FROM FAMINE TO FEAST
A tale of triumph over tragedy!
This is the story of Irish Famine Orphans from the ship The Thomas Arbuthnott, who came to Australia in 1850 as part of Earl Grey's Orphan Girl Scheme. From their tragic beginnings in the famine devastated villages of the west of Ireland; their perilous journey to England and onto Australia; they overcame obstacle after obstacle on their way to find their place in a new country.
Be inspired by these brave girls and their far-sighted mentor Charles Strutt as we tell their stories through speech, music and song. During an engaging 90 minute show we paint a picture of resilience in face of terrible odds and triumph over tragedy to build a better life as the mothers of a new nation.
If time allows we also encourage ending with a traditional session and invite the audience to share their songs, stories and tunes together in a joyous hooley!
Where it began....
The story of the Irish Famine orphan girls from ship The Thomas Abuthnott caught our imagination and led us to developing a script around the story. The more we read, the greater our sense of wonder grew ... the hurdles and obstacles facing the girls and their mentors are a ripping tale!
Vince created the idea for the script and brought the idea to the table after writing a song inspired by the book 'A decent set of girls' by Richard Reid & Cheryl Mongan.
His song called 'Famine Ireland' was released on his last solo CD 'Brophy's Road' and is the song the play is based on.
Enter Cora Browne. The wonderful Cora (decked out here in flowers at the Turning Wave festival 2010), was excited both by the idea of the girls journey to Australia and exploring the parallels from her own story of being an immigrant at the age of 16.
Cora's beautiful vocals both in English and Gaelic enrich the story from a woman's heart.
Margie Brophy has been Vince's partner in life and art for many years now and was the obvious choice to be the narrator of the show From Famine to Feast. She is our own only Australian-born member.
With a wealth of theatrical and spoken word experience, her soft voice captivates and elicits the very essence of empathy for these girls.
OUT and ABOUT with FROM FAMINE TO FEAST...
From it's initial launch at the Turning Wave Festival in Gundagai, FROM FAMINE to FEAST has enjoyed a warm welcome at several Melbourne folk venues and Tasmania's Tamar Valley Folk Festival...
Cora and Vince in a moment of humour.
We had the good fortune to perform this show to a full house in Melbourne's Comhaltas Ceolltori Eireann centre.
The evening was full of vitality and fun as we told the story of these fortunate girls.