Viva Brighton Issue #84 February 2020

KIDS
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Shlomo
Beatboxing for babes
Shlomo is a beatboxing legend who’s worked
with Jarvis Cocker, Ed Sheeran and Björk. After
too much touring he decided to do a kids’ show
to spend more time with his own. This month
he’s at the Komedia teaching children how to
make even more noise than usual.
It’s called Shlomo’s Beatbox Adventure for
Kids and it’s a really fun and uplifting show.
There’s a loose narrative about becoming
superstar beatboxers, and on that journey we
travel through time and witness the birth of hip
hop culture. It culminates in a mock street battle
and kids come up on stage and either battle
each other or their parents – and the crowd gets
to choose the champion.
I started making the show after I’d become
a parent. I’d been on tour for a long time and I
suddenly wanted to be home, especially at bath
time. So I thought maybe I can make a show
where I can go out in the day and be back in
time to see the little ones. I’ve been teaching
people how to use their voice for years, so it’s
really just a more theatrical and polished
version of all these stories
and exercises
and games I’d
already refined.
And it seems to
have become an endless
source of joy... people can’t seem
to get enough of it. Every tour we’ve
booked has sold out. So we’ve booked
bigger tours and bigger venues, and they’ve
sold out too.
It’s about believing in yourself
and finding your voice.
I think that’s really important, especially for
young people. We’re surrounded by feelings
of judgement and comparison, and I’ve really
struggled with this myself. It’s hard to find your
identity and to feel strong enough to stand up
and be yourself. That’s the real dream of this
show, even if it’s just on a tiny level.
Last time I was in Brighton I had a girl come
up on stage who was just bubbling with
excitement, but when I showed her what to do
she just looked at me blankly. I couldn’t understand
why. I did the sound again, and she just
stared. The third time I happened to take the
mic away from my face, and she did the whole
pattern back to me, note perfect. And I realised
she couldn’t hear anything. She was lip-reading!
As soon as she could see my lips, she smashed
it and the crowd went crazy. After the show her
mum came up to me and couldn’t believe what
had happened. It was so moving to see that.
It’s also real fun for the grown-ups, because
they’re often dragged to kids’ shows, but I know
there are so many parents now who grew
up listening to bass-heavy music like
hip hop, house and drum ’n’ bass.
So it’s nice to see them bringing
the kids down to
educate them about
these things that we
all grew up with. Half
the time the parents are
like “come on kids, I don’t
get to go out anymore!”
As told to Ben Bailey
Komedia, Fri 21st Feb,
12.30pm, £10/8
Photo by Nathan Gallagher
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