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In 2003, Dizzee Rascal won the Mercury prize for the seminal grime album Boy in Da Corner, which spoke of teenage life on a London housing estate riddled with “blanks, skanks and street robbery”. Debris Stevenson was 13 at the time and living in an east London estate herself.
Now a grime poet and academic, Stevenson grew up in a white, working-class Mormon family and struggled with bullying at school, the tyranny of religion at home and coming out as pansexual to her mother. Grime became her salvation, she says, and this play is an ode to that art form, performed as a poetic monologue but also a kind of grime musical.
Stevenson is introduced on stage by an MC. It is a high-energy start with dance moves and bursts of Dizzee Rascal. But a few moments in, the drama is stopped by Vyper, a pirate radio DJ played by MC Jammz, who was a part of Stevenson’s early story and who stands up from among the audience to accuse her of appropriating his story. “You writing lyrics about me?”
It's the summer of 2001 and Nadia, having just been offered a place at university, feels like now is her time to shine. Her new life awaits and the future is full of nothing but hope, ambition and optimism, right?
Well, sort of. Against a soundtrack of garage bangers, Sabrina Mahfouz's play, With A Little Bit Of Luck, chronicles Nadia's journey through that summer as she navigates the highs and the inevitable lows. You'll find yourself swept up in Nadia's story (there's no doubt) but you'll also find yourself bopping along to garage tune after tune, which is exactly the desired effect Sabrina was hoping for...
Sounds epic, right? You can listen to With A Little Bit Of Luck here now.
And, as if that wasn't enough, we've got the lowdown from playwright, poet and performer, Sabrina Mahfouz. From what garage means to her (answer: a lot) to how you could follow in her footsteps, here's everything you need to know about With A Little Bit Of Luck and beyond...
Some of the best music in the world and some of the best times in my life!
I really felt that garage hadn’t been documented anywhere near as much as other UK genres of music
Sabrina Mahfouz
At the time, around five years ago, I really felt that garage hadn’t been documented anywhere near as much as other UK genres of music had and I wanted to be part of changing that.
If we don’t write our history, our reality, then others will do it for us and we won’t like what we see! I was frustrated with the way garage was constantly depicted ‘ironically’, even if it was done with love.
Things have changed now and there is more documentation to be found and that's important and brilliant for those who lived through it and those who want to learn about it.
It’s so many different things: worlds I’ve worked in that I feel haven’t had a huge amount written about them; issues I’m grappling with myself and/or society is grappling with; a chat I overhear; historical figures and amazing people I meet who are willing to share their stories.
Because music is the heart of the play, it always felt that radio would be a perfect home for it so it’s just felt really exciting to me, but I’m just the writer; it’s Seroca Davis and Martyna Baker [pictured throughout the piece] who might notice the difference, as they’re the ones usually responding to a live audience whooping and dancing in front of them!
But with the ridiculously talented director, Stef O’Driscoll, at the helm, I know she could make it work in any context. She is an absolute legend.
Jungle was the first music that made me feel free to be who I was but garage is the music that took me into a ridiculously fun early adulthood; it will always remain a sound that puts a smile on my face and makes me happy no matter what else is happening in life.
The friends I met whilst raving are still some of my closest friends now, my son plays with their kids - it’s a family thing for sure.
I studied English Literature at uni and after a brief career in politics I started to write character-based poems and perform them at open mic nights. Doing that gave me an insight into issues I was interested in and how to keep a story moving in front of an audience.
Write about something you feel nobody else has done in the way you wish they had
Sabrina Mahfouz
But there’s no single path, everybody will have their own way into it. Some practical things could be to watch as much live performance online or anywhere you can; to sign up for as many writer’s groups as you can (most theatres offer free courses for young people); read a lot and find out what styles excite you; write write write and get your mates to read it out so you can hear the words; and find out about opportunities from arts organisations on social media.
The emotional side of it is: write about something you feel nobody else has done in the way you wish they had; you are the person who can do that! Don’t hold back - in style, story, anything.
Dance classes are becoming one of London’s hottest fitness trends.
