Journey of the Magi
It was a wet and windy night in Milford on Sunday 24th November but not inside All Saints' Church where Christians Together in Milford on Sea and Everton hosted a performance of Journey of the Magi by the Springs Dance Company.
There were over 180 people present to watch this Christmas entertainment based on the poem of the same name written by T.S. Eliot and told using the mediums of dance, music and drama.
The story is of a modern family on their journey to Christmas drawing similarities with the journey taken by the Magi over two thousand years ago. Before the interval, the story unfolds of a father and mother with their children preparing for Christmas with all the pressures of parties, shopping and presents with lots of emotions on show. The eclectic mix of music ranged from Chopin, through Dean Martin, Louis Armstrong and Ella Fitzgerald to Slade and others. Interspersed at various times are verses being read from the T.S. Eliot poem.
After the break the audience were involved with a pantomime song led by Dick Whittington, his cat Fluffy, and the good and bad fairies. The story now looks back intime including a memorable scene entitled "Follow the star" accompanied by the dramatic music of John Williams. As we near the end of the show, we see presents being opened by the modern family on Christmas morning and then with a clever and unexpected twist we are transported to thinking about the birth of Christ is a stable in Bethlehem.
At the very end, we are suddenly challenged by the sight of one of the dancers freezing into the pose of Christ crucified on the cross. An emotional roller coaster of a performance taking the audience from the stresses of today's preparations for Christmas back to the very different challenges facing a mother with her newborn baby in a stable long ago through to the end for that child hanging on across.
