The world stage premiere of Crongton Knights heads to The Lowry

Pilot Theatre will bring their world stage premiere of Crongton Knights to The Lowry from Tuesday 10 – Saturday 14 March. The new adaptation will feature beatboxing and music composition by acclaimed musician, Conrad Murray.

Following a highly acclaimed tour of their stage adaptation of Malorie Blackman’s Noughts & Crosses, Pilot Theatre will next year stage the world premiere of Emteaz Hussain’s new adaptation of Alex Wheatle’s Guardian Children’s Fiction Prize Winner – Crongton Knights.

Crongton Knights cast will feature Olisa Odele (Ola in Chewing Gum, E4 and PC Merrick in Scarborough, BBC) as McKay; Kate Connachie (Frankenstein: How to Make A Monster, Battersea Arts Center Beatbox Academy) as Bushkid; Simi Egdejumi-David (Shit-Faces Shakespeare Romeo & Juliet, Magnificent Bastard Production and Around the World in 80 Days, Kenny Wax Family Entertainment & Simon Friend) as Festus; Aimee Powell (Freeman, Strictly Arts Theatre Company and Over The Too, Belgrade Theatre) as Ventia; Khaj Shaw (Little Baby Jesus, Orange Tre Theatre) as Jonah; Marcel White (Freeman, Strictly Arts Theatre Company) as Nesta; and Nigar Yeva (Give Me, Soho Theatre) as Saira.

Life isn’t easy on the Crongton Estate and for McKay and his mates it’s all about keeping their heads down but when a friend finds herself in trouble, they set out on a mission that goes further than any of them imagined.
Crongton Knights will take you on a night of madcap adventure as McKay and his friends ‘The Magnificent Six’ encounter the dangers and triumphs of a mission gone awry. In this world premiere adaptation of Alex Wheatle’s award-winning novel, the pulse of the city is alive on stage with a soundscape of beatboxing and vocals laid down by the cast and created by acclaimed musician Conrad Murray.

Alex Wheatle said about the new stage adaptation of Crongton Knights:

“I am very proud that Pilot Theatre are adapting my novel, Crongton Knights, for the stage. It’s a modern quest story where on their journey, the young diverse lead characters have to confront debt, poverty, blackmail, loss, fear, the trauma of a flight from a foreign land and the omnipresent threat of gangland violence. The dialogue I created for this award-winning novel deserves a platform and I for one can’t wait to see the characters that have lived in my head for a number of years, leap out of my mind and onto a stage near you.”