Where: Tricycle Theatre, 269 Kilburn High Road, Kilburn, London NW6 7JR
£: Free
What is it?
London Is The Place For Me is a free festival celebrating of 50 years of Trinidad & Tobago independence. Curated by Melanie Abrahams and Dominique Le Gendre, the festival brings classical and contemporary music, theatre, literature, spoken word, participation, dance, carnival and food over two weeks to the Tricycle Theatre. Below are details of upcoming events running as part of the festival.
Sunday 12th August
Carnival Is… by Ava Hutchinson at 2pm:
A delightful and entertaining introduction to the magic and spectacle of carnival by an award-winning singer, educator, and former member of the Trinidad Folk Singers, known fondly as ‘Auntie Ava’ by children and parents alike. Come and be delighted by Ava’s words, music, and ‘joie de vivre’.
A Guide to Tobago by Leslie Palmer at 4pm:
A guided tour of Tobago and its attractions with the original Notting Hill Carnival pioneer and London resident Leslie Palmer, who publishes the annual What’s on… in Tobago magazine and is the author of a new Island Fun Guide – Tobago Exposed. The event is also runs on 19th August.
RUM SHOP LIME with Attillah Springer at 6pm:
In an informal “limin” style, a guest speaker selects and talks about a person from Trinidad or Tobago. Attillah Springer presents her personal insights on visionary, intellectual and civil rights worker Claudia Jones.
Sunday Night Concert with Gweneth Ann Jeffers and Brian Green at 7.30pm:
Exile, Solitude and Heroic quests are explored in works by Handel, Catalani, Fauré, Ravel, Dove, Le Gendre, and more by the soprano Gwen-Ann Jeffers, internationally acclaimed for her interpretations of Messiaen’s song cycles and Tenor/actor Brian Green. Following the concert will be a talk with ethno-musicologist Andrea Hector Watkins.
Monday 13th August
A hands-on workshop on calypso performance, writing and making for those aged 12-25 years led by Alexander D Great. Born in Trinidad and raised in London, Alexander D Great is a professional musician and composer. He has been recognised for his writing and performance as the crowned UK Calypso Monarch in 2010 and 2011. This event runs 13th-17th August.
Rhythms of T&T, 10.30am – 4.15pm:
Readings and excerpt of the Amerindians.
Life of T&T curated and arranged by Wendell Clement at 6pm:
The launch of an exhibition that showcases artists from Trinidad, Tobago and England who represent the new wave of contemporary visual arts talent.
Light Falling on Bamboo: Readings and Conversation by Lawrence Scott at 7.30pm:
Trinidadian novelist and short fiction writer Lawrence Scott reads and talks about his latest novel. Set in Trinidad and offering a fictional account of famed painter Michel Jean Cazabon, the book captures the worlds of the powerful, the dispossessed and people riven by the legacy of slavery. Lawrence Scott was born on a sugarcane estate in Trinidad and currently divides his time between Port of Spain and London.
Tuesday 14th August
RUM SHOP LIME with Mustapha Matura at 6pm:
Mastupha Matura talks about his range of writing including his new Trinidadian adaptation of Three Sisters by Anton Chekhov.
CARNIVAL DANCING (Wining) with Attillah Springer at 6.30pm.
Rehearsed Reading: Three Sisters by Mustapha Matura at 7.30pm:
This rehearsed reading offers a fantastic core cast of Trinidadian actors who have worked extensively on stage, screen and television. Written by acclaimed playwright Mustapha Matura, Three Sisters is a classic take on middle class alienation set in Port of Spain during World War II, which echoes the themes of longing and ‘End of Empire’ in Anton Chekhov’s original work. This event also runs on 14th & 15th August.
Wednesday 15th August
RUM SHOP LIME with Margaret Busby at 6pm:
Publisher, editor and broadcaster Margaret Busby OBE reads selected works of author, historian and social theorist CLR James.
Thursday 16th August
Salt of the Earth directed by Sophie Meyer at 2pm:
A family event, narrated by Martina Laird. A documentary film exploring Parang music which grew out of the cocoa plantations of the 19th century in Trinidad. This event also runs on 16th and 22nd August.
