About
Amazing Grace
In 2003 Mal Pope started thinking about the centenary of the 1904 Welsh Revival and the more he read around the subject the more he became convinced that the story could be the basis of a concept album and also a piece of musical theatre for the stage.
The central character is a 26 year old ex miner called Evan Roberts who claimed to have spoken face to face with the Almighty in his little bedroom in Loughor, just on the outskirts of Swansea.
He also told people he had seen a cheque being handed over which bore the sum of 100,000 souls. Many dismissed these as the ramblings of a troubled mind but within 18 months the Western Mail had calculated that more than 100,000 souls had indeed been added to the church. The strain proved too much for Evan and he sadly left Wales and the Revival to become a recluse.
The story of the Revival is told through the eyes of journalist and peace campaigner W T Stead who visited Wales during the height of the Revival to interview Evan Roberts. It starts on the 14th April 1912 in the smoking room of the Titanic, the last place Stead was seen alive!
Amazing Grace opened at the Swansea Grand Theatre on 21st March 2005 before moving to the Sherman Theatre Cardiff as part of the International Festival of Musical Theatre and then to Theatr Clwyd in Mold.
Amazing Grace Returns to Theatres Autumn 2006 Plans are well underway for a major tour of Amazing Grace in the Autumn of 2006.
Album
There are hopes that an album of all of the songs for the show will be available in the early part of 2006. Some of the songs from the show not available on the CD ‘Why Me’, including a version of ‘You Never Threw a Party for Me, will be released on a new Mal Pope album this Autumn.
Website
For more information on the Musical go to www.amazinggracethemusical.com where you can view photos from the musical. The pictures cover the entire performance and give an interesting visual insight into the story. There are over 100 images in the gallery. You can also read about the developments of the production and Mal Pope's own reflections on its progress in his diary. There are links from the site for you to listen to music from the show and also where you can buy the album 'Why Me' which features 14 songs from the musical.
“Why Me”
In 2003 Mal Pope started thinking about the centenary of the 1904 Welsh Revival and the more he read around the subject the more he became convinced that the story could be the basis of a concept album and also a piece of musical theatre for the stage. In 2004 the album was released featuring Mal’s band, the Jacks, and some of the biggest recordings Mal has ever made. www.malpope.com
Latest News Amazing Grace Returns to Theatres Autumn 2006 Plans are well underway for a major tour of Amazing Grace in the Autumn of 2006. There are hopes that an album of all of the songs for the show will be available in the early part of 2006. Some of the songs from the show not available on the CD ‘Why Me’, including a version of ‘You Never Threw a Party for Me, will be released on a new Mal Pope album this Autumn.
