A HIGH ENERGY HIT

A runaway success since it first premiered in 2011, Zoonation's "Some Like it Hip Hop" returns to the West End. Winning over audiences and critics alike, this nod to Billy Wilder's cross-dressing comedy and Shakespeare's Twelfth Night is an effervescent tale of love, gender, politics, lost daughters and brave librarians. Intolerance, library closures and the need for street culture to adopt formal education are just a few issues tackled by choreographer and director Kate Prince as she also takes on misogyny in RnB and Rap music.

Such topical social issues are cleverly interwoven into a dazzling display of dance and music; a perfectly-gauged RnB soundtrack, featuring live singers, swoops from hip-hop to soul in breath-taking consistency with the frenetic energy onstage. Each person in the large ensemble cast creates a distinctive character with their own personal dance styles. These nuances bring an emotional depth to their performances, making the show thought-provoking as well as visually delightful.

WHAT IS SOME LIKE IT HIP-HOP ABOUT?

Set in a cartoon dystopia in which books are banned and women are oppressed, Some Like it Hip-hop follows heroines Jo-Jo and Kerri. Thrown out of the city for insubordination, they use disguise to sneak back in. Forced to adopt suits, moustaches and masculine mannerisms, they find an ally in the erudite Simeon, the only man brave enough to defy the ban on books. Infiltrating and questioning their systematic repression, the trio rouse the city's inhabitants to action leading to a climax of frenzied dance and release.