hip hop musical Suffrageddon for Latitude 2018

Latitude 2018

Thursday 12th to Sunday 15th July 2018
Henham Park Estate, Beccles, Suffolk, NR34 8AN, England MAP
£197.50

Daily capacity: 35,000

The multi-arts Latitude Festival, which takes place for the 13th time over the weekend of Thursday 12th to Sunday 15th July 2018 at Henham Park Estate, Suffolk has added to its programme with the addition of hip hop musical 'Suffrageddon'.

Co-creator and writer Rebecca Phillips aka Omahrose, a soul singer from West London says hip-hop is a powerful medium that connects communities and transforms storytelling. She says hip-hop was key to reframing a narrative that often excludes women of colour.

Telling the story of Emmeline Pankhurst and the fight for votes for women, Suffrageddon is the story of British women then, told by British women now. It is an opportunity for women of colour to reframe a narrative which often excludes them and a chance for the world to see this story told through the revolutionary beats of hip hop. This modern retelling of Emmeline Pankhurst’s story and the women’s suffrage movement, includes other notable suffragettes such as Sylvia Pankhurst, Millicent Fawcett, and Sophia Duleep Singh (an Indian-British militant suffragette that has been described as a 'rock star').

The piece is being created and composed by Rebecca Phillips (a.k.a Omahrose) and Mark Hodge, with writing and performances from Roxxxan, Oracy Chambers, Aminita Francis and Koko Brown. It has been commissioned by Deborah Frances-White and is a Guilty Feminist production.

Deborah Frances-White says, "The suffragettes were almost all white, and women of colour were structurally excluded so we at The Guilty Feminist wanted to do something to address that fact for the centenary. Hamilton really inspired me. The founding fathers of America started with the statement that it was self evident that ‘all men are created equal’ while they enslaved Africans. Their idea was bigger than their intentions. It arrives with Lesley Odom Jr and Daveed Diggs cutting up Broadway and taking all the Tonys. Similarly the suffragettes’ idea arrives with these amazing women on the stage at Latitude, in the West End and on tour, developing a full length musical using hip hop - the music of revolution - making the story relevant and reaching a broad and young audience who often feel failed or marginalised by democracy. The idea of the suffragettes lands here with Suffrageddon and this cast and this audience. We hope it will entertain and inspire activism and participation."

The material which currently stretches to around 12 minutes, was performed during a live recording of The Guilty Feminist at the London Palladium earlier this year and met with a standing ovation. One of those at the recording was Tania Harrison, arts curator for Latitude Festival, who immediately commissioned the show and hopes to bring the musical to other UK festivals across the summer. Suffrageddon will be developed into a full-length show for Latitude Festival.

Confirmed acts for latitude includes headliners The Killers, Solange, and Alt-J, plus James, Mogwai, Jon Hopkins (Live), tUnE-yArDs, The Breeders, Alvvays, Jacob Banks, Bomba Estereo, Ibeyi, Hinds, and much more including comedy & more, with more still to be announced. For all of the music/comedy details please see the line-up page. Also see the news articles for details of theatre, talks, and more.

An adult weekend ticket is priced at £197.50 with a Family Camping option also available, a teen weekend ticket were priced at £140.50. Campervan permits are priced at £40, and mobilehome and caravan passes are priced at £60.

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