After months of inactivity and quiet, Dartmouth’s Alderney Landing Theatre sprang to life this week with a gorgeous blend of voices and instruments, vibrant expressions of dance and the driving beat of the drum.
While dozens of artists expressed their joy to be performing on stage in front of a Cinerama-sized screen showing historic imagery, an audience of camera technicians and audio engineers captured the moment for a special streaming presentation to cap off African Heritage Month.
Streaming on Sunday at 7 p.m. at www.jubalee.ca, Juba’Lee - Legacy is a revival of a show initially presented by the Black Cultural Centre as part of the millennium celebrations in 2000. For this presentation, it merges with the concept of Brookes Diamond Productions’ globetrotting stage show Drum! as a new show designed to focus on the deep roots and resilience of the African Nova Scotian community as well as the scope of Nova Scotia’s cultural makeup.
Mi'kmaw singers, Acadian dancers and Scottish bagpipes broaden the landscape of the show, while spoken word artist Allysa Flint’s powerful piece addressing systemic racism and the ongoing inequity of the justice system causes an awed hush to descend on the theatre.
“I think (Juba’Lee - Legacy) plays right into the theme of African Heritage Month for this year: Black History Matters,” says the Black Cultural Centre’s executive director Russell Grosse. “I think it’s time that we looked at the diversity that exists in Canada as a country, and I think this show does a great job of highlighting that.
“Not only the culture of those of African descent but also the other founding cultures as well. I think it’s a wholesome story, to look at the heritage and culture that exists in this country is magnificent. The fact that in most cases it’s little-known means it has to be part of the bigger picture.”
With an all-star band led by multi-talented Nova Scotian musician Doris Mason, the performers get to shine in their best light, from the vocal power of the gospel trio of North Preston’s Reeny and Mahalia Smith and R&B veteran Dutch Robinson to the instrumental prowess of Iranian multi-instrumentalist Mohammad Sahraei playing a driving Kurdish folk tune on a handcrafted tar, an ancestor of the guitar and other stringed instruments.
“You know, we’ve been quite a few places around the world, and every time people hear this show, the one thing they get out of it is the fact that there are four different cultures working on the same music,” says Robinson of his experience with Drum! over the years.
“When you go down in the deep South, they’ve never seen four different cultures work together on anything, so we’ve brought a lot to different people. I’ve seen people shed tears because of our show. They realize it’s worth watching what we do, so the vibe and the love have been plentiful for us and my family.”
This combination of Juba’Lee and Drum! was initially conceived as a stage presentation for a live audience, following the reception that greeted a similar multicultural showcase that accompanied former U.S. President Barack Obama’s visit to Halifax in 2019.
Although the global pandemic has made it impossible to stage the production in the manner in which it was intended, with the support of TD and Develop Nova Scotia the show can go on online, and reach an audience beyond Nova Scotia, and share its heritage with the rest of the country and the world.
“I think what’s unique about this show is that it’s not a typical performance,” says Grosse. “It’s a musical journey that tells a historic story, and it does a great job of doing that.
“Any time that we can share history and culture, and use a vehicle such as music or entertainment to do so, I think it broadens the audience in terms of what we can share.”
Robinson shares Grosse’s sentiments about Juba’Lee - Legacy, as well as the opportunity to be back in Nova Scotia after living in B.C. for the past few years, among family, friends and fellow artists working for a united cause.
“I’m proud of being able to reach out across the water to different people, and being able to reach out across the country, through this and through my music also.”
