Ritual (At The End Of The Rainbow - Nitro/All Change)

I have had a great time writing music for a project called 'At The End Of The Rainbow' for Nitro (Black Music Theatre) and AllChange. Three pairings of poet and musician (HKB Finn and Alex Wilson, Zena Edwards and Arun Ghosh, Yemisi Blake and myself) were given the choice to work with a selection of community groups in North London. And we would try to find out what is at the rainbow's end for the folk in these groups...

Yemisi and I chose to visit a day centre for elders. Some really fascinating conversations arose as a result of this. This centre caters for a large range of cultures - with the Caribbean, and the Mediterranean being amongst the most prominent on the days we visited. A number of common themes did emerge - family, food, weather, religion, travel, work, health. Getting more deeply into certain subject matter - I was really struck by some fascinating memories that were shared with us.

One person had a surprising combination of cultures involved in their childhood (esp for the times) - and worked at the MoD later on. Another , amazingly - was a dresser at the Royal Opera House - meeting legends on a regular basis (Maria Callas, Pavarotti, Nureyev and more). I sense this was the tip of the iceberg. Meeting those who had lived/worked in very different fields/eras - meant experiencing wisdom that is too often undervalued. This interaction across generations should be in the curriculum . I don't believe it can ever fail to be beneficial. As an ageing population - it surely has to be a natural progression. Perhaps a progression towards this as a ritual , ensuring a strengthening of connection between more of us. (This is definitely part of my rainbow..)

It was a fantastic pleasure to perform the resulting music/poerty at Freeword . It was very special - as a few of the people we chatted to at the centre , managed to come to the performance.

I would like to thank Suzanne (All Change - http://www.allchangearts.org/) and Felix (Nitro - http://www.nitro.co.uk/whats-on/now/generations-at-the-end-of-the-rainbow/) . Freeword is a wonderful venue (http://www.freewordonline.com/). A link to the video recording of the performance will be up soon.

Please checkout writer Yemisi Blake! at - http://www.yemisiblake.co.uk/

RM