Rapconteur
Cabaret Voltaire
6-28 August, 20.45
The epic of Gilgamesh, the legend of Beowulf and
Chaucer’s The Merchant’s Tale may seem unlikely topics for
rap adaptation, but in the hands of 2009 Fringe First winner, Baba Brinkman,
it all makes perfect sense.
Brinkman, who has a degree in Middle English
literature, is clearly fascinated by his material and appears genuinely pleased
to be bringing these stories to a wider audience.
There’s a great deal of humour in his narrative, a
result of both Brinkman’s witty analysis and the various modern references
that pepper his monologues.
Audiences at this show, as at Brinkman’s Gilded Balloon
show, The Rap Guide to Human Nature, will need to keep their
wits about them: the rapper races through these stories and isn’t shy of using complicated
terms and ideas. But it’s worth paying attention: you’ll find yourself
entertained and intellectually stretched in equal measure, and there aren’t
many free shows at the Fringe you can say that about.
