Redemption – The Big House

Picture: Ollie Grove

Redemption continues at The Big House, London until 11 December 2021.

Star rating: five stars ★ ★ ★ ★ ★

We theatregoers can be confusing sometimes. Yes, we want shows to challenge us and make us feel uncomfortable, but not to the extent that we are willing do anything other than sit in a comfortable chair for the duration of a performance. If you share that commonly held trepidation about immersive and environmental productions, this might be the time to get over your prejudice: Redemption at The Big House is damn near essential theatre.

The action takes place throughout the moody former frame factory that is The Big House, with various rooms across multiple levels dressed (excellently, by designer Zoë Hurwitz) as bedrooms, a music studio and a sweaty club. We follow the story of Maz, a grime MC who aspires not so much for superstardom, but rather to escape the heartbreak of her family history and the impossible and dangerous situation she finds herself in as a young person in care. Her vulnerability causes her to bristle with the aggression of a threatened animal at the smallest slight, but she has a singular charisma and an outstanding musical talent that put her on the path to success.

Renaya Dennis leads the cast and is incredible in her role as Maz. For a performer to excel at acting, rapping and singing is one thing, but to also be entirely believable as a future musical superstar is quite another. Dennis is heartbreakingly real and human in her delicate moments, and when she picks up the microphone for a song, she is a thunderbolt.

On her journey, Maz encounters Tayo, a fellow artist who is as gentle and shy as she is acerbic. His emotional fragility is played with fearless commitment by Shaquille Jack, a remarkable acting presence with an exquisite singing voice. The supporting cast of aspiring rappers, overbearing care workers and shifty music industry chancers fill this sometimes-dark tale with a surprising amount of humour and heart. The world this ensemble creates is a dark and unenviable one, but you will grow to love a vast number of its inhabitants.

The music of Redemption is composed by infamous UK rapper and producer The Last Skeptik. The score moves between hard-edged hip-hop and delicate soul seamlessly, all sharing a common thread of The Last Skeptik’s lush soundscapes. Maggie Norris’ carefully considered direction ingeniously places musical numbers in locations and at volumes that give them the most impact. One moment we are in a packed grime club with supersonic-speed lyrics blasting out of the PA, and the next we are metres away from an intimate bedroom scene, where a vocal line is sung tentatively and on the precipice of inaudibility. Not only does the audience follow the characters around the building between scenes, but we actively lean in to hear them. Redemption is not a passive experience.

The short breaks as we shuffle between locations also function as mini-intervals. It is a testament to the calibre of the production that nearly all chit-chat in these moments is about the show and the story as opposed to where to get drinks afterwards or which train to get home. Many directors might be afraid to break up a piece so frequently, but Norris rightly has full confidence in the strength of the script and the performers to keep us enthralled.

Lyrics and text are provided by James Meteyard, and his achievement goes beyond composing an engaging and thought-provoking story. He has crafted authentic dialogue for a cast of characters from a variety of backgrounds, as well as lyrics for The Last Skeptik’s score that demonstrate wit, an understanding of hip-hop conventions, and an impressive level of technical skill. The story spans love, death, inequality and despair, but the breadth of its ambition is met by Meteyard’s well-drawn characters and is brought to life beautifully by the cast.

The mission of The Big House is to provide a creative platform for young people who are at high risk of social exclusion and who may face barriers when applying to traditional drama schools. When the cast cry, shout or sing about the myriad injustices of the broken care system or the difficulties of surviving the cold reality of inner-city London, they are intoning sad, primal truths. Redemption uses this energy to give its audience a theatrical experience more intimate and invigorating than any other you are likely to see this year. By the end, even if your legs are tired, your heart will be full.

Ian Bowkett