“Long live the magnificent six!” Critics have quickly taken up the beat for Pilot Theatre’s beatbox adaptation of Alex Wheatle’s award-winning YA novel Crongton Knights. We’ve rounded up review highlights below. Time to get booking – it’s at Belgrade Theatre this week and then on tour.

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. Join “The Magnificent Six” as they discover how lessons learned the hard way can bring you closer together with friends you’ll never forget.

Crongton Knights, adapted by Emtaez Hussain, runs in Coventry from 8 to 22 February 2020. It then tours to York, Brighton, Salford, Derby and Huddersfield before concluding with a London season at Theatre Peckham from 22 April to 9 May.

The premiere adaptation of Crongton Knights stars Olisa Odele, Marcel White, Aimee Powell, Kate Donnachie, Simi Edgebjumi-David, Khai Shaw, Zak Douglas and Nigar Yeva. It’s co-directed by Corey Campbell (Co-Artistic Director of the Belgrade Theatre for 2021 and Artistic Director of Strictly Arts) and Esther Richardson (Artistic Director of Pilot Theatre).

Alex Wheatle’s book Crongton Knights was the recipient of the 2016 Guardian Children’s Fiction Prize and was shortlisted for the YA Book Prize 2017. Onstage, physical theatre combines with an innovative beatbox soundscape that brings the pulse of the city to life in this coming-of-age adventure.

You need to see Crongton Knights. @pilot_theatre @BelgradeTheatre
Incredible show, full of life and energy. Our students loved every second. Every teacher should get looking to book their classes in now. It’s genuinely that good.

— Seb Newbold (@MrNewboldDrama) February 11, 2020

Review highlights

The Stage – ★★★★

Mert Dilek: “Energetic and engaging adaptation of Alex Wheatle’s young adult novel about six teenagers on a mission for Pilot Theatre… Crongton Knights knows how to move its audience with its earnest questioning of friendship, loss and bloodshed.”

thestage.co.uk

The Reviews Hub – ★★★★

Nicole Craft: “It appeals to the younger generation with colourful graffiti art, impressive beatboxing and poetic rap… Olisa Odele oozes charisma as Mckay, dancing like Beyoncé and regularly having the audience in fits of laughter.”

thereviewshub.com

Behind the Arras – ★★★★★

Jane Howard: “The characters are brilliantly and individually developed, the acting superb, fear palpable, music gorgeous, and humour and charm was, for me, such a bonus… I was amazed… This is a winner!”

mytheatremates.com

WhatsOnStage – ★★★★

Hannah Murdoch: “Crongton Knights updates a chivalrous quest for modern times. As an expression of contemporary heroism amid troubling times, the play hits exactly the right note. Long live the magnificent six!”

whatsonstage.com

Guardian

Mark Fisher: “It was an inspired idea to bring in Conrad Murray to compose the score for this adaptation of Alex Wheatle’s young adult novel. A specialist in beatboxing, Murray creates a sonic landscape that suits the teen quest story as perfectly as the colourful graffiti on Simon Kenny’s rotating turret of a set.”

theguardian.com

Bum on a Seat

William Stafford: “Alex Wheatle’s popular YA novel Crongton Knights is brought to vibrant life in this irresistible adaptation by Emteaz Hussain… An uplifting, impressive show that delivers its social commentary with humour and a lot of heart.”

mytheatremates.com