Beats @ Pleasance Above

With Kieran Hurley behind the mic and DJ Hush Puppy at the decks, Beats looks at how the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act criminalising raves in 1994 affects the life of a teenage boy and his relationship with his mother. This performance showcases Hurley's talent as a writer and a performer. 

Talking about legislation is not easy. It is expected that the legal jargon and terminology will weigh down the natural flow of a speech, but this does not happen. 

Kieran Hurley sets the scene beautifully, and surprisingly lyrically, in spite of the deprived concrete jungle he describes. Through the simple use of words accompanied by music "characterised by the emission of a succession of repetitive beats," Hurley colours in the grey memories of the early nineties, adding depth and dimension to his characters by altering his voice or accent. His language and vocabulary switch from colloquial to lyrical and back again quite smoothly, in a style that resembles T.S. Eliot's Wasteland.