Rap Canterbury Tales
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Play: rap canterbury tales
Reviewer: annika
Reviewer Email:
Rating: 5 Stars
Baba Brinkman does a great job of re-imagining three of the canterbury tales. This is clearly part of a larger goal, to help bring back oral poetry and oral performance of poetry. His rap about the history of oral poetry was especially well- done.


Play: Rap Canterbury Tales
Reviewer: OneHotCynic
Reviewer Email:
Rating: 4 Stars
Brilliantly written, this play really brings 3 of the best-loved Canterbury Tales to life in a fresh way. The best part, though, is the "lecture rap," where 40,000 years of oral performance history is telescoped into a remarkably thought-provoking 5 minute rhymed analysis - better than school house rock. The performer is a suburban white boy and he raps as a suburban white boy, appropriating only a minimal amount of ebonics and gansta mannerisms. This is a bold choice in a genre where ghetto mimicry is almost a given. While for some this may make the rap seem less authentic, I think it made the show more honest and more grounded, and Baba Brinkman should be applauded for it. He needs to work a bit on his stage presence, however. He is likable and sympathetic, but never commanding, and there are moments in this piece where he should be.


Play: rap canterbury tales
Reviewer: Liebe Wetzel
Reviewer Email: lunfan@mindspring.com
Rating: 3 Stars
great concept, modern rap translations delivered wtih refreshing enthusiasm. Character work could be stronger


Play: Rap Canterbury Tales
Reviewer: Claire Scott
Reviewer Email: clairescott@gmail.com
Rating: 5 Stars
Fabulous, funny, and genuinely clever! It took me a minute to catch on that the not-in-character parts were the Chaucerian narrator, and I laughed out loud once I got it. That's one rapper who knows his Chaucer inside and out! I'll pass this on to all my fellow amateur Chaucer scholars.


Play: Rap Canterbury Tales
Reviewer: G.F. Schaub
Reviewer Email: artzar@aol.com
Rating: 5 Stars
Baba Brinkman should get kudos from everybody!. His inventive and educated update of Chaucer's tales were great for a modern audience who may never have even heard of old Goeffery. He obviously "knows" his Middle English Lit. Great energy, and a wonderful handling of material. No wonder he's been a hit at Fringes around the world!


Play: Rap Canterbury Tales
Reviewer: Elizabeth
Reviewer Email: ecreely@sfsu.edu
Rating: 5 Stars
Great show... intuitive, energetic, proves to me that inspired content is what you need. A great modern translation


Play: The Rap canterbury Tales
Reviewer: Paul Krohn
Reviewer Email: pkrohn@daemonize.com
Rating: 5 Stars
Even if you're not a rap fan or Chaucer scholar, you'll enjoy this take on the morality of morality plays. My pick for Best of the Fringe.


Play: Rap Canterbury Tales
Reviewer: Stephen M.H. Braitman
Reviewer Email: braitman@mindspring.com
Rating: 2 Stars
A good idea with enthusiasm, though lacking a certain acting ability to remain in character. I was frankly disappointed that the language used for rapping was not going to be Chaucer! He told the same stories, but in modern lingo. Not what I expected, and perhaps too easy a way out of the challenge.


Play: The Rap Canterbury Tales
Reviewer: Andrew Bancroft
Reviewer Email: andrew@illbilly.com
Rating: 5 Stars
What a dope show. Baba is a captivating storyteller and a stellar lynguist. Chaucer would be hella hyped. Fa rizzle.

Andrew (Late Night with God