A well taught class can burn hundreds of calories, work muscles you never knew existed and raise endorphins to euphoric levels. But if you’re not from a dance background the thought of shaking that funky stuff in public can be terrifying and the idea of following choreography panic attack-inducing.
It’s their skilful knack for putting people at ease that’s one of the reasons dance fitness studio At Your Beat has become such a phenomenon in the capital. It's because AYB founder Joelle D’Fontaine gets it.
“I remember going to my first ever proper dance class in my twenties,” he recalls. “I’d never had training and it was a professional class full of quite scary serious people. It wasn’t a warm or welcoming environment and I can see why people are often hesitant to go.
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How This Empowering Dance Studio Is Helping Women Step Up Their Confidence
"You know how you feel really awkward in certain situations?" Alisha Thompson asks. "Dance shouldn’t be one of those."
While that may be easier said than done for those who view the slightest shoulder shimmy or hip shake with trepidation and intense self-consciousness, At Your Beat – the studio where 24-year-old Alisha teaches alongside fellow dance pros Jess Kouao, 28, and Windy Tsoi, 24 – is determined to get everyone moving in an empowering environment free from insecurities, negativity and competitiveness. The aim isn’t to create the next Janet Jackson or even the next Taylor Swift; AYB simply wants to give students what Alisha calls a "safe space where you can feel whatever you want to feel and that’s okay."
BE PREPARED GO OUTSIDE YOUR COMFORT ZONE
Joelle D'Fontaine founded AYB Fitness after becoming frustrated with other dance and fitness places he had worked at. Instead of using the insecurities of members to make money, Joelle created a space where members could feel free to embrace their mistakes and challenge themselves.
"USE YOUR LIFE EXPERIENCES, YOU CAN FIND WHAT YOU NEED WITHIN A LOT OF THOSE THINGS TOO"
Faced with what he wishes he'd known, Joelle says: “You are far more capable of doing new things than you first think. I felt like branding and marketing were not my fields AT ALL, so I would need all the outside help in the world. But if you actually use your mind and your life experiences, you can find what you need within a lot of those things, too.
"Believe in yourself and always push yourself outside your comfort zone. If you have no boundaries or self-limiting thoughts the world is your oyster!”
https://www.esquire.com/uk/life/a15852191/5-nuggets-of-wisdom-from-start-up-moguls/
Sabrina Mahfouz — poet, playwright and activist — is part of an all-women team currently developing a new opera for the Royal Opera House, due to open in 2019.
Adapted from an Egyptian novel, Woman at Point Zero is about a prostitute who has fled abuse and ends up killing a man.
Recently the team invited composers in to offer advice. “They were almost all men because opera is so male-dominated and one said: ‘Shouldn’t there be more sexiness?’” she laughs. “Why? It’s expected in TV and advertising but why on earth in the high arts does it need to be sexy?”
Mahfouz, 34, is a polymath. You can currently hear her on Radio 4 on Mondays in Power Lines, a documentary about spoken-word poetry, and see her play for children, Zerraffa Giraffa, at the Little Angel Theatre in Islington — she explores immigration and colonialism using a life-sized giraffe puppet.
WHAT DOES COFFEE HAVE TO DO WITH MUSIC?
A question we often hear. It’s simple, The Coffee Music project raises money for coffee growing communities all over the world. All profits go directly to Project Waterfall, bringing clean drinking water, sanitation and education to coffee-growing communities.
The Coffee Music Project takes place annually in London, New York, and Los Angeles, providing an international platform to showcase burgeoning musical talent.
This is not a reality TV competition. We are looking for original, self-made artists who write their own songs and deliver performances that set the stage on fire. Our judging panel is made up of the people who can help you carve out a career in music, including A&R, booking agents, publishers, managers, top songwriters and sync agents.
MAKE YOUR MUSIC COUNT
Project Waterfall is a charity initiative bringing clean drinking water, sanitation and education to coffee growing communities. Project Waterfall has raised over $1.3 Million, bringing clean water to over 37,000 people in 7 countries.
This year, Project Waterfall has just launched a new project in the Jabi Tehnan district of Ethiopia which will bring clean water to more than 10,000 people over the next 4 years.
