ELIZABETH MANSFIELD played Piaf in York in June, 2002, and will return to the Theatre Royal in Steve Trafford's new play, A Cloud In Trousers, in September.

To emphasise her diverse skills, she is presenting the work of her own theatre production company, Ensemble, this week.

The Greatest Drummer In The World is a 40-minute show for children, adapted for the stage by Mansfield from a story by Leon Rosselson. In turn, Rosselson has provided four new songs and joins narrator Mansfield and Zimbabwean drummer Anna Mudeka for the performance and ensuing 25-minute workshop.

The performance is staged in front of a stack of boxes designed by Rachana Jadhav to provide a changing pictorial background that switches from African village to forest whenever the story dictates. As told by the wide-eyed Mansfield, that story centres on the drummer of the title (Anna Mudeka), a young girl whose incessant playing of the djembe hand drum leads the village elders to demand that she cease all that noise.

Crestfallen but resolute, she takes off deep into the forest, where her banishment sparks bad luck. Buildings catch fire, cows shrink and die, and a giant terrorises the villagers. What should the Drummer do, Mansfield asks the audience. "Machinegun him," suggests one Tyke. "That would be progressive," rejoins Mansfield. "George Bush would be with you there."

Mudeka's drum wins the day: a weapon of mass interaction in this simple and delightful show.

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Updated: 14:11 Wednesday, March 10, 2004