Peace Child - Alpha Omega
A Musical Journey to Faith
Index: 1. The Script
· War and Peace· Stewardship of the Earth· Religion and Science· Rights and Responsibilities· Culture and Stereotypes· Intergenerational Dialogue
7. The Original – highly ambitious – Concept Note
8. The Script Book – a Compendium of the many different Peace Child / Alpha Omega Scripts along the way to creating the final one which we performed;
INTRODUCTION
Alpha Omega is where Peace Child started. It was because Eirwen and Michael Harbottle saw the performance of Alpha Omega in Coventry Cathedral on November 13th 1989 and were deeply moved by it that they became enthusiastic about the idea their daughter, Rosey, brought to them of using the music as a celebration for Peace. It was actually Michael Harbottle, who met with Bernard Benson and had the idea of melding the story of his Peace Book with the Alpha Omega music, but it was Eirwen who met with David Gordon and engineered the merging of the two stories.
In Peace Child, the spiritual teaching and majesty of Alpha Omega was lost in the search for viable political solutions to deliver peace and an end to the Cold War. All six of the Peace Child Founders came from strong faith traditions – Bernard from the Buddhist faith, the others from Christian backgrounds – but David Gordon was married to a Jewish woman, and his brother, Cat Stevens, had become a Muslim and changed his name to Yusuf Islam – so his Alpha Omega includes readings from all the great Abrahamic faith traditions. Having just finished a study of “Faith in Europe” for the European Commission’s Culture Fund, there was considerable enthusiasm amongst both the Peace Child Founders and the young people working with us to develop a re-working of the Peace Child story that explored the original messages of Alpha Omega. Thus –
Peace Child – Alpha Omega. The show combines the original orchestral music of Alpha Omega with a new Peace Child story that explores peace and interfaith understanding between a Christian, a Muslim, an Atheist and a Jew who meet after a catastrophic nuclear accident has caused the evacuation of their home town. They seek safety in a Cathedral which is deserted and cut off, with no phone or mobile signal. Facing imminent death – possibly by nuclear explosion – they reflect on what may happen after death and the relevance of their faith – or lack of it – in the modern world.
Peace Child – Alpha Omega is a wonderful opportunity for a school with an orchestra, choir and some talented actors to come together with an older Story-teller to tell a fascinating story about faith – which has to be followed up by a discussion between leaders of the Abrahamic faith traditions, cast, chorus and orchestra members and the audience – about one of the thorniest challenges of the 21st Century.
First Performance
(See a full-length video of the First Performance, here.)
Ely Cathedral, Ely, Cambridgeshire – Saturday 30th January
presented by Peace Child International
with the support of the European Commission DG Education and Culture
and presented by kind permission of the Dean and Chapter of Ely Cathedral
Cast:
Story-teller – Gemma Craven
Aaron – Joseph Vacher
Christopher – Regé Jean Page
Charlotte – Elizabeth Marnie
Maryam – Cecilia Garcia
Female Soloist – Lily Karakal
Producer - Rosemary Simonds
Director - Abdul Shayek
Script - David Woollcombe with Rosemary Simonds and members of the Cast
Songs and Music - David Gordon
Arranger - Richard Sharpey & Richard Arnell
Conductor - Andrew Parnell
Choir - Ely Choral Society
Orchestra - New Cambridge Symphony Orchestra
Organist - John Lilley
Pianist - Richard Sharpey
