Creative talent platform Caribbeans Connects held its first ever Caribbeans Echo event, a free improv session for Caribbean creatives. Special guests included award winning reggae drummer and former member of The Cimarons Jah Bunny and Reggae stars Barry Issac and Jay Love.
The event, which was held at Visualise it First (VIF) art café on Coldharbour Lane, brought actors and creatives of all levels across generations together to act out scenarios provided by the Caribbeans Connects team. Topics ranged from The New Cross fire to Bristol Bus Boycotts and Sound System Culture, with the aim of shedding light on important historical moments that impacted Caribbean communities in the UK.
Young-Bushay said: “I wanted to create something where actors and creatives could develop their skills while also connecting with important parts of our history. There are so many stories connected to the Caribbean experience in Britain that younger generations may not fully know about, and performance can be a powerful way of keeping those stories alive.”
The event kicked off with a speech from Jah Bunny who spoke of his own personal experience on some of the historical topics, to set the scene for the attendees.
Attendees were able to mix and practice quickfire improv sessions on the range of historical topics provided. Pairs or trios then performed in front of their peers with the help of Nyabinghi drumming from Ras Chubby. These improvisations were filmed by the Caribbeans Connects team to provide showreel content for the performers.
The event also included live performances from Barry Issac, Jah Bunny, and Jay Love and Ras Chubby. And was hosted by the founder Jermaine Young-Bushay also known as a actor under (Jermaine Young)
To find out when the next Caribbeans Echo event will be, please sign up to the Caribbeans Connects platform and keep an eye on their socials (@caribbeansconnects_) for updates.
