REHEARSALS for a spectacular show created by a Huddersfield woman are now in full swing.
Carnival Messiah will be staged over 21 `Big
Top' performances in the grounds of Harewood House between September 14 and 30. The show brings together top musicians, actors, performers, designers and artists along with rising young stars from overseas and Yorkshire, in a unique multicultural melting pot - unifying cultures, faiths, music and dance.
The show has been created and directed by Geraldine Connor, of Skelmanthorpe, and produced by David Lascelles.
The cast includes internationally acclaimed Orisha singer Ella Andall (a big hit at last weekend's Carling Music Festival in Leeds), actor and musician Ram John Holder, (best known for his roles in Channel 4's 'Desmonds' and the title role in 'Porkpie', )and young star Jonathan Bishop, from Trinidad, who began his performance career in the 2003 production of Carnival Messiah in Port-of-Spain.
But it’s not just singers and musicians. There are stiltwalkers and masquerade artists, and some stunning costumes.
The show features more than 700 award-winning costume designs by the renowned designer Clary Salandy. Music director is Michael Lovelock, Yorkshire-trained at Bretton Hall.
Geraldine said: “I originally conceived Carnival Messiah as a way of bringing together backgrounds, ethnicities and creeds.
“What better way to do that, I thought, than through media that are universal to us all - art, theatre, dance and music.”
