"Students blown away by Drum!"
- Lindsay O'Reilly, The Reporter

"Sensational!"
- Alan Solomon, Chicago Tribune

"A show with great vision. It caught people’s imagination. I loved it."
- Robbie Shaw, Vice-President, Nova Scotia Community College

"I want an encore!"
- Alex Beam, Boston Globe

"We came all the way from Ottawa to see the Tall Ships, but the real highlight was DRUM!"
- Human Resources Development Canada

"...uplifting... remarkable... will keep you hooked from the opening beat."
- Halifax Chronicle Herald/Mail Star

"Superb, superb, superb. . . goosebump stuff."
- Diane Savoie, Capitol Theatre, Moncton

"Spectacular, full of innovation, I was stunned."
- Peter Hayes, International Consultant, HFX

FOUR CULTURES…FOUR RHYTHMS…ONE HEART
"Without question, the performance of DRUM! has been one of the highlights of the year for our ship." - David Faro, Enrichment Manager, The World

The Chicago tribune called it "sensational!" The Boston Globe asked for an encore! The Halifax Chronicle Herald declared it "unreviewable - it has to be experienced" DRUM! is Nova Scotia's spectacular new musical production featuring 20 musicians, dancers, drummers, and singers from four of the principle cultures - Black, Acadian, Aboriginal, and Celtic - brought together in a heart-pumping fusion of music, dance, poetry, video, rhythm, and song.

Since DRUM! first came to the stage in 1999, the production has been received with standing ovations and rave reviews. Originally conceived as a 45-minute tourism piece, DRUM! was the main stage show at Tall Ships 2000, featured at a series of international conferences, and a onehour television special broadcast last summer on CBC TV. DRUM! made its debut as a full-length production in 2004 running for ten nights in its own specially designed theatre at the Halifax waterfront. Tourists and locals alike received the show with accolades resulting in a return to the waterfront for a five-week run in September 2005. Attendance quadrupled, critics continued to proclaim the show a hit and a U.S. tour ensued.

In November, DRUM! took the story of the rhythms of Nova Scotia across the U.S., starting in Florida at the prestigious Van Wezel Center and finishing to a packed 1700-seat theatre in Park City, Utah (home of the Sun Dance film festival). Audiences reacted with standing ovations (sometimes at the end of the first act) and hall operators were effusive with their praise: "Possibly the most moving performance we've ever presented in our theatre," said Darrell Bryan, Hall Manager, Greenville, Tennessee. Recently, DRUM! was nominated for two East Coast Music Awards.

DRUM! is presently preparing for a tour of Ontario and Saskatchewan in May and will return to the Halifax waterfront in September. Following the Halifax run, the show will tour once again in the U.S. and Canada.

DRUM! was conceived and created by Brookes Diamond and directed by Tim French. Music director is multi-talented Nova Scotian, Doris Mason who also performs in the show along with Jeremiah Sparks, Dutch Robinson, Trevor Gould, Hubert Francis, Len LeBlanc, Shaunda Aucoin, Cathy Porter, the MacQuarrie Dancers, Squid, fiddler Anna Ludlow, and house band members Jamie Alcorn, Brian Bourne, and Dave Burton. The production is a partnership with the Music Industry Association of Nova Scotia.

DRUM! communicates a message to the world: we can hold on to who we are and still share a song, a stage, a country, a world.

DRUM! is produced by Brookes Diamond Productions in association with the Music Industry Association of Nova Scotia.

Directed by: Timothy French Music Director: Doris Mason

Cultural beat goes on

It's part Riverdance, part Stomp! And while it has components of both of these international smash hits (fiddling and dancing from the former, percussion and dancing from the latter) Drum! manages to establish its own identity as a performance piece born of rich cultural traditions, driven by youthful energy, and sustained by audiences that can't seem to get enough of this sort of thing.

Drum! is performed at the quick pace this type of show requires. The tone throughout is decidedly upbeat, if you'll pardon the expression, and while there are a few sombre and reflective moments, the mood is mostly festive and celebratory.

The operative word here is "variety," and it applies to everything from instruments to costumes to the material itself, where the range extends from Aboriginal powwow chanting, to Highland dancing, to Acadian fiddling, to Negro spirituals.

There are some surprising and very pleasant crossovers as well. At times Drum! makes you think of Loreena McKennitt; at other times it's positively Great Big Sea. There is even some percussion work that sounds suspiciously like industrial music. The only constant is the drum.

- Nick Miliokas, The Leader-Post