A Deputy Essential, Soft Man, Whe Whe Banker, Look de Devil Deh, We Living in Jail and a host of other calypso hits will form part of the trip down memory lane when The Little Carib Theatre and Folk House pays tribute to veteran calypsonian Seadley “Penguin” Joseph. The event takes place on Saturday 27 August 2022, at 6:00pm, just two days after Penquin would have celebrated his 80th birthday.
What Sweet in Goat Mouth – A Tribute to Penguin is the third installment in The Little Carib’s ‘Our Icons – The Next Generation’ series, and this family affair will feature main performances by Penguin’s son – Krisson “Seraphim” Joseph, a guest appearance by his nephew, two-time Calypso Monarch – Roderick “Chuck” Gordon and spoken word performance by his daughter Kerissa Joseph. Musical accompaniment will be by the brass band XDATT, with actress and comedian, Cecilla Salazar, guiding the musical journey, as the evening’s host.
Born on 25 August 1942, Penguin – the brother of former National Security Minister, Martin Joseph, died on 21 January 2013, at the age of 70 after a prolonged illness. A school teacher by profession and former president of the Trinbago Unified Calypsonians’ Organisation (TUCO), Penguin won the Road March title in 1982 with his classic A Deputy Essential and the 1984 Calypso Monarch title with We Living in Jail and Soft Man. He is one of only a handful of Calypsonians with the distinction of winning both the Calypso Monarch and Road March titles and in 2005 was awarded the Hummingbird Medal (Gold) for his contribution to the development of the calypso art form.
Among Penguin’s many other hits are The Slipper, Betty Goaty, Bouncing Christmas, Sweet in Goat Mouth and Magnificat. The Penguin sobriquet is said to have been inspired by the Penguin book publishing company, as according to his wife, he was an avid reader and many of his favourite books were published by that company.
Penguin’s son Krisson, who will lead the musical tribute to his father, is no stranger to calypso and the creative arts. A calypsonian in his own right, through his company Caribbean Griot Music, Krisson hosts the annual In Defense of Calypso series, a fixture on the Calypso History Month calendar. He has performed for regional audiences at CARIFESTA and was the musical coordinator and title song composer for the National Theatre Arts Company’s staging of the world-renowned Errol John play, “Moon on a Rainbow Shawl”. Currently the Programme Coordinator of the MA in Carnival Studies at the University of the West Indies, Krisson has previously been the musical director for Malick Folk Performing Company and one of the leads in the Canboulay Productions staging of Rawle Gibbons’ Sing De Chorus.
Tickets for the “What Sweet in Goat Mouth” are $150 and are available at the Little Carib Theatre box office, or can be reserved online at https://bit.ly/Sweet-Penguin or at https://seraphimcgm.com/ . Interested persons are asked to call 784-5269 or 622-4644.
