A meditation upon belief, doubt and disbelief
Friday 23 May 2008
Midmar Church, Midmar [Venue 17]
For this first Wordfringe event at Midmar Church, Gerard Rochford devised a carefully
structured sequence of words and music. The poets, Ian Crockatt, Maureen Ross and
Gerard Rochford himself read from their varied meditations on the human aspects
of biblical stories, with all three giving their take on the relationship between
Joseph and Mary. Gerard Rochford read from his sequence on the Holy Family, whilst
Maureen Ross gave us the thoughts of Gabriel the messenger, and Ian Crockatt took
us to a Bethlehem infiltrated by the press and a modern-day commercialism.
To contrast with these, Gerard Rochford read poems about the stone circle at Midmar
Church and a nearby standing stone. Ian Crockatt explored the faith of those who
buried the Terracotta Army, set against the cold enquiry of archaeologists who dig
them up again. Maureen Ross lightened the proceedings with a poem about washing
line superstition.
Interleaved with the poetry, singer Morag Skene gave us a Christian lament, a Hebrew
hymn, a children’s song about Ramadan and a Tibetan mantra, and the programme was
further punctuated by movements from a Bach Suite in E minor played with great intensity
by guitarist Ian Watt.
The audience, one of the largest at Wordfringe this year, listened in rapt attention
and many were keen to stay on afterwards to speak with the performers and buy their
books.
Haworth Hodgkinson
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