Birmingham REP’s newest auditorium The Studio will be unveiled with a staged performance of jazz and hip-hop artist Soweto Kinch’s album The Legend of Mike Smith.
Inspired by The Seven Deadly Sins and Dante’s Inferno, Kinch and a company of musicians, actors and dancers will present the story of Mike Smith—a young man “caught in a world of temptation where the boundaries of reality and fantasy collide”.
The modern fable follows a day in the life of Mike Smith who gets a call from a record label talent scout telling him he could be the next big signing if he proves himself at an audition the following day.
Smith is portrayed by a double narrator—coincidently also used in Kurt Weill’s Seven Deadly Sins.
Smith’s inner thoughts are narrated by Kinch, with the protagonist and other characters played by dancers and actors Tyrone Issac Stuart and Ricardo Da Silva.
Soweto Kinch is said to be “one of the most exciting and versatile young musicians in both the British jazz and hip hop scenes”.
His list of accolades and awards includes a Mercury Music Prize nomination, two UMA awards and a MOBO for best jazz act in 2003 and 2007.
The Legend of Mike Smith will be directed and choreographed by the pioneer of British hip-hop culture and one of Kinch’s long-time collaborators, Jonzi D.
Joining them will be musicians Shane Forbes (drums) and Nick Jurd (bass), visual artist Nat Jones and costume stylist Mimi Fresh.
The Legend of Mike Smith runs in the REP’s Studio from Thursday (12 September) until Saturday 28 September.