LIVERPOOL/TOURING THEATRE
The Broke ’n’ Beat Collective
Unity Theatre, Hope Street
Until February 13

The excellent 20 Stories High theatre company and Theatre-Rites join forces to create this unique mash-up of hip-hop, theatre and puppetry, which unites beat-boxer Hobbit, b-boy Ryan LoGisTic Harston, singer-poet Elektric and puppeteer Mohsen Nouri. Co-directed and written by Sue Buckmaster and Keith Saha, this gritty, moving and funny piece combines gripping tales, transfixing poetry, hip-hop and imaginative puppetry, to explore the hardships faced by young people in Britain today. Not to be missed — it’s touring nationally until April 2.
20storieshigh.org.uk

LONDON EXHIBITION
Red Africa
Calvert 22
Calvert Avenue, E2
Until April 3
Drawing on film, photography, propaganda and public art, this exhibition reflects on African connections to the Soviet Union and other socialist countries from the 1920s onwards. It is, says the blurb, “particularly focused on ambitions to influence the development of political structures through film and art” and explores representations of black people in the Soviet media, the relationships built during the height of the cold war and contemporary traces of communist street art and propaganda. And it explores the lasting impact of liberation struggles on the continent, along with the legacy of North Korea’s Mansudae Art Studio which produced socialist realist artworks such as The African Renaissance.
calvert22.org