LIEF A Hip Hop Musical

New hip hop musical LIEF has been created especially for SEEN Lewisham, a festival celebrating local talent and showcasing under-represented artists now in its second year.

This autobiographical piece is written by vocal artist and performer Nadine-Rose Johnson, who has form for creating impactful shows amongst which are the Offie-winning Frankenstein: How To Make A Monster (co-writer and performer) and a hip-hop reworking of Romeo & Juliet.

LIEF, a play on "life" and "lie", is a deeply moving account of growing up in poverty in a dysfunctional family.

The father is mostly absent, and an elder brother, with kids of his own, has left Nadine as the oldest child at home and thereby the dogsbody of a mother without any nurturing instinct and aggression verging on mental ill-health.

Raised to cover up and lie about their circumstances to the authorities and those outside the family, Nadine has no one to confide in even at school, where friends casually deliver racist micro-aggressions and their lack of empathy keep closeness at bay.