What follows, is a musical created by Richard Gentle, about the typical spiritual journey of most westerners. The musical was written in only 3 weeks and was really done as a blueprint for an idea to be produced properly, by a musical theatre group – still seeking the right group. Richard wrote the lyrics, based on his own spiritual journey, of over 40+ years, and then employed AI to generate the music and vocals. It wasn’t as straight forward as you might think, because for every track kept, 3 or 4 were deleted as not being what Richard wanted.
Scroll down to the videos to hear the songs
Synopsis
Over the past 30 years, a resurgence of interest has grown in spiritual searching. Formal religions are no longer holding all the power over world beliefs. ‘Mind, Body, Spirit’ shows are becoming more frequent and social media is driving ‘alternative’ spirituality more than ever before. But… whilst there are many genuine teachers of wisdom and many techniques, there are also those out there who see a way to make an easy fortune. This story tells of a typical spiritual journey, leading to certain realisations.
This musical is mainly centred around two people (in addition to the rest of the cast), Luca, and Ayla, who have found it difficult to fit in with conventional life, since childhood, and who have searched for deeper answers. This leads them on a sort of spiritual ‘hero’s journey’.
The scene opens with a musical narration [Prelude] about our current world, before moving to Luca and Ayla’s first childhood experiences at their separate schools [Luca] and [My First Day At School]. We then hear how Luca first began to form his interest in a different world [Mysterious World], before moving to Luca’s father’s view on life, and why he didn’t pursue his own spiritual interests, when he was younger [Gerard’s Rebuke] and why Luca needs to move on and get a job!
Luca’s brother has a girlfriend, and Luca gets to know the family. He is invited by Liora [the mother of his brother’s girlfriend] to join them on holiday [Luca and Liora]. It is here that Luca recognises Liora from a past life together, and they unexpectedly regain a lost love.
A song about our perception of death [The Mystery of Death] assures everyone that it is not something to be feared, before we then move to a song about the previous incarnation of Luca and Liora, many years before [I Knew You Once Before].
The next song [Beyond the Veil], reflects on Luca’s spiritual journey and what gained his interest, from an early age, despite the general public ridicule of such views, describing what are deemed ‘non-factual’ beliefs, as ‘woowoo’.
One day, Luca meets Ayla in a book shop [Solan’s Bookshop], run and owned by Solan. They are both in the ‘Mind Body Spirit’ section. Ayla, is a younger woman, closer to Luca’s own age, who has also been seeking answers to her life and its experiences. Solan shows them books on non-physical channelled information – giving Luca the much-needed knowledge he has been seeking for so many years. Ayla and Luca hit it off straight away, and begin a relationship exploring ‘the hidden side of life’ together – questioning mainstream reality. However, this means Luca has to part company with Liora [Love Won’t Lead Me Astray], even though he still loves her a lot.
Luca is still searching for answers and wonders where he fits in with life. [Where Do I Belong?]
In trying to find authenticity, the musical shifts to the common entry points for people starting out on the spiritual path, by way of ‘clairvoyant readings’ [The Reading]; searches for ‘spiritual teachers’ [The Guru’s Lair]; and online selling of spiritual courses [Selling Spirituality]. Who can you trust?
Luca and Ayla try to decide what to call their spirituality, as ‘spiritual’ is really tied up with many things and conventional religious beliefs. [What Shall We Call It?]
Even after all this, Luca begins to feel isolated and alone. This marks another key component of most spiritual journeys, [The Dark Night of the Soul].
Luca keeps hoping his father will capitulate, and begin to understand the validity of Luca’s spiritual nature and quest, and maybe start to appreciate him – even though he often doesn’t meet his father’s conventional expectations. [Fatherly Advice].
In the end, Luca and Ayla reach a conclusion about life, [theme to the musical] but leave all of us with a question. [Final song].
You have a choice of hearing each song separately, with a brief description or narrative or, if you simply wish to hear uninterrupted, follow this link to the YouTube all-in-one version.
Luca is sitting at a table, looking at astrological charts. His father, Gerard, feels that his son should really be applying for jobs and not spending all his time, exploring ideas which won’t make him a living.
Gerard: ‘Luca, don’t you think it’s time you thought about getting a job? You’re 18 now and need to be working to support yourself.’
Luca: ‘I’ve had a look, but haven’t seen any jobs that interest me.’
Gerard: ‘That doesn’t matter. You just have to find something that gives you some money.’
