Rise Theatre
As part of our Mission Week, we invited the group Rise Theatre to perform ‘Romero – Heartbeat of El Salvador’. They performed twice during the day to all students and staff, and again in the evening to parents, our academy committee and guests from our parishes.
The three actors were very talented and played many parts, switching from different accents and negotiating costume changes. They told the life story of Blessed Oscar Romero from when he was a boy and his desire to be a priest, to his assassination whilst celebrating Mass on the 24th March 1980.
Romero became an Archbishop in 1977 and was a vocal critic of the violent activities of government, armed forces, right wing groups and leftist guerrillas involved in El Salvador’s civil conflict.
The play asked the question ‘What do we live for? Is it for love or for something else?’ It taught us that love is not a warm fuzzy feeling – real love is vulnerable, broken; it dares to get messy. Love is unselfish, it cannot walk on while other people suffer; it cannot help but reach out. Love is a heartbeat and can never be silenced.
The performance brought many of us to tears – it was powerful and thought provoking.
Thank you to everyone who came and enjoyed a Blessed evening.