1 in 5 of us are secretly battling anxiety. For World Mental Health Day, meditation expert Jody Shield reveals how to get a hold on your fears
Do you regularly wake up at 4am worrying about how you’ll ever get on the housing ladder? Or feel overwhelmed by work deadlines? Do you get a sinking dread after browsing Instagram, or a sense of panic that you’re not doing enough with your life compared to everyone else? According to meditation expert and Marie Claire Verified Influencer Jody Shield (who runs downloadable podcasts on dealing with anxiety) the demands of living in a highly stressful digital world are creating a global anxiety epidemic routed in fear.
Read more at: http://www.marieclaire.co.uk/life/anxiety-relief-543553#UqQ30Dzgf1glTytC.99
They say the best things in life are free. They also say if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.
We’re not sure where we’re going to place this one, but we’re intrigued nonetheless.
Award-winning dating app CLiKD has just launched a brand new bi-monthly “ultra” speed dating event in London and it’s certainly not one for the faint-hearted.
It might, however, be one for you if you:
are struggling to find love
are struggling to pay your rent on time
spend all your time thinking about your next weekend escape
Launched earlier this month, Dates Escapes is the ultimate blind date bringing 32 singles together. Prospective couples are given just three minutes and three questions before deciding if they’d like to go on holiday together. The CLiKD app connects potential matches over photo-based quizzes, and the Date Escapes event is now taking this out to an IRL setting, replicating this unique and innovative way of matching potential love interests. It might seem slightly strange, but it’s a refreshing step away from swipe-based apps that rely entirely on pictures.
https://www.plusminusmagazine.com/heres-can-get-free-holiday-3-minutes-stranger/
Her latest exhibition, The Colour Of Energy, is essentially a series of circles in varying hues and depths and has been inspired by both the Icelandic Aurora Borealis and aura energy colours. It’s an exploration of chakras, with each canvas addressing a different chakra in the body. You can even have your own aura photographed (I did, in case you were wondering, and apparently I’m full of yellow energy). Stand in front of one of these canvases and you can soon fall into a kind of yogic state. They’re quietening. Downstairs in her studio, Lauren hosts gong baths and meditation sessions. The work and the space go hand in hand.
Read more: http://metro.co.uk/2017/10/19/meet-lauren-baker-the-artist-who-quit-her-job-because-a-dream-told-her-to-7012268/?ito=cbshare
Twitter: https://twitter.com/MetroUK | Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MetroUK/
But Lauren, originally from Middlesborough, hasn’t always been this sort of new age creative. In fact, until 2012, she worked in a corporate job and led a ‘hedonistic lifestyle’. It wasn’t until she travelled to South America that she had something of an artistic awakening. ‘I was feeling disillusioned in the corporate world, and after reading a book called The Power Of Now, I suddenly quit my job and set off on an adventure to South America,’ she tells Metro.co.uk. ‘I joined a street art project in Brazil where I realized that art is medicine.’ Three months later, she found herself in the middle of the Peruvian Amazon where she met some shamans, deep in the jungle.
Read more: http://metro.co.uk/2017/10/19/meet-lauren-baker-the-artist-who-quit-her-job-because-a-dream-told-her-to-7012268/?ito=cbshare
Twitter: https://twitter.com/MetroUK | Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MetroUK/
At Your Beat, hailed as “London’s number 1 dance/fitness classes ‘ by Time Out, is set to shake up London town from January 2018, with the launch of the very first At Your Beat pop-up studio. Following huge demand, the #AYBFAM will unveil a trailblazing program of brand-new classes, running every weekend from January13th until April 2018,
in their new home - the White Space, Leicester Square.
Now reaching cult status, the AYB ethos is set on increasing body confidence and individuality through dance, attracting high-profile fans including Daisy Lowe, Naomi Shimada and Sophia Webster. Launched only last year, AYB serve up an innovative portfolio of calorie-busting, endorphin-boosting classes, designed to empower and inspire all ages and abilities – with plenty of sauce on the side!
Lauren Baker’s latest exhibition, The Colour of Energy, delves further into the world of auras, colours and new energy, combining refracted light, sound and movement. Dubbed ‘the queen of neon’ and touted as ‘one to watch’ by the Tate, for this solo exhibition, Lauren was inspired by the Icelandic spectacle of the Aurora Borealis and subsequent research into aura energy colours. The end result is a fully immersive, multi-sensory exhibition.
