them, he says, ‘hey, the government’s not going to do this, but we’re here for you and we’re gonna keep it burning.’ It’s a political statement, a chance to be a part of the political conversation as someone from a rundown flat in Hackney who wouldn’t be heard otherwise. As entertaining and dynamic as the show is, there are real agendas that were being pushed at the time by the media and politicians, and we’re challenging that narrative. We’re talking about freedom of expression, about censorship, deportation, people having their houses broken into, people being scared, having their religion being trodden down. We’re inviting people who might not be as well acquainted with our culture to share this experience and maybe go do some research. Some of their favourite grime artists might have started on pirate radio stations.
Your Ideal audience is in attendance, who’s watching? Or more importantly – who isn’t…?
Marcus and Andrew (cast members): The ideal audience would be both those who are ideal and those who aren’t ideal, because when you come to watch our show, it’s going to take you on a journey and you’re going to be challenged and moved. So it doesn’t matter who you are before you come to the show; it’s who you are after you leave the show, what you take from the show. All we ask is for people to be open and curious. We’d also love to have young people who may not have the opportunity to come see theatre work. Young people who might want to get into music or acting but don’t know how. None of us has had traditional training; it’s not a show full of RADA actors, so we’d love for young people with similar backgrounds to us to see the power of creativity and get inspired. We want councils and government officials to come and see what we’re doing at The Big House so they can promote and develop projects just like that in their end and help their young people.
It’s an intense month, so where you’re able, how do you plan to relax, and are there any other shows you intend to see or want to recommend?
Anais (cast member) and Maggie (Director): We want to see everything. It’s an insane opportunity, and we are so blessed that The Big House has made this something that is available to us. We want to see everything, to explore everything. We’re very excited to see other people’s shows and embrace their cultures, just like we’re excited for people to see our show and embrace our culture, see what other people have to offer and their messages. We’re also looking forward to Footballers’ Wives, the musical. We loved the series, and we can’t wait to see the show!
In your ideal world, how can we improve the Fringe, performance, and the industry?
Anais (cast member) and Maggie (Director): When we were first getting into the creative industry, the call outs for auditions for Elfaba in Wicked were still caucasian only, and she’s green!! It’s been a few years now, and things are changing. We see slightly more open calls, people who are learning to do black hair, but that’s not enough. It’s not enough to just be at the beginning of a journey that should’ve started so long ago. We can’t just say ‘oh I guess people of color can have a space here’ no, we should be giving more grants, we should be knocking off drama school fees, we should have more open castings. It’s absolutely taken for granted by the people who have been to drama school or who come from very privileged backgrounds who are able to fund themselves through their upbringings, and they bring on their shows, but we find more raw talent, beauty and real stories when we open up to a wider community of people to experience the creative arts. We need the government to invest in companies like this (us) but not just places like TBH, theatre, the arts generally, culture, there needs to be more investment and the government needs to give long term funding so companies all over the country aren’t struggling to survive. Every time something gets cut, every time something is taken away, that is another voice silenced and the nation’s mental health affected.
Blaze FM runs at Venue 33:Pleasance Two at Pleasance Courtyard
Photo credit: The Big House
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