After being featured in a slew of festivals in Canada and abroad, Brotherhood: The Hip Hopera will make its way to Yellowknife this weekend for its northernmost production yet.
The one-man show is written entirely in rhyme and follows the story of two brothers and hip hop superstars.
Practically speaking, in order to play two different characters it’s similar to the way people change their voice or gestures to recount a story, explained Sebastien Heins, the show’s creator and performer.
“In Brotherhood it’s a bit more of a dramatic more physically exciting way of switching between characters,” said Heins. On stage, he switches between the two characters in an instant by playing up their physical and audible differences.
When Heins was a student at the National Theatre School of Canada, he was tasked with putting together a one-man fifteen-minute show based on a burning, personal question.
“As an only child, my inspiration was that I’ve always wondered what it would be like to have a sibling, in particular, a brother,” he said.
Inspired by that idea, Heins built a story around it. The now 60-minute production of Brotherhood: The Hip Hopera was born out of that first 15-minute version.
“I knew that there was more story to tell, so we built two more acts onto it, so it would be a three-episode show,” he said.
The first episode takes the audience back to the 1970s to tell the story of how the brothers’ parents met, with the backdrop of Motown, soul and funk music.
“Just to show why the boys became the way they are and how they became superstars,” Heins said.
“I don’t want to give things away but it’s about family and the good and bad things that we inherit from our families and from society too.”
The two brothers are the product of some beautiful music, but also deal with tragedy and struggles like substance use.
“They kind of embody the best of both worlds,” he said. “The hope of great music and the sorrow of social degradation.”
A main message of the show is about the importance of family, said Heins.
“I hope that it will stir people to a particular action actually which is to reach out to the family that they have,” he said.
It’s cliche to say you don’t know what you’ve got until it’s gone, but it's worth repeating, said Heins.
“I hope that after people see the show they’ll pick up the phone and call their mom, call their dad, call their brother or sister or grandparent they haven’t seen in a while and just reconnect with them.”
The show’s title, Brotherhood is also a synonym for a lot of different things, said Heins.
“To me, it’s less about male relationships and more about the brotherhood of man and of humans. It’s a unity that we all have, that we’re connected in this brief but amazing life.”
Brotherhood: The Hip Hopera comes to the NACC on Feb. 16 at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $40 for adults and $25 for seniors and youth.
Watch the trailer here.