by Michele Markarian
“Drumfolk”, by Step Afrika! Directed by Jakari Sherman. Stephen M. Allen, Composer. Presented by Arts Emerson, Emerson Cutler Majestic Theatre, 219 Tremont Street, Boston through October 16.
I wasn’t sure what to expect from “Drumfolk”, having never been to a Step Afrika! Production, other than it must have something to do with drums, as the title suggests. What I got instead was a complete narrative experience of a period in history using dance, song, storytelling, and yes, drumming, not just with drums, but with the rhythm in the performers’ bodies. This rhythm, born when drums were forbidden to enslaved Africans, gave birth to the subsequent percussive movement known as “stepping”.
“Drumfolk” consists of five dances, mostly choreographed by Jakari Sherman, depicting the events leading up to the Stono Rebellion and its aftermath, the exuberant piece “Free”. The Stono Rebellion took place in 1739, where 20 enslaved Africans in South Carolina rebelled by raiding a store and seizing its weapons. As they marched to Spanish Florida, where they would allegedly be free, their numbers swelled to 100. The rebellion was thwarted at the Edisto River, and as a result, the governorship in South Carolina put into action the Negro Act of 1740. Plaintively recited by vocalist Kaysha Williams, the Negro Act forbid enslaved Africans to read, write, assemble in groups, or play the drum.
The eighteen performers – dancers, vocalists, musicians – are stunning, telling stories with their bodies in a way that makes the piece more visceral than anything else I’ve seen depicting the African experience in America. There’s something in the freedom of movement and expression of the dancers that makes any life less than that seem unbelievably tragic; one feels the utter hopelessness in the loss of such freedom. But “Drumfolk” has a nice arc, it plummets from light to dark to light again, with “Stono” being the nadir from which the rest of the history rises, culminating in the jubilant “Free”. It truly feels like a journey.
Under the tight direction and innovative choreography of Sherman, the cast is uniformly excellent and in sync, both fierce and loose. They actually look like they are having fun, in some of the show’s lighter moments. Costume Designer Kenaan M. Quander’s creations are exquisite; thick gold chokers adorn the dancers for “Drumfolk20”, the women in flowy pale pastels. Later, voodoo spirits costumed in straw alternately project safety and terror. Marianne Meadows lighting design adds tension, drama and beauty.
I knew nothing about the Stono Rebellion, or the loss of the tradition that inspired stepping before seeing “Drumfolk”, made all the more interesting by Step Afrika!’s bodily interpretation of these events. The production manages to do what many productions can’t: engage the audience on more than one level. While the emotions stirred up by “Drumfolk” run deep, they also run the gamut in a way that’s not to be missed. As Williams tells us, “The beat has a rich and magnificent history…some of it bitter and some of it sweet”. For tickets and information, go to: https://artsemerson.org/
