Pooja Nansi wants you to get down and dirty this April—through spoken word about what it’s like to be a woman and an ethnic minority, that is. The Singaporean performance-poet is perhaps more well-known for her poetry collections (she’s got two in the bag so far) and curating the monthly spoken word showcase at Artistry, “Speakeasy” (which after 35 editions is holding its last show). For 2018, though, she’s adding another title to her list of achievements: Bad Bitch.
Thick Beats for Good Girls is exactly what it says it is—the perhaps unladylike genre of hip hop, served up by literary ladies Nansi and her co-playwright Jessica Bellamy. Presented by Checkpoint Theatre, the all-new production is a two-woman show surrounding what the two call a balancing act; of being a woman, an ethnic or religious minority, and a hip-hop enthusiast all at once. It’s been two years in the making, but the show will finally run from Apr 5-22 at the Drama Centre Black Box.
So what does it really mean to be a good girl anyway? Look forward to an uninhibited night of both laughs and meaningful conversations, as the two talk about the intersections between race, culture, femininity and hip hop. There won’t be actual rapping; but they will be presenting original poems, rhymes and musings on life in the same striking fashion as any modern-day rapper-with-a-message. Huzir Sulaiman directs, with sound designer Shah Tahir curating the sick soundtrack for the show. If you’ve ever found yourself bound by the shackles of patriarchal expectations of femininity—and just desperately wanted to get your freak on, outside of the club—this show is for you.
Thick Beats for Good Girls runs Apr 5-22 at the Drama Centre Black Box. Tickets are $45 and available here.
