Actor and director Ned Campbell brings his sell-out successBeats back to the brand-new King's Head Theatre, after a sell-out performance this February.
Written by award-winning Scottish playwright Kieran Hurley, Beats follows Johnno McCreadie on the night of his first (and maybe last) illegal rave. Set in a working class town in Scotland, Johnno and his best mate Spanner are chasing the high that comes with pulsating music, a crowd of likeminded partiers and the complete escapism that comes at a rave. But it's 1994, and the Criminal Justice Act has effectively outlawed all raves, outlawing any gathering to music that is ’wholly or predominantly characterised by the emission of a succession of repetitive beats”.
Ned Campbell brings 2024 audiences back in time to the 90s in a solo performance where he inhabits multiple characters to bring us along on Johnno and Spanner's night, joined on stage by DJ Tom Snell, recreating the beats and party atmosphere on and off the stage.
It's a pulsating and magnetic celebration of rebellion and resistance; centred on the power of protest and gathered youth - something all too relevant to today where over a decade of Tory government has once again marginalised working class communities and the voices of young people are more important than ever. Ned Campbell contextualises his performance for an audience 30 years on from the Criminal Justice Act, 10 years on from the play's inception and over a decade since it was last performed in London.
Beats opens at the Kings Head Theatre from 18 - 27 April, after selling out a one night only performance in February.
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