“I came to feminism quite late, in my early 20s,” British Egyptian writer, poet and playwright Sabrina Mahfouz tells me. “I was learning feminist theory at university, but I wasn’t applying it to my everyday.” Sabrina’s everyday was waitressing at London strip clubs to pay for her studies at SOAS: “For the first couple of years it was fun, but I began to really dislike the set-up.” This experience formed Sabrina’s awakening, both politically and artistically. “Everything that I’d read up to that point had a lot of holes, it seemed like a narrow world view. The advice is ‘start with what you know’. I knew strip clubs, so that’s what I wrote about. It was a comfortable but vulnerable place – it’s scary to reveal all of that to people.” Many of Sabrina’s friends went from club work into other types of sex work and, having done creative writing workshops with women across the industry, her 2016 work How You Might Know Me was born. A poetic exploration of the lives of four women who experience various facets of the UK’s sex industry, the book embodies sisterhood, fights stereotypes and gives a voice to an often violated and maligned group.
Do you ever feel like it takes you days to unwind on holiday and the stresses and strains of a busy lifestyle only start to lift when it's time to head home again?
Well, in a bid to help you snap into the chilled out mix of things quicker, celebrity meditation expert Jody Shield, 36, has put together her top tips exclusively for MailOnline Travel.
The London-based mentor, who counts Ella Woodward of Deliciously Ella fame and TV chef Jasmine Helmsley among her clients, says there are eight methods that one can use to unwind. Scroll down to start your journey to a more peaceful state of mind with Jody's eight-step guide...
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/travel/travel_news/article-4802990/Meditation-guru-Jody-Shield-chill-abroad.html#ixzz57l5OJDir
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Artist Lauren Baker has opened up her own gallery in Covent Garden and it’s aglow with her latest works inspired by her visit to see the Northern Lights. They combine this inspiration with the personal auras we all possess in entrancing neon works. Until 26 October.
Read more at https://fadmagazine.com/2017/10/15/top-7-art-exhibitions-see-london-week-6/#ztVrZ0yQqerBvLlH.99
Tired of only exercising your thumbs to find potential matches? Forget dating apps – if you’re single and ready to mingle, you can now swap your thumb workout for a full body one in the search for like-minded singletons.
LOVERCISE is the UK’s first fitness class designed specifically for singles. After its sell out Valentine’s Day launch, the class will return by popular demand to London this March.
With limited availability already, here’s everything you need to know about the cheeky workout…
Sabrina Mahfouz is a multi award-winning British Egyptian poet, screenwriter, playwright, female activist and a contributing author of The Good Immigrant – the book that beat Harry Potter to become readers favourite of 2016. Above is a piece she has written on abortion. On October 28, she will take part in an event celebrating 50 years of abortion rights through arts.
Read more: http://metro.co.uk/2017/10/24/the-fight-for-abortion-rights-is-still-not-over-7023148/?ito=cbshare
THIS SUMMER INTERNSHIP WILL PAY YOU TO GO ON DATES
Yes you read that right.
This summer just got a whole lot hotter, thanks to a new summer internship opportunity that will send you on 10 dates over 10 weeks with 10 different people…. and pay you for the privilege. Fo reals.
Read more at http://www.mtv.co.uk/travel/news/this-summer-internship-will-pay-you-to-go-on-dates#G51hpD19EbdxthGi.99
Need an internship this summer but don’t fancy making endless cups of coffee and wrestling with the dodgy photocopier that breaks on the regular? No problem - there’s one going that’s way better.
CLiKD, the online dating app, is looking for a summer intern and the job description is fairly unbelievable.
The winning applicant will be paid to go on 10 dates over 10 weeks with 10 different people and to produce 10 blog or vlog features about their experiences - as well as have the opportunity to travel to a European music festival as a VIP. Yes, really.
Read more Here https://www.standard.co.uk/lifestyle/london-life/clikd-internship-get-paid-to-go-drinking-travelling-and-on-dates-a3834171.html
