Markus the Sadist Show Review @ Bloomsbury Theatre (London) - 18 May 2010

Markus the Sadist

Photo: Irven Lewis link

Show Review

The story: "Markus Wright, a talented underground emcee, who gets spotted by a major label's A & R, and urged into signing a restrictive recording contract, which despite the pros of fortune and fame, distances him from his friends and family in many unanticipated ways..." So why not go and check it out? ...

At 8pm sharp, producer/ choreographer, Jonzi D took to the stage to introduce his new work to a cosy audience already on his side.

And within minutes, it was full-on action with Markus (played by grime artist, Bashy) imposing his dexterity over fair-play adversary, Crass Putin (Maxwell Golden), during a rap battle.

The first few dialogues proved interestingly rhyme-savvy:

To reach these people I need a deal... I need a meal.... Fans from Japan to Afghanistan.

And as the story unfolded and its moral became more and more flagrant by the scene, the conversational content slightly lost in tightness and verbose zeal. Though, we were treading in predictable territory (of course, eventually Markus The Sadist as opposed to Markus Wright, after being corrupted by fame and fortune, would see the light and go back to his roots), what was interesting was the way the story was delivered.... And in many ways, it was brilliantly so, through a cast of passionate actors, who gave their all. Despite landing the lead role, Bashy "Wright/ The Sadist" wasn't really the star of the show, an accolade which undoubtedly went to multi-tasking Irishman Rob Broderick aka The Hydra/ Video Director/ Seamus/ Bouncer, characters through which witty political, social and cultural references were conveyed, as well as Maxwell Golden, who effortlessly switched from menacing spitter, Crass Putin to the camp production assistant Gerald: Bravo!

In this tale of corruption and redemption, Jonzi D pertinently made a social commentary pointing out the antagonism between US and UK hip hop: where Markus Wright aspired to perpetuate "rap as the Black CNN", his soiled alter-ego, Markus The Sadist, boasted about pointing a weapon at someone's bottom with his one hit wonder "Gun in Your Ass"; a laudable attempt, which at times, failed in timing, with scenes occasionally dragging on for too long and losing the spectator's interest. Nevertheless, another good point about the performance was the great interaction between the actors and their audience, at times prompted to "make some noise", at others to keep quiet, or even to have an opinion/ reaction at the live screenings thrown at them. And despite a few sound engineering mishaps, the live filming shots were a nice touch as well.

If trying to be picky, let it be noted that the character of Syreena Dream (played by Colleen Joseph), wannabe popstar/ dancer, lacked in versatility in her moves, and whether this was "part of the part" or just the actual actress/ dancer's style should remain a mystery. This said, the overall choreography was always hilariously performed, without ever being ridiculous.

After close to two and a half hours, the show drew to an end with Jonzi D proudly saluting his actors one by one, followed with a seemingly improvised freestyling rap session by most of the cast, before dropping the final curtain.

All in all, Markus The Sadist was a rather enjoyable piece of entertainment, leaving great hopes and scope for British hip hop theatre indeed.

Solange Moffi