Work could start in late 2020 on Britain’s first hip hop theatre with fundraising on the £2.5million project due to start in the new year.
Toby and Jo Gorniak, the couple behind Plymouth’s successful Street Factory CIC Hip hop and creative business, have plans drawn up for the ambitious development and several top construction industry firms on side.
Toby has just been crowned the South West’s Unsung Hero by BBC and now will be a guest at the BBC’s Sports Personality of the Year live show on Sunday, December 14, with his wife Jo, and they say: “This Is only the beginning”
Under their plans for the hip hop Street Factory’s base in Millbay’s Sawrey Street – which has previously been a brewery, garage and food wholesalers – will be turned into a world-leading international centre for transforming the lives of people of all ages via the pillars of hip-hop culture, including rapping, DJing, breaking, popping, beatboxing and graffiti art, mentoring and self knowledge, alongside other, more conventional, lessons.
It will be called Hip Hop Kingdom and will include a theatre, community cafe, recording studio, dance studio, and teaching space for such subjects as creative writing, and film studies.
Jo said: “We need £2.5million but are really confident. We are approaching major funders such as the National Lottery, Arts Council England and Sport England.
“And we want a big hip hop name as patron for the building. Stormzy would be the dream. He knows hip hop can transform lives.”
Toby said: “Yo, Stormzy – you are coming down.”
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Toby grew up in Poland where he learned street dance by plugging a stereo into a car speaker and copying moves he’d seen on music videos.
His family came to Plymouth in 2001, when he was 14. He attended Lipson Community College and practised his dance moves in Freedom Fields Park.
He began giving lessons at Onward Community Centre and was performing at Theatre Royal Plymouth when he met his future wife, an actor.
The couple launched Street factory in 2007.
In February 2018, Toby announced a crowdfund campaign had hit its £45,000 target, allowing plans to progress so the £2.5million educational centre and hip-hop theatre can be created.
Awarded the MBE that year, Toby has had an amazing run of success in the past 12 months winning a host of awards, including the 25 th anniversary National Lottery Local Legend honour, in November, with Street Factory dancers performing at the ceremony at London’s Tate Modern.
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Street Factory’s awards haul also includes the Federation of Small Business’ community business honour, and being chosen as one of the top 100 small businesses at an event in the House of Lords.
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Meanwhile Toby was given an Autism Hero award and the Nelson Mandela award, with Jo being named as one of the country’s 100 “wise women” and a Women’s Champion.
Street Factory dancers have appeared on numerous TV shows, including the One Show, and one of its dancers, Max Revell, was named BBC Young Dancer of the Year 2019.
Toby is the Plymouth representative at the national Breakin’ Convention in 2020, which will bring top breakers to the Ocean City as part of its national tour, and Street Factory will perform at their nationally recognised Mayflower 400 event on Plymouth Hoe in summer 2020, entitled Roots Up.
“The Breakin’ Convention, Mayflower 400 and then to build our new building – these are the big things for 2020,” said Toby.
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But that is not all: the couple are planning a trip to New York City, home of hip hop, to make contact with industry names they can later bring to Plymouth,
“And Toby is publishing a book,” Jo said. “It’s about how hip hop transforms lives.”
“It’s a tool book to help you though life.” Toby added. “And my life journey will be in there. Refugee to MBE, always remember your roots, Stay humble.”