Theatre

Featuring

The Canterbury Tales Remixed

SoHo Playhouse, Inc. is very proud to premiere The Canterbury Tales Remixed, written and performed by Baba Brinkman with music and turntablism by Mr. Simmonds and directed by SoHo Playhouse Artistic Director, Darren Lee Cole. The Canterbury Tales Remixed ran for three months from November 2011 until February 2012, and is now available for touring.

Geoffrey Chaucer's timeless Canterbury Tales comes to vivid life in an "entertaining and brilliant" (Time Out) virtuoso performance linking today's hip-hop lyrics with the greatest stories ever told. Framed by gripping re-imaginings of the epic poems Gilgamesh and Beowulf, Canadian hip-hop artist Baba Brinkman forges a new masterpiece out of the rawest material etched onto vinyl, or carved into clay tablets. Just like the most heart-wrenching songs by Eminem or Kanye West, these ancient Tales are infused with lust, betrayal, infidelity, greed, jealousy, ambition, and the endless struggles between men and women seeking happiness. Baba Brinkman brings you a rich theatrical experience filled with laugh-out-loud hilarity and riveting storytelling, tracing a thread from Chaucer's venal Merchant and sensuous Wife of Bath to the muscular heroes of ancient lore, so similar to today's hip hop stars in their perpetual quest for glory. The Canterbury Tales Remixed is a truly modern telling of classic tales that will amaze young and old alike.

“Most rappers boast about their intellect, but few go out and actually get a master’s degree in medieval and Renaissance literature so they can spit better rhymes.” —Huffington Post

“He maintains the essence of Chaucer’s stories and storytelling itself in a fresh way, and his diction and timing capture the Middle Ages’ anachronisms and idiosyncrasies in a way that effortlessly interprets them for a modern audience.” —Backstage

“An audacious hip hop approach to some great literary classics; the show is funny and thoughtful.” —Theater Is Easy

“Not only audacious, but also astute” —Theater Mania

“In his delightful one-man show, Baba Brinkman has unlocked another intimidating masterpiece from the Ivory Tower.” —New York Times

"The hypnotic beats of [Mr. Simmonds] soundscapes provide so much more than a supporting role.”—AlltheFestivals.com

"Baba Brinkman is astonishing and brilliant."

—The New York Times

Previous Shows

The Rap Guide to Evolution (New York – 2011)

The Rap Guide to Evolution is currently running off-Broadway at the Soho Playhouse, with turntablism by Mr. Simmonds, directed by Dodd Loomis (Spider Man: Turn Off the Dark), and produced by Sharon Levy of Dovetail Productions.

Click here for tickets and schedule >

Rapconteur

Premiered at the Edinburgh Fringe in 2010. Comedy hip-hop retellings of some of the world's great oral epics, featuring Beowulf, Gilgamesh, and Chaucer's Merchant's Tale, with music by Mr. Simmonds.

The Rap Guide To Human Nature

Premiered at the Edinburgh Fringe in 2010.
Comedy sequel to the Rap Guide to Evolution, featuring Mr. Simmonds on turntables, Human Nature zeros in on human behaviour and evolutionary psychology.

THE RAP GUIDE TO EVOLUTION

Premiered at the Edinburgh Fringe in 2009. Winner of Scotsman Fringe First Award for Innovation and Outstanding New Writing.
A hip-hop exploration of modern evolutionary biology, written for Charles Darwin's 200th birthday in 2009.

The Rap Guide to Evolution was commissioned by Dr. Mark Pallen, bacterial genomist at the University of Birmingham in Britain. Dr. Pallen, the author of The Rough Guide to Evolution requested some Darwinian entertainment for his Darwin Day symposium, and he challenged Baba to "do for Darwin what he did for Chaucer." The result is a grand tour of Darwin's contributions to human knowledge and his impact on the modern world. How is bling like a peacock's Tail? Can white people be Afro-centric? Does anything rhyme with Australopithecus afarensis? Prepare to evolve.
Transferring to New York in April 2011.

