Born in 1980 in Poole, Dorset, theatre director Jamie Lloyd founded the Jamie Lloyd Company in 2013. He is known for his bold and minimalist productions, including Cyrano de Bergerac with James McAvoy and The Seagull with Emilia Clarke in the West End, and the Broadway revivals of Betrayal with Tom Hiddleston and A Doll’s House with Jessica Chastain. Lloyd has won two Olivier awards and two Evening Standard awards. He directs The Effect by Lucy Prebble at the National Theatre until 7 October, and Sunset Boulevard, starring Nicole Scherzinger, at the Savoy theatre, London, from 21 September to 6 January 2024.
1. Book
The Come Up by Jonathan Abrams
This is a special year for any hip-hop fan because 2023 marks the 50th anniversary of the birth of the genre. It has been celebrated in many ways across the year, including the brilliant Hip Hop: Conscious, Unconscious photography exhibition at Fotografiska, New York. Like that show, Jonathan Abrams charts how a grassroots culture became an international phenomenon. He conducted more than 300 interviews with key players from hip-hop’s five-decade reign for this oral history. The huge contribution of women is often erased, which the excellent new Netflix documentary Ladies First seeks to address. In Abrams’s book, it’s inspiring to read about early trailblazers such as label owner and producer Sylvia Robinson, who took a risk on work that others dismissed.
2. Concert
Kendrick Lamar Live: The Big Steppers tour on Amazon Video
Kendrick Lamar is the greatest rapper of all time and one of the greatest artists of any genre working today. This tour had the aesthetic of a minimalist theatre piece, made with real precision and discipline, putting the emphasis on Kendrick and the incredible complexity of his words. It was exciting and totally energising – I went to see it twice at London’s O2 arena. Family Ties, performed with his cousin, Baby Keem, was explosive. The concert is filmed so well here, recorded live in Paris. The next gig I’m going to is the phenomenal Little Simz at London’s Alexandra Palace. Kendrick said she is “one of the illest doing it right now” – she is a major, idiosyncratic artist who does everything her own way.
3. Event
Tattoo Takeover, Peckham
I’m fascinated that tattoos have been part of so many different cultures, for many different reasons, for thousands of years. I’m heavily tattooed now and people often stop me in the street to talk about it – it’s a great way of connecting with people. I’m always happy to speak about Stewart Robson at Modern Classic, who has been tattooing me for about 11 years. He’s a master of his craft. Next weekend he’s gathering some of the best international tattooers in one place for a unique art show and tattoo party.
4. Music
The innovative music of Ryuichi Sakamoto is a huge inspiration – particularly his many atmospheric collaborations with [German experimental artist] Alva Noto. We were fortunate enough to work with them on our production of A Doll’s House, just before Sakamoto passed away. The recent album Travesía, curated by the great film director Alejandro González Iñárritu, who collaborated with Sakamoto on The Revenant, offers a rich exploration of his solo work. But I would also recommend more of his haunting, intimate piano pieces, like the beautiful Aqua.
5. Play
Heroes of the Fourth Turning by Will Arbery
Will Arbery, unknown here in the UK, is a hugely important and exciting US playwright, who asks us to see the world – and one another – from a different point of view. We’re accustomed to seeing our own values and opinions mirrored back to us in the theatre. With this exceptional, chilling play, which I’ve read, but haven’t seen, Arbery challenges us to spend time with characters we may vehemently disagree with – young religious conservatives, whose ideologies are presented without any apology or attack. As critic Charles McNulty said: “Arbery makes it difficult to dismiss their humanity even when they seem to be dismissing our own.” It’s a play I’d love to direct.
6. TikTok
Robina Courtin is a charismatic, no-nonsense, extremely funny Buddhist nun. I was fortunate to discover her teachings during the pandemic. She posts remarkably clear, short videos on social media, helping us navigate the challenges of the world, staying peaceful and courageous, and encouraging us to help others. Her words are not moralistic – they’re practical. If we can reinterpret the way things are, she says, then we can be in charge of our minds instead of being pulled from pillar to post by the outside world. Inspiring.
