The Rebel Cell

A dystopian parable structured as Socratic dialogue and delivered through the medium of rap, The Rebel Cell is a rare and inventive experiment. It pairs Canadian intellectual rapper Baba Brinkman – whose version of The Canterbury Tales was a runaway success last year – with MC Dizraeli, who despite his moniker is presented as a grungy Swampy-type, first seen naked and drumming out a beat on an upturned plastic barrel.

The show grew out of arguments the pair had while performing together – about whether constructive democratic engagement or radical social disruption offers the best chance for healing a broken world. It centres on an imaginary moment five years from now when their beliefs have led them down very different paths – Brinkman is a lone independent journalist in a media controlled by the fascist BBNPC, while Dizraeli is an anarchist terrorist. When Brinkman is given a scoop interview on the eve of Dizraeli’s show trial, the two retread old ground in an attempt to find a new solution.

There's a ramshackle feel to the production and it occasionally loses focus, but there is much in it worth hearing. Both performers contribute great energy and panache. Dizraeli is the better character actor by far, but Brinkman’s ingenious rhymes and brilliantly subtle delivery lend the show its real artistry, lifting it above the level of an entertaining formal experiment.