Rainbow beach at Morecambe Library
MUSIC, poetry and drama will be blended together by a couple known the world over for their music in a bid to bring the diverse communities of Lancaster and Morecambe closer.
Morecambe library will throw open its doors on Tuesday, January 13, for a performance of selected scenes from Rainbow Beach – the musical brainchild of Nanette Welmans and Russ Courtenay.
Nanette, who was named BBC Radio's jazz soloist of the year and has toured supporting Cliff Richard and Gloria Gaynor, said: " The whole topic of racism is a difficult one because everyone's view point must be taken into account.
"Music, drama and poetry are very powerful vehicles because they allow us to stand back from our immediate worries while inviting us to engage in the case of Rainbow Beach with one ordinary family's story."
Rainbow Beach has been five years in the making and Nanette and Russ, who has written songs for Tina Turner and played in 1970s band Jimmy James and the Vagabonds, moved to Morecambe and decided it was the perfect place to stage their project.
Linda Robinson, of Morecambe Library, says the event promises to be a powerful and inspirational piece.
She said: "Lancashire County libraries is actively working towards social inclusion and has a good record for many events that bring people together.
"Rainbow Beach is one of the most beautiful beaches off Lake Michigan.
"This beauty hides the shameful story that thousands of white people took the law into their own hands and stoned black families on that beach as they bathed.
Families fleeing prejudice and poverty from the deep south.
"It makes us all more aware of the need to tackle the resentful prejudice that still exists today," she adds.
Tickets for the library event on January 13, which takes place at 2pm, are 2.50 and are available from Morecambe Library.
For more information about the project, music and the people involved log onto www.rainbow-beach.co.uk.
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Tuesday 22 May 2012
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