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Fighting her corner
MAYER WAKEFIELD sees grime poet Debris Stevenson score heavily in her battle against prejudice
Poet in the Corner
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Poet in da Corner
Royal Court Theatre, London
GRIME poet, pansexual ex-Mormon and bashment-dancing social activist Debris Stevenson is not just speaking for herself when she states at this show's opening that Dizzee Rascal’s seminal Boy in the Corner gave her “permission to exist.”
From Alex Turner to Danny Brown, the ageless grime album has inspired artists across the board, but Stevenson takes things to another level by dedicating 75 minutes of full-throttle energy to a semi-autobiographical musical in homage to the 2003 masterpiece and its parent genre.
Growing up in a “Tupperware-sized terrace house between East London and Essex,” Stevenson was just 12 years old when her best mate SS Vyper (Jammz) handed her a cracked CD case. Enclosed was not just an album but a whole new world for Stevenson.
Battling her tormentors at school, dyslexia and a devout Mormon/bat-shit crazy mother, Boy In Da Corner provided a much-needed avenue of release for her “sandwich-bagged trauma.” Grime music has shaped the course of her life ever since.
Clearly a gifted poet in her own right, she channels her experiences through the tracks and avoids the potential cliches pitfall with imagination and lyrical dexterity.
Those pitfalls are many when exploring the extensive range of issues packed into just one act, but the depth of feeling underpinning the writing never allows the audience to drift.
Sexual repression, poverty, ownership of art and sexism are just some of the topics Stevenson rattles through and inevitably some of the storyline does fall frustratingly by the wayside.
Poet in da Corner is by no means an individual effort. Ola Ince’s fiery direction embodies the raw, DIY spirit of the genre, as does Aaron Sillis’s lucid choreography. Among the four-strong cast, Cassie Clare stands out with her side-splitting portrayals of Debris’s mother.
By embracing work like this, Vicky Featherstone’s Royal Court continues to push the envelope and must be given credit for doing so. The trust they have shown in Stevenson certainly pays off here in this unique combination of music, dance and spoken word.
Runs until October 6, box office: royalcourttheatre.com
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