Visitors left stormy skies and strong winds behind and were transported to the sunnier climes of Africa for this performance.

Usifu Jalloh’s engaging style had the audience enthralled from the off, and before they realised it they were telling the stories themselves as they joined in with the phrases and song he repeated throughout each tale.

Occasionally, the speed of his delivery was rapid, but the hand actions enabled everyone to follow the gist of the story being told.

Audience participation was encouraged, with responses and ideas from all ages seamlessly woven into the stories.

A slight criticism may be that, at times, Usifu’s enthusiastic drumming drowned out the words to his songs, but I feel the whistles, cheers and extended applause at the end of the show reflected everyone’s enjoyment of the performance.

Chris Marflitt