Alas, poor Brat

The Mercury Prize was awarded this week to the indie band English Teacher (who?). But that's not what really caught our eye.

Alas, poor Brat. It won our hearts, but it couldn’t win those of the judges awarding the Mercury Prize this week, which went to the band English Teacher. 

‘Alas, poor Brat’ is also the name of a drag retelling of Hamlet set to the music of Charli XCX, in a fringe theatre somewhere (we saw it online, who knows if it’s even true). But it got us thinking about fun, esoteric mashups and what other cultural collisions might prove creatively fruitful. 

ALOOF FROM TH’ENTIRE POINT

A Kardashian retelling of King Lear set to the music of U2

O LITTLE TOWN OF ILLINOIS

A production of the Nativity set to the soundtrack of the musical Chicago 

LORD OF THE ROMANS

Nicki Minaj, as her alter ego Roman, performs the entire three volumes of Lord of Rings, solo to her own music.

WICKED THE MOVIE

Ariane Grande and Cynthia Erivo star opposite one another in a movie based on a musical based on a movie (The Wizard of Oz). Oh wait, that’s actually happening.

A STREETCAR NAMED DESIRED

A Streetcar Named Desire set to the music of Doja Cat except it’s only Rules, Streets and Wet Vagina playing at different speeds and in different keys throughout the production. 

HARDER, BETTER, FAUSTER, STRONGER

Kanye West, as penance for his obscenities but also because it really captures his current vibe, performs a one-man rendition of Marlowe’s Dr Faustus set to the music of his arch nemesis, Taylor Swift. Bianca Censori plays Helen of Troy.