The four time Academy Award winning film Chariots Of Fire tells how Eric Liddell refused to run the 100 meters in the 1924 Paris Olympics because a qualifying heat was held on a Sunday. Instead he ran the 400, a race in which he wasn't expected to place. He finished it five meters ahead of the favorite, winning the gold and breaking the world record. Rich Swingle's new one-man play, Beyond the Chariots, picks up where the film left off, showing Eric in his greatest race, as a missionary to war-torn China.
We all need a reminder of what God can do through a devoted soul, and there is no better way to draw close to that than by watching Rich Swingle perform this miraculous one-man show. It's not just the layers Rich brings out of the characters, not just his command as an actor playing multiple roles, it isn't just the fine writing -- it's that God's spirit is present from beginning to end as Rich draws us into Eric Liddell's heart. I marvel at the depth of this performance and the power in this play. As a former runner, I loved how the intensity of running was captured on a small stage. Beyond the Chariots will take you through joy, pain, and redemption with laughs along the way. What it will not do is leave you untouched.
--Joan Bauer, novelist
Author of Hope Was Here, Stand Tall, and Rules of the Road
Awards include: Newbery Honor Medal, the LA Times Book Prize, the Christopher Award
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