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THE BEASTIE BOYS MUSICAL IS HAPPENING

London theatre company confirms musical biopic of hip-hop trio 

Camden People's Theatre is set to debut a brand new musical this winter, that profiles the life and career of legendary hip-hop trio, The Beastie Boys. 

Tipped to run from 23rd November until 12th December, the musical theatre ode to the seminal group is titled Licensed to Ill and is set to detail the story of the Beastie Boys "as they go from teenage punks to international rapping legends".

"Created with creative support from comedy hip-hop legends Abandonman and the Rubberbandits, and using a mix of live music and DJ-ing, Licensed to Ill travels through time from the hiphoppers of ’80s New York to the ’90s gangsters of LA – all the way to the total globalisation of hiphop," the musical's synopsis reads. "This loud, crazy show does to music theatre what hip-hop did to tracksuits: make them cool."

The synopsis also states that the show will tackle prickly issues on stage, including racism, misogyny and ethical issues surrounding hip-hop, with the show's producer Simon Maeder (Peaky Blinders) saying that: "Whilst we have ensured the Beastie Boys are fully appraised of our plans for the show, this is an unauthorised production based on the Beastie Boys story." 

Licensed to Ill is on 23rd November to 12th December at the Camden People's Theatre — more information and tickets here.