Spring 2010 Season Highlights
Spring Season 2010 Highlights
The Drum is delighted to announce the launch of its spring 2010 season. The programme is packed with a variety of events and shows for you to see from February through to April.
The season opens with one of reggae music’s biggest stars Tarrus Riley performing live on Sat 13 Feb at the Sapphire Ballroom, bringing dancehall into a deep roots reggae tradition alongside king of lover’s rock Sanchez. Black Voices join together in message of universal peace and celebrate the beauty of the human voice with Voices Across The Oceans on Fri 19 & Sat 20 Feb. US soul superstar Angie Stone comes to Birmingham on Thu 4 Mar at the Birmingham 02 Academy as part of The Drum’s 10th Anniversary celebrations, touring her new album Unexpected. Birmingham’s very own jazz legend Andy Hamilton performs the last Sunday in every month and March sees a very special session with Andy celebrating his 92nd birthday! Arriving in the Midlands for the first time are Botown (Sat 6 Mar) whose renditions of Bollywood classics to a Memphis funk soul groove have taken London audiences by storm. Live Box is also back with a regular programme of bands including Mercury Award winner 2009 Speech Debelle on Sun 14 Mar and prize-winning poet and storyteller Inua Ellams performing alongside Soweto Kinch on Sun 11 Apr.
Meanwhile our theatre continues to flourish, in the wake of their stint on Channel 4’s The Family the hilarious Matribhoomi Theatre Company bring two shows to The Drum stage, Tejinder the Terminator (Sat 13 & Sun 14 Feb) and Naukar Timi Da (Sat 17 & Sun 18 Apr), entertainment for the whole family, with lots of laughter, music and dance. Sell out show The Maharajah and the Kohinoor (Thu 11 Mar) is back by popular demand to tell the tale of Duleep Singh, Maharajah of Lahore, who at the age of eleven was deposed and sent to England, where he was immediately adopted by Queen Victoria. Issues affecting the Black community are raised in the yard parable Ghetto Warrior on Fri 12 Mar, while Handful of Henna (Wed 17 & Thu 18 Mar) will appeal to young and old alike with its heart-warming tale of Brit-Asian teen Nasreen, stranded on holiday in the her family’s village with the battery running perilously low on her i-phone.
In addition, our comedy nights continue to pack out the venue, Upfront Café returns with Ava Vidal in a full length solo show on Fri 5 Feb, Leo Muhammed is back with his full-length show ‘Honey I beat the kids!’ on Fri 5 Mar and headlining an international bill, Tony Hendriks rounds up the season on Fri 2 Apr. Café Masti is back on Fri 26 Mar with newcomers Anil Desai and Imran Yusuf, and ACTing up! offers YOU, the audience, the chance to share in an evening of banter with comedy duo Ashley J (Eastenders) & Tee-J (CBBC’s Kerching) on Fri 19 Mar, in a live improvised comedy game show, where even the cast don’t know the ending!!!
Other highlights include, the exclusive West Midlands launch of Dreams in a Time of War, an autobiographical memoir by the renowned African novelist Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o on Sat 6 Mar at Birmingham Library Theatre. Identity of the Soul (Sun 21 Mar) is a unique cinematic event which deals with the issues of war, retaliation and the consequences of choice. Dance comes in the form of Apsaras on Fri 23 Apr, Samir Bhamra’s new production, demonstrates a world of politics and power through the use of seduction, manipulation and fantasy.
Last but not least, The Drum is delighted to be part of A Night Less Ordinary which allows us to offer a limited number of free theatre tickets to anyone under 26 every Wed – Sun on selected events. In addition, under the p:ARTicipate scheme, Ladywood residents can obtain reduced priced tickets from as little as £3.
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MEDIA CONTACT: Helen Liddle, Marketing Manager on 0121 333 2409 or e-mail: h.liddle@the-drum.org.uk
Notes to Editors:
Venue: The Drum 144 Potters Lane Aston Birmingham B6 4UU
Box Office: Call 0121 333 2444 or to book online visit www.the-drum.org.uk
FaceBook: Drum (West Midlands)
MySpace: thedrumb6