Luca doesn’t like the idea of mainstream work and instead, goes to art school and then gets into an art college. At least this will put off working for a while and also means he can move away from home. However, everything changes when he returns in the summer. His younger brother has a girlfriend. Since Luca can drive, he borrows his mother’s car to ferry his brother, to and from his girlfriend’s. He gets to know her family and during a conversation, the girlfriend’s mother, Liora, invites Luca to go with them on a holiday.
Luca has spent some of his free time, attending talks on spiritual and metaphysical subjects. He is introduced to the concept of reincarnation and realises how little people seem to know about death and what happens, when you die.
He begins to realise that he may have known Liora in a past incarnational life and decides to tell her.
Liora finds his interest in such things as both interesting, but also rather quaint – not really giving it much attention. But Luca still wants to discover more, despite mainstream society treating such ideas with some mocking derision and much scepticism.
One day, Luca enters a bookshop and heads for the Mind Body Spirit section. Solan, the proprietor, watches him, as he walks past.
Luca realises he has fallen in love with Ayla and now has to break the news to Liora. However, he also still has a lot of love for Liora and cares for her. It’s just that their paths are now different and he must follow his own truth.
But questions remain. Luca feels confused. Despite all the talks and workshops he has attended, and all the books he has read, it’s hard to make sense of what he should do in his life.
In the hope of finding out what direction to take in her own life, Ayla goes to a clairvoyant for a ‘reading’ and to see if she can receive guidance from one of her deceased relatives.
It seems to Luca, that a lot of people are seeking spiritual truth, and many go to India, to the ashrams of spiritual teachers called Gurus. But he sees in news reports, lavish lifestyles and sexual exploits that give cause to question what is really going on. Are these gurus genuine, or are they charlatans, taking advantage of the vulnerable and gullible?
The internet brings new ways to access spiritual material and Luca becomes interested in the many online talks and courses being offered. Many are from America and Luca soon sees a pattern emerging: Sales videos extolling the virtues of paying for expensive courses, with endless promises about what can be gained, but little mention of what is involved. There are no controls on the video players and after listening for 20 minutes, there seems to be no end in sight to the sales pitch promises, and no way to fast forward to cut to the chase.
Luca and Ayla feel that there isn’t really an adequate name for non-religious spirituality and the word ‘spiritual’, doesn’t really encompass everything that they have discovered.
Luca feels depressed. He has read books, attended talks and workshops, but he hasn’t made any obvious gains through following spiritual practices.
Luca has no money, no regular work, is renting a small apartment, and is getting into debt. Surely his father will understand him and offer some help and reassurance.
Despite the lack of understanding, Luca reflects on his journey. Perhaps he has understood something of value which he can use in his life.
Luca comes into conflict with both friends and family, who have many conflicting ideas about the world. He realises that everyone thinks they have the only real truth about a variety of things. Those taking the moral high ground, believe in scientific facts and experts with important credentials and community standing. Those who feel that the ‘official line of consciousness’ is only interested in manipulating societies and taking over the world, are accused of being conspiracy theorists, not to be taken seriously. But Luca realises that no one can really know the truth – it’s simply that we have come to define truth as either, ‘what a majority of influential, or powerful, people, believe in at any given time in the world’s history’, or what a majority of people in a society believe, regardless of any contrasting views. And the interesting things about beliefs are: you tend to look for more of the same things that support your beliefs, thus proving you are right.
Luca asks the audience to reflect on their view of truth:
Behind the names of some key characters
Luca – Meaning “bringer of light” symbolising the journey towards truth.
Solan – Derived from “sol,” representing the sun, often a symbol of clarity and enlightenment.
Ayla – Meaning “halo of light” or “moonlight” symbolizing intuition and illumination.
Liora – Meaning “my light” conveying a character who is on a path of discovery and enlightenment.
Gerard – Luca’s father
Secondary performers
Elias – A timeless name that conveys wisdom and inner struggle, perfect for a seeker.
Draven – A name that feels foreboding, with connotations of shadow and danger.
Callista – Derived from Greek, meaning “most beautiful” suggesting a character connected to the beauty of the universe.
Narrators
Narrator: Nyx (female)
Narrator: Alaric (male)
Nyx – Named after the Greek goddess of the night, representing darkness, mystery, and the unknown.
Seraphina – Despite its angelic roots, the name can suggest a character with a fiery, possibly destructive nature hidden beneath grace.
Alaric – A name with ancient roots, symbolizing leadership on a quest for knowledge.
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