A Rebellion Revived In Rap: Jeremiah Comes To Yorkshire's Theatres

It's a lesser known part of British history but with his original musical show Jeremiah, composer and performer Jack Dean aims to change that.

Telling the story of the Luddite Rebellion and specifically the role of leader Jeremiah Brandreth, Dean uses rap, a live string trio and a powerful and passionate performance to bring this part of the past to life.

Ahead of the Theatre Deli show in Sheffield this Saturday, Jack told us a little about his contemporary take on an old tale.

Jack, firstly, and perhaps most obviously, why a show about the Luddite Rebellion?

I started developing the show in the bicentenary of the Pentrich Rising, which some historians consider to be the final, bloody chapter in the Rebellion.

But as I worked backwards through history to look at the whole Rebellion, I was astonished by the scale of it: tens of thousands of soldiers deployed, huge pitched battles at Middleton and Bolton, and a web of government spies and conspiracies that stretched across the country.

It seemed bizarre to me that this dramatic story wasn’t told more, and so I set out to do just that.

It is described as a 'much misunderstood Rebellion', can you elaborate?

The conventional picture of the Luddites is of militant technophobes who reacted against an unstoppable march of progress that they couldn’t fully understand, but this isn’t really accurate.

These were skilled, often highly educated, workers, who often used the same kind of machines that they destroyed in their trade, but who realised that the concentration of these machines in the hands of a small elite posed an existential threat to their livelihoods and communities.

In essence, I would argue, the Luddite Rebellion was not a revolt against machinery, but against capitalism. Their later diminution is a classic example of history being written by the victors.



Who was Jeremiah and where does your fascination with him come from?

Jeremiah Brandreth was, over the course of his life, a soldier, a framework knitter and a seditionist, but what really drew me to his story was that he was also a poet.

When leading his men in their doomed march against the government in 1817, for which he would become the last man in history to be beheaded by an axe for High Treason, he taught them all a song that he had written.

The use of a lyric at this life-or-death moment is so oddly romantic, and made him a much more relatable and intriguing character from my point of view.

How would you describe the show?

A musical storytelling epic with a three-piece string ensemble about the struggle to be free in a regime ruled by fear, paranoia and violence.

Why a fusion of so many musical genres?

I’ve always listened to a broad range of music in my life, so that inevitably found its way into the score. Co-composer Umayr Shaffi also brought his own take to the music, bringing a lot of filmic, orchestral flourishes.

What's your own musical background?

I’ve been rapping, performing and writing music since I was a teenager. I don’t have a lot of theory knowledge or instrumental skill, so my main approach is to work with samples and software to bring the ideas out of my head and into the world.

Finally, what can the audience expect from the show?

100 minutes of high drama, power ballads, smoke, fire, intrigue, love, betrayal and hope for a better future.

There’s also a bit where Lord Byron has a rap battle with the Home Secretary.

And it’s our story. The story of Yorkshire, and every other part of the North, at a time of crucial change.

So do yourself a solid and check it out.

Jeremiah is touring now

25 May, 7:45pm: Theatre Deli, Sheffield
30 May, 8pm: Square Chapel, Halifax
4 June, 7:30pm: Harrogate Theatre, Harrogate