An international collaboration celebrating calypso, the steel pan, and storytelling from the twin island states of Trinidad & Tobago.

Calypso can be traced back to the arrival of the first African slaves brought to work in the sugar plantations of Trinidad. Forbidden to talk to each other, and robbed of all links to family and home, the African slaves began to sing songs as a means of communication and to mock their slave masters.

Drumming was also used as a form of communication among the enslaved Africans and was subsequently outlawed by the British colonial government, until the late 1940s saw the emergence of the first steelbands, their ‘pans’ fashioned from 55 gallon oil drums.

Drew Gonsalves, a Trinidadian, established the band Kobo Town, named after the historic neighbourhood in Port-of-Spain where calypso was born. Norman Stewart, who has been ‘playing, making and tuning pan’ for over three decades, was the leader of the famous Midlands band Maestros Steel Band.

To book workshop and joint workshop and performance tickets, please contact box office on 0121 333 2444.

*p:ART:cipate tickets £4 performance only, contact box office on 0121 333 2444 for further information or visit http://www.the-drum.org.uk/news/p-art-icipate/

As part of A Night Less Ordinary - Arts Council England's Free Theatre Ticket Initiative, The Drum has a limited number of tickets to give away for this event to anyone aged 26 or under. For more information visit www.anightlessordinary.org.uk or call The Drum's Customer Service Team on 0121 333 2444.