INSPIRED BY HOLST
A Cheltenham Playhouse & Everyman Theatre Collaboration.
The three plays selected for performance are:
JUPITER by Cathie Rolinson
Set in a not-too distant and dystopian future during a time of war, "Jupiter" is a short play inspired by Gustav Holst's "Jupiter" from "The Planets" suite. Holst adapted "Jupiter" to accompany a poem by Sir Cecil Spring Rice which became the British patriotic hymn "I Vow to Thee, My Country" composed just after the First World War. The two lines from the song which inspired Cathie Rolinson's play were "We cannot count her armies, We cannot see her King". What follows is a tale of faithful hearts, pride and suffering.
HAMMERSMITH by Neil Walden
Hammersmith is based on a true story. It is a play about a feud between two prominent members of the Arts and Crafts Movement. One of them is Emery Walker who, in later life lived in Gloucestershire, and whose library of books and papers were acquired by Cheltenham Museum in 1990. The play concerns a friendship that was initially forged at the Hammersmith Socialist Society (where Holst was also a member) that leads to a failed business venture and unreconcilable differences.
THE PLANETS by Jacob Woods
The Planets follows a family on a memorial walk, as they grapple with loss, celebrate life and look for a new form and meaning to their family system. The initial idea for the play came out of walking the Gustav Holst Way in memory of Brigite’s Grandma. It is a fictionalised tale that draws on many family experiences.
All three plays will be directed and designed by a professional creative team on behalf of the Playhouse and the Everyman in September 2024.
This project is funded by Arts Council, England and supported by the Cheltenham Playhouse
and Everyman Theatre