Change The World Together
The inspiration behind the musical
My new musical, Change The World Together, is now available from Starshine Music. It is a musical highlighting the impact of, and reasons for, climate change, and focuses on the specific contribution that trees make to our natural environment.
Inspiration for this musical has come from several sources. One of them is Jean Giono’s fictional tale, The Man Who Planted Trees, written in 1953. This is a moving story about a shepherd who spent his life secretly planting trees and ended up re-foresting a mountainside, with the local villages enjoying the consequences of the changed environment.
I wrote the musical in May 2019 when my daughters were first inspired to take part in the Schools Strike For Climate. They are increasingly concerned about the damage being done to the environment and how air and plastic pollution have such a devastating effect on nature. They wanted to do something that helped raise awareness of these issues, and so chose to strike for the climate.
Greta Thunberg, a 16 year-old girl, decided that the consequences of climate change were so urgent that drastic action had to be done to make the world take notice and change. It was initially her willingness to do the small things that she felt able to do, such as sitting with a placard highlighting the climate crisis, which have led to her voice being heard. Now children across the world are following her example and protesting. She has had, and continues to have, a big impact and is beginning to make governments and businesses more aware of the need to make important changes to combat climate change. These changes need to be implemented before we see evidence of improvement, but if small changes are made, the cumulative effect is great if every country contributes as much as they can.
The Guardian article of 11th March, 2019, quotes Greta saying “Some people can let things go. I can’t”. This is the inspiration behind the solo song at the climax of this musical and the story ends with the theme of coming together to make a difference, as everyone in the town makes the small change that is possible for him or her.
Deforestation is having an increasingly alarming impact on climate change. Very simply, as trees are removed they reduce the amount of oxygen put back into the atmosphere, carbon dioxide is no longer removed from the atmosphere and therefore accumulates more quickly, causing a greenhouse warming effect. Habitats are destroyed and significant species are becoming endangered as a result. Soil that was protected and nourished by the tree cover is left exposed to stronger winds.
The theme of wind runs throughout the musical, and the central setting of a river is used to reflect the health of the environment as the characters in the story use and abuse the woodlands around them to support their lifestyles.
As I read The Man Who Planted Trees, I considered what caused deforestation in the first place. Three of the most common causes are explored here: for timber, for livestock and for cash crops.
The musical has three main sections to highlight these issues, with the issue of methane gas from livestock providing a more lighthearted moment and the basis of the song, Field of Fumes. Although there is a lot of humour in this scene, the problem of methane gas is very real and one of the biggest contributors to global warming. It is the world’s economic and commercial markets that drive excessive deforestation and it is hoped that this musical will provide opportunities for discussing the reasons that trees are cut down in such large quantities, and how we can all act in ways that protect and preserve our planet.
When I go into primary schools to teach singing, I often notice the display boards around and glean ideas from them. In several of the schools I have seen posters and displays about The UNICEF UN Convention on the Rights of The Child. This states in Article 29 (goals of education) that education must develop every child’s personality, talents and abilities to the full. It must encourage the child’s respect for human rights, as well as respect for their parents, their own and other cultures, and the environment.
I hope that Change The World Together will be used to fulfil these ideals in an engaging and imaginative way, and that it will inspire the performers and those who watch the musical to make changes that collectively have a big and positive impact on our climate.
