The Spalding Suite at Liverpool Everyman

Liverpool Everyman will host The Spalding Suite, a new physical theatre show that combines original poetry with contemporary movement to celebrate the elegance and beauty of basketball, from 2 to 6 June. Seen from a British perspective, the production gets to the heart and soul of the gravity-defying game and delves into the hopes and dreams of those who play it, and the friendship and camaraderie behind the sport.

Six dynamic performers will mix live beatboxing, music, hip-hop, basketball inspired movement and poetry, taking us from the game’s fleeting highs of scoring and team togetherness, to the poignant lows of a body too worn to play the game.

Conceived by spoken word artist and theatre-maker Inua Ellams, and inspired by his childhood memories of discovering basketball, literature and hip-hop, the production reaches out to basketball players, sneaker freaks, and fans of hip hop culture and poetry. The Spalding Suite’s cast of performers also includes UK Beatbox champion MC Zani.

The Spalding Suite is the fourth play Inua Ellams has written for Fuel Theatre, following Black T-Shirt Collection and Untitled (Bristol Old Vic); Knight Watch (Aldwych) and his Edinburgh ‘Fringe First’ award-winning debut, The 14th Tale (Arcola), which ran at the National Theatre. His volumes of poetry include Thirteen Fairy Negro Tales and Candy Coated Unicorns and Converse All Stars.

Founded in 2004, Fuel work in partnership with some of the most exciting theatre artists in the UK to develop, create and present new work for all. In 2010, the Everyman witnessed one of Fuel’s outstanding productions, Kursk, which used innovative stage design to immerse the audience into the tragic story of the Russian submarine that exploded in 2000.

The play is co-produced with Contact Theatre in Manchester. Contact work with young people aged 13 and over to create an exciting, diverse programme. Young people are empowered through involvement in every aspect of the theatre’s work, helping to ensure their projects are fresh and relevant.