JOURNEYS TO GLORY

Terrible Beauty

Long standing supporters of Gary will have heard about this project and know the amount of time, and effort, Gary spent in writing the lyrics for what is a powerful love story between two of the most influential people in their of thier time, Maud Gonne the Irish revolutionary and the poet W B Yeats.

The following 3 websites give a good concise history of the politics of the time and set the scene for a musical which contains all the essential elements of love, tragedy, and intrigue.

http://www.irelandseye.com/aarticles/history/people/whoswho/m_gonne.shtm

 http://www.reference.com/browse/wiki/Maud_Gonne

 http://www.poetryconnection.net/poets/William_Butler_Yeats

 After months of waiting Gary has made a limited number of demos of this musical available to listen to, on his principal website at http://www.garykemp.com/  

These demos are striking in their professionalism especially when it is remembered that they were put down in just one day using a couple of synthesizers. Although this is not a complete list, it gives a good overall feel of how the completed musical would sound. The first two laments set the scene for what is to follow, with their strong lyrics and catchy tunes.

The music progresses through the plot adding strength to each character, and catching the mood of the country in which it is set perfectly.. ‘Some Grand Designs’, allows us to enter the main body of the story which is the unrequited love of Willie Yeats for Maud Gonne. Although there seems little doubt that Maud is genuinely fond of Willie she also seems to harbour a certain frustration that he is not the man of action that she craves. This is illustrated in the very poignant song ‘What good are words’ Willie seems resigned to knowing that he will never be the man Maud craves when he utters the words ‘Words are all I have’ and later in ‘Poets Should Never Marry’

The story moves effortlessly between the relationship between Maud and Willie to the political situation at the time and allows the song ‘This Land of Ours’ to show magnificently how Irish nationalism was growing and the strength of the feeling of the Irish people. It is a stunning example of what a National Anthem should sound like and is backed up with two other politically strong songs ‘Song of the Irish Brigade’ and ‘Easter Day’. The musical is well balanced with equal time given to the politics of the time and the love between Willie and Maud.

List of demos

• Lament
• Perfumed Rooms Lament
• Some Grand Designs
• What Good Are Words
• This Land of Ours
• Poets Should Never Marry
• Song Of The Irish Brigade
• Easter Day
• The Tower
• A Peaceful Man
• They Shall Be Remembered

If I was going to compare it with other contemporary musicals I would venture that it has certain resemblances to ‘Les Miserables’ and ‘Miss Saigon’ whilst maintaining its own uniqueness

Below is a list of the cast

• Willie Yeats - Richard Henders
• Maude - Mary Stockley
• Patrick Pearce - Graham Bickley
• James Connolly - Paul Baker
• Blind Woman - Elizabeth Renihan
• John McBride/Lucien/Tommy - Nicholas Pound,
• John Yeats - Shane Connaughton
• John O'Leary - John Rogan Prince,
• Policeman, Fay - Duncan Smith
• Aid, Wit, Rebel - Jonathan D Ellis
• Lilly - Sarah Ingram
• Lolly - Sophie Louise Dann
• Queen Victoria - Josephine Gordon