Angels and abandoned children, glorious music and murder most foul whirl through this enthralling, moving and richly colourful tale of 18th century England.
At Gloucester Cathedral, Alexander Ashbrook, heir to an aristocratic estate, has his heart set on becoming a composer; but his stern father refuses to listen and despite his love for the beautiful Melissa, flight seems his only option. Far darker conflicts are at play for Meshak, son of the brutal Otis Gardiner who preys on young unmarried mothers – promising to deliver their babies to Coram’s new Foundling Hospital but instead meting out a terrible fate.
Their stories entwine eight years later in London, where two Coram orphans, Toby and Aaron, find themselves on parallel adventures, and the great Handel is at work on a new score, Messiah, embodying the hope of love and salvation over evil.
Helen Edmundson’s adaptation of Jamila Gavin’s Whitbread Award-winning novel premiered at the National Theatre in 2005 before transferring to Broadway. Nominated for several Olivier and Tony Awards, it won the Time Out Live Award for Best Play. Anna Ledwich, formerly writer in residence at CFT (Pinocchio) and Artistic Director of Theatre on the Fly (2012), whose recent directorial work includes Anthropology (Hampstead), directs.
