AN ever-evolving love story that has been almost six months in the making will finally hit the stage thanks to a collaboration between a renowned artist and a school.
The curtain will rise on Tuesday (July 19) at the premiere of Freya, a romantic journey around the mind of a Dalesman torn from the serenity of Wensleydale and hurled into the maelstrom of war.
Adapted from an original musical by the Yorkshire Dales poet and artist, Piers has worked for months with students at Richmond School and Sixth Form College and drama teachers and co-directors Amy Southworth Gedye and Ashleigh Barker.
Performances start at 7pm and tickets are available through the school website www.richmondschool.net.
Sets have been painted by Piers and the lighting is by two West End technicians responsible for American Idiot and Phantom of the Opera.
Freya charts the ethereal antics of a spirit, a young girl due to be sacrificed by Druids to ensure the growth of spring crops. At the fateful hour, lightning strikes killing the prophets and transforming their staff into a rowan tree that Freya inhabits.
Fast forward to the 1930s and a farmer’s son called Will sits beneath the tree, falling asleep only to dream of Freya. But he is then sent to war where he is injured, losing his memory until he returns to the tree where he recalls his true love.
“The production really has evolved and the students have been incredible in laying their complete trust in what we have tried to achieve,” said Amy. “The result is a more stylised version in which no-one leaves the stage while the audience is whisked from beautiful Dales to the battlefield.
“The students have been brilliant, worked really hard and we are all extremely excited to show off the work.”