"Brilliantly conceived and effervescently performed…not only is it factually correct, it's also dazzlingly intelligent…after seeing this show, you'll never look at a hip-hop music video in the same way again!" ★★★★—The Scotsman

"Brinkman is an excellent performer, combining the boyish energy of a rapper with the clever wit of a comedian and the intelligence of a lecturer to create an excellent production, which could be a new and exciting art form." ★★★★—FringeReview.com

"Instantly accessible, destroying creationism through the music of The Notorious BIG, Dead Prez, Mobb Deep, and his own flows, it's an entertaining and scientifically accurate display of lyrical dexterity. Perfect for your inner science geek." ★★★★—The List

"As lyrically ingenious as it is scientifically accurate, the show caters for rap fans and biology enthuiasts alike. If life on the Fringe is indeed comparable to Darwin's survival of the fittest (as Brinkman would have us believe), then this show ought to be raking in bigger audiences each day, ultimately triumphing above its weaker competitors." ★★★★—Three Weeks

"One of the worldʼs great intelligent rappers…what Baba does is amazing - his knowledge of rap genres and styles is encyclopaedic…a flash of verbal fireworks." ★★★★ —Broadway Baby

"Baba Brinkman makes evolutionary science not only accessible but genuinely entertaining. Striking and surprising, but convincing, parallels between the theory of evolution and the theory of rap are tackled, without diluting his material or alientating his audience." ★★★★ —Big Issue Scotland

"The weirdness that is a rap show about evolutionary biology is like the weirdness that is the first appearance of a random genetic mutation. If the mutation turns out to beneficial, it should survive to the next generation; if the show turns out to be popular, Brinkman should be back with another next year." ★★★★ —British Theatre Guide

"Refreshingly original. Brinkman has a light touch and a way with words and rhythm that will appeal to rap aficionados, poetry buffs and anyone interested in science but bored stiff by text books." ★★★ —Metro

"Stimulating and intelligent...Brinkman's rhymes are sometimes Shakespearian in their beauty." ★★★ —Fest Magazine

"There aren't many hip-hoppers who use words like 'mitochondria' and 'phenotype' in their rhymes - but Brinkman wasn't just showing off for clever's sake; this was intelligent, informative and, crucially, hugely entertaining." —Chortle

"Intelligent, entertaining, and passionately performed, Brinkman is as mucha wiz at the science bit as he is at the hip-hop." —Sunday Times

"In a blinding barrage of rhymes that find the missing link between Eminem and Richard Dawkins, the Canadian rapper turns in a brilliant gig-cum-lecture that is as educational as it is novel."—Scotland on Sunday

Other Reviews:

"Sadly reductionist, but [he] finds the courage to sin boldly"—Evangel.com (Christian website)

"An intelligent, lyrical, witty collection of performance poetry that also manages to be an accurate popular-science discussion of modern evolutionary theory and its wider implications"—TREE Journal (Trends in Evolution and Ecology)

"Hip-hop fans and scientists alike should marvel at Canadian Baba Brinkman's ability to distill Darwin's Theory through rapidfire rap routines... Highly-evolved entertainment!" ★ ★ ★ ★ 1/2 —Adelaide Advertiser, Australia

"Brinkman has a sublime knack for making sense of difficult texts... His playful nature and comic timing provides a platform for laugh-out-loud comedy and a toe-tapping treat. Despite the intellectual topic, expect high entertainment."—Glam Adelaide, Australia

"The juxtaposition of hip-hop with Darwin is striking. By boldly making use of hip-hop in a most unusual but still provokative way, Brinkman harmoniously fuses art with evolution" ★ ★ ★ ★ —Time Out Magazine, Hong Kong

"With lyrics that were sometimes sly, often hilarious, and always smart and thought-provoking, Brinkman married the fast, complex, literate delivery of Eminem with the evolutionary expertise and confrontational manner of Dawkins… A mesmerizing performance, one that would probably do more to convince school children of evolution's validity than any BBC or PBS special could… Scientists, science teachers, and anyone evolution has provided with an open mind and a hint of musical rhythm should rush out to see this show if they're fortunate enough for it to make an appearance nearby." —Science Magazine

"A work of genius. Never since Charles Darwin have we had such an eloquent exposition."—Dr. Mark Pallen, Author of The Rough Guide to Evolution

THE REBEL CELL

Premiered at the Edinburgh Fringe in 2008.
Co-written with MC Dizraeli, the Rebel Cell is a verse play set in England in the year 2013, a scorching political satire and lyrical debate between Che Guevara-style revolutionary politics and Nelson Mandela-style civil disobedience.

THE RAP CANTERBURY TALES

Premiered at the Edinburgh Fringe in 2004.
Winner: Three Weeks Editor's Choice Award, Edinburgh 2007.
Combining virtuoso lyricism with physical theatre and dramatic storytelling, Baba Brinkman recreates Chaucer's best-loved Tales in an engaging, accessible, and often hilarious hip-hop style.

Featuring

The Canterbury Tales Remixed

Previous Shows

The Rap Guide to Evolution (New York – 2011)

Rapconteur

The Rap Guide To Human Nature

THE RAP GUIDE TO EVOLUTION

THE REBEL CELL

THE RAP CANTERBURY TALES

Recent Press