RUM SHOP LIME with Hassan Mahamdallie at 6pm:
Author and theatre director Hassan Mahamdallie talks about Frank Crichlow, one of the godfathers of black radicalism and anti-racism throughout the 70’s an 80’s and founder of the Mangrove Community Association.
Classical Concert Night with Tony Wollard and Ensemble at 7.30pm:
Cellist Tony Woollard and ensemble perform Bach to Now, a programme of Bach cello suites and contemporary works.
Friday 17th August
RUM SHOP LIME with Alexander D Great at 6pm:
Alexander D Great has selected famed Calypsonian Atilla the Hun and he shares his insights and performs his classic tracks.
Friday Late Double Bill: Zumba class and London Liming at 7.30pm:
London Liming is where spoken word meets carnival. Offering a relaxed party-loving sensibility and produced by Tilt, it is a tribute to the Trinidadian and Tobagan pastime of “limin’” or the ‘lime’ – convivial, cosmopolitan and bursting to the seams with the most talented spoken word performers and musicians that Trinidad, Tobago and London has to offer.
Performing on the night are Chalkdust, Alexander D Great, Monique Roffey, Attilah Springer, Ray Funk, Kevin Le Gendre, James Ingham and Melanie Abrahams, and young Calypso sensation, Vee Vee. More information via www.ontilt.org
Saturday 18th August
Independence on Film introduced by Ray Funk at 2pm:
A collage of film clips and footage on Trinidad and Tobago independence, and citizens’ responses to independence in the years that followed it. Ray Funk is a Calypso researcher and archivist based in Alaska.
Dr Dust & The Judge by Chalkdust and Ray Funk at 4pm:
Chalkdust is one of calypso’s true intellectuals, and is known for his hard-hitting, politically tinged lyrics. Ray Funk has been researching and archiving Trinidad and Tobago’s Steel band, Calypso and Carnival and is currently writing a book on the Calypso Craze of 1957.
RUM SHOP LIME with Malika Brooker at 6pm:
Malika Booker has selected Calypso Rose and she shares her insights and her fondness for this living legend Calypsonian.
Talk Time: Independence! at 7.30pm:
This special event explores talk as art. It showcases leading writers, storytellers, humorists, singers and social commentators of Trinidad origin, as well as guest presenters who have a vivid passion for Trinidad language and culture. All contributors have fun through language, each in their own style.
Sunday 19th August
A Guide to Tobago by Leslie Palmer at 12pm (this event runs 12th & 19th August).
Little Red Riding Hood Concert & Workshop by Adam Walters at 2pm:
Trinidad-based English composer Adam Walters has collaborated with Trinidadian artist and illustrator Che Lovelace on this Trinidadian version of the familiar children’s tale setting it to the intoxicating rhythms of the “jab-jab biscuit-tins” still heard in remote villages during Carnival.
“Quotable Quotes in Calypso by Chalkdust at 4pm:
A fascinating, entertaining and insightful introduction to the art, language and performers of Calypso.
RUM SHOP LIME with Monique Roffey, Amanda Smyth and Kevin Le Gendre at 6pm:
This session explores New Fiction through a conversation between novelists Monique Roffey and Amanda Smyth, and journalist/critic Kevin Le Gendre.
Classical Concert with Hyacinth Nicholls and Simone Sauphanor at 7.30pm:
A song recital of works from 19th, 20th and 21st century opera and musical theatre repertoire by 2 award-winning singers.
RUM SHOP LIME with Paul Keens-Douglas at 9.30pm:
Come hear Tanti Merle at de Oval and other popular stories from one of the most eloquent and best-known social commentators in the English-speaking Caribbean. Paul Keens-Douglas is a pioneer in the development of oral traditions and the vernacular as a literary form. He produces the annual carnival Trinidad Talk Tent and has self-published nine volumes of work, albums, videos, CDs and DVDs.
Monday 20th August
Children’s Workshop, 10.30am – 4pm:
For children aged 7 – 12 years old covering music, culture and food.
Pan On film introduced by Debra Romain at 6pm:
A collage of film clips on the steel pan, its players and those who enjoy this unique instrument created in T&T, which has become a highlight of annual carnival festivities around the world, and a source of great national pride.
