The Spalding Suite

Expect: Poetry, beatboxing and hip hop combine to celebrate the elegance and beauty of basketball.

The Spalding Suite is a new physical theatre show inspired by the UK’s basketball sub-culture. Seen from a British perspective, The Spalding Suite gets to the heart and soul of the gravity-defying game and delves into the hopes and dreams of those who play it. Six dynamic performers mix live beatboxing, hip hop, music, moves and poetry, taking us from the fleeting high of the score and the robust camaraderie of the team, to the poignant lows of a body too worn to play the game.

Written and conceived by Inua Ellams, directed by Benji Reid and presented by Fuel.

‘When we were young, we worshipped stars.
gleaming long-limbed gods
framed in the act of impossible flight,
For a time we tried to follow,
to carve out our own piece of sky
with a butter-smooth arc of an arm
and a Spalding ball glued to the fingertips’

Commissioned by Southbank Centre and Contact.

Poetry by Inua Ellams, Bohdan Piasecki, Jacob Sam-La Rose, Roger Robinson, Nick Makoha, Nii Parkes

Sound: Eric Lau & Jason Singh