Part of Selfridges’ nationwide Shakespeare reFASHIONED campaign – a celebration of the famous playwright on the 400th year anniversary of his death -comes Shakespeare reCITED – a series of performances by some of Britain’s most exciting upcoming talents that rethink Shakespeare’s poetry, wordplay and lyricism.
Selfridges Exchange Square will open its doors after hours (8pm to 10pm) on Thursday 22 September to welcome shoppers to an exclusive, free performance of British grime sensation Novelist.
The nineteen year-old MC (real name Kojo Kankam), from Lewisham, will be exploring the idea of language and slang, communication and creation with a one-off performance – followed by an open discussion on the ways that today’s modern day laureates influence and expand language as we know it.
Nominated for Best Grime Act at the 2014 MOBO Awards, Novelist has had a hugely successful couple of years, supporting acts like Major Lazer and Skepta and performing at the UK’s major festivals including Glastonbury and Wireless.
Having previously held the position of deputy young major of Lewisham – and being an open member of the current Labour Party – Novelist brings political discourse to his performances. Just as Shakespeare was a conduit for communication between the classes four hundred years ago, inventing new words as he wrote plays that discussed the themes and concerns of the day, Novelist will explore how MCs and rappers are doing exactly the same thing in their own way, and on their own terms, today.
The Q&A part of the event will be hosted by Hattie Collins, a music journalist who has been working with Selfridges across the reCITED programme and is editor of the reCITED Zine – a free, limited edition magazine celebrating the event. Novelist will be signing a limited number of zines in-store on the night.
In celebration of the performance, Selfridges Exchange will also be selling ‘tour merchandise’ – an exclusive collaboration between clothing brand New Future London and Novelist.
School friends Rhys Dawney and Gareth Emmett founded East London based brand New Future London hoping to inject some fun and colour to “the sea of clothing that was all really dark and moody and all black and white”. This burgeoning brand’s aesthetic is deeply entrenched in nineties hip hop and rave cultures, themes that run throughout their collaboration with Novelist. The seven-piece collection is made up of accessories, T-shirts, sweatshirts and hoodies. Prices start at £30 for a cap to £85 for sweatpants.
The proceeds of this collaboration go directly to Marsha Phoenix, a Supported Housing project in south London for young women aged 16-25, where Novelist’s mum once went and now works.
