Anne Frank story retold for Leeside
A concert featuring a virtual orchestra will tell the story of Anne Frank at a special Leeside performance next month.
British-Irish composer and multi-instrumentalist Girish Paul will perform ‘The Diary of Anne Frank - Her Journey in Music’ at SMA Wilton Parish Community Centre on 22 July at 8pm.
The production has received the full support of the Anne Frank Fonds Foundation in Switzerland which was set up by Anne’s father Otto Frank after World War 2.
Known for his spectacular solo concerts that combine theatre, acting, film, and music, Girish will single-handedly perform the heart warming music score with several instruments backed up by his famous virtual orchestra that, together with dramatic visuals, provides a stunning backdrop to the story of Anne Frank between 1942 and 1944.
The concert’s powerful storytelling is supported by filmed re-enactments of scenes in Anne’s life, all performed by Irish actors, from her happy schooldays in Frankfurt to the secret hiding place in Amsterdam as the Nazis closed in.
Girish said: “Carmel Barrett, the show’s executive producer, and I are thrilled to be bringing this powerful story, as relevant as ever now that war has sadly returned to Europe, to Cork.”
Commenting on why he chose to develop a concert telling the story of Anne Frank, Girish said the decision was inspired by his time working as a teacher in the Middle East where he survived a terrifying missile attack.
He said: “Way back in 1991, working as a teacher in the Middle East, my students and I found ourselves under scud missile attack as Operation Desert Storm kicked off around us, the largest military conflict since the Second World War.
“We were all fearful with thoughts of never seeing our loved ones back home again, but I was determined to ensure that my students got on with the job of learning in spite of the Gulf War that raged around us for 5 long months.
“I looked for words with which to inspire my students and to calm them in frightful times and I found them in ‘The Diary of a Young Girl’, a copy of which I found in the school library.
“I knew then that someday I would bring Anne Frank’s inspirational words, her dreams, compassion, resilience and her words of hope through music, or film, or theatre and now, finally, we have produced a concert that combines all of these arts.”
Girish began working on the script the moment he heard the news that Ukraine had been invaded by Russia.
“As war has sadly returned to Europe, Anne Frank’s story is as relevant as ever, and we were determined to have the show ready for a 2023 launch to underline, not only the dangers of unchecked aggression by nations, but also how one girl’s determination not to be crushed by events, however harrowing, has inspired so many over the generations.”