“The beats that are its soul reaffirm the appealing power of the drum, resounding across time and cultures.”
Providing theatergoers a two-foot drum on every seat, it offers an opportunity to exorcise aggression by delivering a good beating. On a slightly more elevated level, it presents a superficial introduction to African culture, lessons in drumming and 90 minutes of nonstop music, song and dancing by a good-natured cast.
The Drum Struck cast, with help from the crowd, pounds out rhythms.
Readers’ Opinions
In 10 scenes set inside what appears to be a stockade-like kraal, this import from South Africa, conceived by Warren Lieberman, directed by David Warren and emanating from the Lieberman
Drum Cafe in Johannesburg, ranges in content and costume from the primitive to the modern. It touches upon Zulu rhythms, the ancient song and dance of the bushmen, traditional and popular song, Zulu dance from the gold mines and acts that call for more song and the rhythms of assorted drums joined by other African instruments.
The cast of 11 women and men, including the ringer who appears to be a reticent fellow plucked from the audience before engaging in a duel of drummers, is characterized not only by its instrumental talent but also by its lively dancing and sweet song. The interplay between cast and audience is at its most involving when mimed, good-humored instruction gives theatergoers a chance to pound out rhythms with the pros.
Drum Struck may not be subtle, but the beats that are its soul reaffirm the appealing power of the drum, resounding across time and cultures.