Lamesha Ruddock
“The music’s not nice. Life’s not nice.”
BLAZE FM is what theatre needs right now more than ever. Political theatre talking about then, like anything has changed now. The parallels glare at you, the injustice is palpable, and the music washes over you like a revelation.
This is for Hackney. This is for anyone who had the council push them out to gentrify their ends. This is for anyone who has lost someone due to deportation. This is for anyone who had the police boot down their door. This is for anyone who had to excel in spite of everything to find a way out. This was the show for me.
A pirate radio station coming from a council flat in Hackney spits the political truth, embodying what it means that the revolution won’t be televised while letting the music awaken you. Set across the early 2000s into the 2010s, the show captures the resilience of family and the power to be outspoken when Babylon is trying to knock you down.
Jason, played by Alexander Lobo Moreno dons a blue tracksuit turned soldier with camo prints and bulletproof vest as he hardens. Hughbert portrayed by Andrew Brown brings a lovely autumnal 70s fit, grounding his performance in nostalgic charm. Aisha, captured by Anais Lone, appears in a black boiler suit with purple ribbons attached to every braid, vibrant yet deeply connected. Aliaano El-Ali’s Alpha commands the stage in stylish long jean shorts and pure red shoes, bold and contemporary, finding his legacy as he claims his red string vest. Marcus Reiss as Pritstik completes the ensemble with his snapback, leather sports jacket and “96” loose jeans with dynamic presence, complementing the team.
The costume design by Lambdog1066 (Yard Theatre darling) flows seamlessly with the characters’ stories. Brilliant use of projections and cycloramas evokes endless blocks of flats rolling down with no ground floor in sight, reflecting the politicians of the time and the hindsight of global overreach. Live streams allude to music videos made with no budget but just a dream and the mandem in your corner.
This is a living archive of Black British music. From Big J’s jungle and grime-inspired tracks setting the era of the So Solid Crew to his evolution to drill as he toughens up, to Anais’s powerhouse vocals softening the audience as Aisha yearns for her mother, digging into the celebratory relationship Jamaicans have with life and death. Until we meet again, guide me for now. The weaving of real oral testimonies and the station’s call-in features brings anxieties of Islamophobia and policing of Black music into the performance, grounding it in lived experience.
BLAZE FM is for anyone living through the layered struggles of urban Britain, connecting past political unrest to contemporary realities. This was a beautiful show that brought Jamaican concepts around unity to the forefront and celebrated the lyricism and poetic nature of Jamaican Patois and Black British bars. BLAZE FM is loud, unfiltered and deeply moving.
You can catch BLAZE FM until Monday 25th at Pleasance Two at Pleasance Courtyard from 16:45 (70mins). Tickets are available through the EdFringe Online Box Office.
Jake Mace
