Theatre, Dance and Comedy

Benji Reid, Host of Process 06

Process 06: Hip Hop Theatre

Growing up in Chorlton in the early eighties, Benji Reid’s first introduction to Hip Hop was Malcolm McClaren’s Buffalo Girls video. His talent for dancing saw him become a member of the breakdancing group Broken Glass. His career later took him to London to tour as a dancer and co-choreographer for Soul II Soul.

In recent years, Benji has become a pioneer for hip hop theatre, a genre very much in its infancy in the UK. Returning to his roots five years ago Benji, together with physical theatre company Breaking Cycles, has made it his mission to nurture the genre in the region. The result is Process 06, the first hip hop theatre festival of its kind in the UK.

Karena Johnson will be at Process 06

Spread over two weeks, Process 06 sees five artistes: Ken Swift, Will Power, Karena Johnson, Baba Israel and Robert Hylton deliver taster workshops and then put on shows for the public. Tanya Smith caught up with Benji and began by asking..

what is hip hop theatre?

"The practice of hip hop theatre has been around for about ten years now. It was started by a guy called John Ziddy. I was a founder member of his company and also a founder of hip hop theatre in the UK. It’s the amalgamation of theatre practice and the five cultures of hip hop; break-dancing, mc-ing, beat-boxing, graffiti and turn-tabling. This creates something of a new language because you have a different way of animating the actors and you stage them using breaking or popping. Also if you use a DJ where someone would normally use a composer, you have the chance to rewind the scene or speed up a scene."

Why Process 06?

"I felt that there was a need to make sure that we nurtured it [hip hop theatre]: if you have more artists and more platforms, you also need to make sure that you have a high quality of work. So Process 06 is my first move into using hip hop as an educational tool and also looking at the practices of it as well so we can develop strong artists for the future."

It’s held at Zion Arts Centre...

"Yeah, I really like the centre. I think it’s the relationship Zion has with the community which is the key to why it’s so strong. Basically it’s there as a local resource for underprivileged young black kids. They can go in there and feel that it belongs to them. Contact Theatre is the only other place that is any where near similar. It’s really important for Process to be there."

Why is it important to develop hip hop theatre?

"Well I think that there's a lot of work going out now under the banner of hip hop theatre and a lot of it is substandard as people just haven’t had the training in either of the forms. When you see poor quality work over and over again it can mean that you dismiss the whole genre. So for me, it’s really important that when people are presenting their work they've thought through their ideas and they’ve had guidance in both theatre and hip hop. At least if you’re producing high quality work then the genre will keep on growing and it won’t turn into a fad."

So it's an artist-led festival...

Ken Swift is a highlight of Process 06

"Yeah, I have worked with many producers before but I've always felt that the work is a lot more honest when it comes from the artists themselves. They can define their own culture instead of someone with the money telling them what to do. I'v been able to say: ‘OK this is where I’d like to take my work and this is what I’d like to do with my educational programme and I'dlike to shape it this way, using these practitioners.’  I really don’t think many other producers would have come up with this concept."

So it's not to be missed?

"I'd say the whole of the festival is an event not to be missed! There’s Will Power, Baba Israel, Karena Johnson, Robert Hylton all of which will be highlights. Also there’s a graffiti exhibition by Dreph.

"A real highlight is having someone over like Ken Swift, who is one of the original breakers of the Rock Steady Crew and who is the b-boys' b-boy! He is like a god in b-boy terms; he’s one of the first people I ever saw break dance. So to have someone like that in Manchester is totally unheard of; he has never even been to Manchester before. I think the night when he does his show is going to be amazing; it will be buzzing as b-boys will come from all over the country just to be near him."

What are your hopes for Process in the future?

"I would like the festival to continue to support grassroots work. I hope that it grows slowly but in a way that we can build longevity. Its not necessarily that bigger is better; I just want to make sure that it keeps getting put on again and again. I really want it to be something in Manchester that we can celebrate."