Double Bill: We Love Pan and Woman of Steel at 7.30pm:
A celebration of steel pan through artists exploring their passion for it through music, song, words and performance.
Tuesday 21st August
Children’s Workshop, 10.30am – 4pm:
For children aged 7-12 years old with music, culture and food.
RUM SHOP LIME & Book Launch: The Poems of Sam Selvon at 6pm:
Susheila Nasta, the founder and Editor of groundbreaking publication Wasafiri, shares her memories of Sam Selvon and discusses the impact of his writing and his powerful capturing of Caribbean voices and experiences of post-Windrush life in London through pivotal writing including his novel The Lonely Londoners. Susheila’s talk is followed by a book launch of The Poems of Sam Selvon, which bring to the fore little known poems and demonstrate the author’s gift for poetry as well as prose.
Poets from Trinidad and Tobago at 7.30pm:
Readings by some of the finest living poets that will enthrall, and untap the great archive of the English language poetry of Trinidad and Tobago.
Wednesday 22nd August
Children’s Workshop 10.30am – 4pm:
For children aged 7 – 12 years old with Atilla Springer.
Writers Masterclass led by Earl Lovelace, 3pm-5pm:
Earl Lovelace was born in Toco, Trinidad, and has spent most of his life in T&T. This is a rare session to meet a masterful writer and discuss books, the craft of writing and a writer’s influences. Suitable for writers of all levels.
RUM SHOP LIME with Madani Younis at 6pm:
Practitioner, director, writer and current artistic director of the Bush Theatre, Madani Younis talks about theatre creator, visionary, musician and heritage consultant Geraldine Conner.
Felix Cross and Nitro’s Mass Carib in Concert at 7.30pm:
A musical setting of the full Mass sung in Latin, English, French Patois and Yoruba and written for choir, soloists, percussion and steel-pan. Mass Carib draws on historical, cultural and spiritual references from the Caribbean, most specifically Trinidad.
Thursday 23rd August
Children’s Workshop, 10.30am – 4pm:
For children aged 7 – 12 years old with Atilla Springer.
RUM SHOP LIME with Anthony Joseph at 6pm:
Anthony Joseph reads and performs extracts from Kitch: A fragmented, fictional biography of Lord Kitchener. Cited as “The leader of the Black avant-garde in Britain”, Trinidad-born poet, novelist and musician Anthony Joseph is the author of three collections of poetry, Desafinado, Terragaton and Bird Head Son, a spoken word CD and a novel The African Origins of UFOs.
A Classical Novel: The Dragon Can’t Dance Earl Lovelace in Conversation at 7.30pm:
As part of Earl Lovelace’s festival residency, they take the opportunity to look at his best-known novel The Dragon Can’t Dance (1979), a book that has become a classic text and is an uproarious and enduring exultation to Trinidad’s carnival traditions. Also featuring a performance from Neil Lutchman who is a Trinidad born classical opera tenor. In London he has performed as a soloist at the Barbican Centre, the Royal Festival Hall, the Wigmore Hall, The London Palladium and St. John’s, Smith Square among other venues.
Saturday 25th August
Zumba Dance Class at 1pm:
Calypso style dance. Join in, learn new moves, get fit, have fun!
Julia & Joyce: Two stories of two dance pioneers directed by Sonja Dumas at 2pm
Ask Earl Lovelace: A Q&A at 3pm:
A Q&A with the Commonwealth Award winning writer and the opportunity to listen to the author read extracts from his favourite works. Earl Lovelace has established himself as one of Trinidad’s most well-known and admired literary talents.
Book Launch: ‘Is Just A Movie’ by Earl Lovelace at 4pm
The London Launch of the latest long-awaited book by award-winning writer. As with his previous books, Lovelace chronicles the cultural, social and racial diversity of his birthplace with affection and a sharp-eyed humour.
FINALE JAM at 6pm:
Celebrate the end of the festival with performances by New World Voices Chorale, Alexander D Great, Debra Romain, Anthony Joseph and special guests.
More info: www.trinbagovillage.com