Rickerby Hinds talks hip hop theatre in Dreamscape
News of shootings of Black people by police in the USA seems to be prolific at the moment; so much so there’s a real danger that the unique experience of each murdered individual can be swallowed up in the sheer number of incidents occurring. At the Omnibus Theatre this month however, writer and director Rickerby Hinds focusses on just one case, the death of teenager Tyisha Miller, who was shot 12 times by police as she lay unconscious in her car. We caught up with Rickerby to find out more about Dreamscape, and how it’s possible to reimagine such a devastating tale.
Rickerby, thanks very much for taking the time to talk to us about Dreamscape. Firstly, can you explain a little about Tyisha Miller and the incident at the centre of the production?
Tyisha Miller served as the unwilling inspiration for Dreamscape when she became another victim of police brutality that continues to be far too prevalent in Black and Brown communities in the United States.
What does the title of the play refer to?
Dreamscape is my way of suggesting that our protagonist Myeisha is using the last thing at her disposal to attempt to stay alive while being shot to death by those who are supposed to help her – those who are supposed to “Protect and Serve”. While in an unconscious state, I imagined that she is trying to escape the inevitable by not just dreaming her way out, but by speaking her own hopes and dreams of a future, hoping that her words, her stories can somehow stop what seems to be inevitable.
You are renowned for your pioneering work in hip hop theatre. Can you talk about how the distinct performance techniques that involves are used in the show?
When conceiving Dreamscape, the hip-hop elements that came to me as compelling tools for telling the story were DJin’ (which was extrapolated into Beatboxing), hip-hop dance and MCin’ or poetry. For me the DJ/beatboxer served several key roles. First sampling the number of shots, 1-12, and giving each shot its own world of samples specific to the role that shot played. Each sample alluding to the music Myeisha might have loved, as well as highlighting the body part that was affected by the shot. The DJ/beatboxer also served another crucial role in the form of the coroner whose job it was to make everything official by putting it “on the record” and making Myeisha’s life or death “official”. The final thing the DJ/beatboxer was able to do was to play with time by slowing down the time it took to deliver 12 shots, allowing for a closer examination of each shot, extending each moment so that we could get to know Myeisha better. The use of MCin’ / poetry allowed me to infuse a tragic event with beauty, wit and laughter that traditional dialogue could not.
Dreamscape won an EFFTA award and huge acclaim at the Edinburgh Fringe last summer. Will we be seeing that same cast for this run at the Omnibus?
The London premiere opens with cast members Josiah Alpher and Jada Eveyln Ramsey – whose performances were celebrated during the Edinburgh production (performing from 10–22 February). Then one of the production’s original cast members John ‘Faahz’ Merchant (aka celebrated beatboxer WaveCap Johnny) performs the roles of Coroner/Beatboxer (from 24–28 February).
Can you tell us something about how you plan to stage the play at the intimate Omnibus Theatre?
Dreamscape has been staged in many different spaces from 500 seat, to the side of a hill, to 20 seat Blackbox theatres, and in all of these cases audiences have been moved by the story and performance. I anticipate that the intimacy of the Omnibus Theatre will be an ideal setting for this production, giving the audience proximity to the performers that will only heighten their experience.
The show premiered in 2007 yet tragically its themes are still enormously relevant today. How do you hope that London audiences will respond to it in 2026?
I hope that London audiences will feel the loss of a fellow human being whose absence diminishes all of us, not because of the great things that she might have accomplished had she lived, but because the reason she is no longer here continues to plague our society with no sign of diminishing. So, I guess I hope that London audiences are able to find some hope in this dream.
Thanks very much to Rickerby for talking to us about this innovative piece of theatre.
Dreamscape runs at the Omnibus Theatre from Tuesday 10 – Saturday 28 February.
