HEART of Govan - Community Performance at the Govan Old Parish Church
HEART OF GOVAN
On the 25th January 2011 (postponed from 8th December) the "presentation of findings" from the Heritage Lottery and Scottish Wave of Change funded exploration of Govan took place in Govan Old Parish Church.
All of our conversations have led us to the conclusion that Govan is special for several reasons: it's DNA is made up of century upon century of incoming populations from the Picts and Celts to the Vikings and Gaels right up to present day Eastern European and African nations. Each new "wave" has been made welcome. Each has been made up of a combination of the warrior (giving Govanites their resilience and gritty determination) and the craftsman (producing amongst the finest wood and stonework in the world).
Govan values are clear: family, community, neighbourhood and heritage were top priorities along with spirit and spirituality. What was prized over everything was her people and their love of their neighbours
The Fablevision team (led by CRAN Theatre) pulled all of this together into visual and aural "presentation of findings". Written and directed by Frank Miller, HEART OF GOVAN was a feast of song, choral speaking, drama and music - all delivered by local people, with music from Carol Laula and the RSNO. A specially commissioned piece from young RSNO composer Richard Geer and the beginnings of a Govan Peoples Choir are signals towards the development of an annual Oratorio event in Govan Old.
Post performance SWoC conversation took place in the Pearce Institute where, over a cup of tea and shortbread, members of the cast mingled with the audience to discuss their sense of optimism about the future of Scotland and mused over questions like "what single factor would make the biggest difference to Scotland's future development?". The findings from this and previous Govan Wave events will be included in the Scottish Wave of Change reports and publications for later in 2011.