by Mike Hoban

“Hype Man: a break beat play” – Written by Idris Goodwin. Stage version originally directed by Shawn LaCount. Filmed version co-directed by John Oluwole ADEkoje and Shawn LaCount. Cinematography by The Loop Lab. Animation and illustrations by Barrington Edwards. Presented by Company One Theatre and American Repertory Theater. Available for streaming through May 6. For more information and tickets, go to: https://americanrepertorytheater.org/shows-events/hype-man-2021/

When Idris Goodwin’s electrifying and poignant work, Hype Man: a break beat play, had its world premiere back in 2018, a number of the names of the unarmed black citizens who had died at the hands of white police  in the preceding years – Freddie Gray, Philando Castile, Sandra Bland, Walter Scott, Michael Brown – had already become household names. Unfortunately, by the time a filmed version of the play began streaming last week, nothing had been done to slow the growth of this appalling list, which has instead exploded. The sickening murder of George Floyd last Memorial Day led to the world-wide protests of last summer (the largest in the history of the U.S.), and appeared to wake up the populace to this disturbing reality as even large, conservative corporations began to publicly support the Black Lives Matter movement.