Hackney students a big hit on stage
Around 120 Hackney primary schoolchildren received rave reviews from a series of packed theatre audiences on June 29 and June 30 as they took part in a jazz opera about baseball and racial prejudice.
Pupils from Kingsmead and Jubilee Primary Schools were performing in Hackney Music Development Trust’s production of Shadowball at the Mermaid Theatre, Blackfriars.
The opera, by composer and pianist Julian Joseph and author Mike Phillips, tells the story of the struggles and triumphs of world class black athletes in the USA in the 1930s and 1940s who were excluded from Major League baseball; as well as their pioneering jazz compatriots.
Over the past year, the children have worked on the project themes at school, received baseball training, and worked with the composer and writer to develop the words and music of the new opera.
The production received a glowing review from Evening Standard critic Jack Massarik who heaped praise on the pupils from Kingsmead and Jubilee. “These all-singing, all-strutting, all-acting boys and girls,” he wrote, “were the stars of the show. Director Jonathan Moore might have worked wonders with them but it was their energy, infectious enthusiasm and surprising rhythmic power that brought these numbers to life.”
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