At one with the drum

Enter the lucky draw to WIN tickets.

For at least the past couple of decades, the name Warren Lieberman has been synonymous with African drumming – a somewhat unusual association for a Jewish man born in Johannesburg in the mid 1960s. 

After graduating with a degree in physics and applied mathematics at the University of Cape Town, and then completing a BSC with Honours in electrical engineering, Lieberman did a 360-degree turnaround when he established the Drum Café in 1995. What started as a series of weekly jam sessions, first at his home and then in an actual ‘café’, quickly expanded to become a tool for corporates to bring together their diverse and divided employees in post-Apartheid South Africa. Lieberman explains that music is a universal language and that drumming together is a unifying activity that breaks down barriers of age, religion, race and gender. “The methods used by Drum Café were effective because business, like music, requires communication and teamwork. When people drum together, they feel like they are part of something bigger, but still have a crucial individual role to play,” says Lieberman.

Then, in 2002, Lieberman partnered with creative director Kathy-Jo Ross, to develop Drumstruck, a fully interactive theatre experience that would enable the pair to “bring the joyful, transformative process of communal drumming to audiences across the world, including an 18-month stint off-Broadway in New York, Australia, Dollywood in the USA (where the performers were accompanied on stage by Dolly Parton), and a 10-year run in Japan.

During this period, Lieberman also invested a great deal of time and energy into his passion: the research and preservation of traditional Southern African music and instrumentation. He published an in-depth study of traditional music in a book authored by Laurie Levine and has gradually assembled an extensive and unrivalled collection of rare indigenous African instruments. 

In 2015, Lieberman relocated from Johannesburg to Cape Town with his family, and he has since been driven to find a way to bring the beauty and joy of traditional South African music and interactive drumming to local audiences.

Drumstruck at Silvermist is a scaled-down version of the global hit production. Directed by Kathy-Jo Ross, the cast features multi-talented performers Mpho Rasenyalo, Tumelo Seleke and Zama Qambi. 

Before embarking on the African musical journey, guests participate in an intimate Constantia valley wine tasting facilitated by owner and winemaker at Silvermist Wine Estate, Gregory Brink Louw. Children, and those who prefer a non-alcoholic option, are offered a delicious rooibos tea tasting.

WIN A SET OF 4 TICKETS

One lucky reader will win a family ticket for 4 people to Drumstruck at Silvermist, which includes entry to the exhilarating new show, as well as the wine tasting (or if you prefer, a rooibos tea tasting) prior to the show

Click here to WIN, by subscribing to the Chronicle (no charge) and entering here! If you are already subscribed, you can still stand a chance to win by filling in the form and entering.

Closing date: Wednesday 28 December 2022


Drumstruck runs daily from Tuesday to Sunday at 3pm, with an additional show at 6pm on a Saturday, until April 2023. For more information and to book tickets, visit www.drumstruck.com.


• Published in the December 2022/January 2023 Digital Edition – Click here to read it.

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