Hamazkaine Armenian Eduational & cultural Society Shant Chapter is pleased to announce the Sydney Premiere of JOURNEY OF FAITH - a play by Jon Cocks, which premiered in Adelaide in April and was dedicated to the Centenary of the Armenian Genocide.

The English language play performed over 5 nights in Adelaide was warmly received by Armenian and non-Armenian audiences alike. The Audience met Anoush, an Armenian Survivor of the Genocide who now lives in Adelaide and is haunted by memories of her four-year death march to Aleppo.  The play weaves through the experiences of Anoush and her tormentor in the form of Mehmet a former Ottoman soldier who is himself haunted by demons from his past.

The writer and director - Jon Cocks is a drama teacher from Adelaide.  In a recent media interview he said “(this story) is very close to the hearts of everybody.  My wife is touched directly.  Her grandmother witnessed the murder of her own mother, Aun Elowa, was my wife’s great-grandmother, (who) actually saw it happen.”

Jon Cocks says: “It’s got the message out ‘cause people who’ve come to see the play who knew nothing about the Genocide have gone away going, “Oh, my god, I never knew about that, that’s appalling, that’s outrageous” and this is exactly our intention.

The play will be performed in Sydney with the original Adelaide cast which include Jon Cocks taking the role of the Rev. James Cresswell (who was a congregational Church Minister in Adelaide was involved the with the Armenian relief movement in Adelaide in the 1920s) and Carole Mallett in the role of Anoush as well as David Haviland an experienced Australian actor taking the role of Mehmet the Ottoman Turkish soldier.

Some of the reviews left on the Play’s Facebook page include:

“Thank you for performing your wonderful play last night.  I found it very powerful, heartfelt and emotional.  What wonderful actors you all are!  The dancing especially the ‘sad dance’ was very beautiful”.

Another wrote: “Just saw the play ‘Journey of Faith’, My friends and I would like to congratulate the cast and everybody involved on a most moving and powerful performance;  You brought to life a story that needs to be told and all the actors did this superbly.  The dancers are to be commended also for their beautifully choreographed cultural dances.  As a small community in Adelaide, you have done yourselves proud in producing such an amazing feat.  Best wishes for this week’s performances.  We highly recommend this incredibly moving story so that awareness can be raised.  A five star play –well done!”

Tickets are now on sale for two Sydney performances on Friday 15^th of May and Saturday 16^th of May at 7.30.

Tickets can be purchased by calling

Margaret Chater –    0413615254

Hilma Sahagian –      0411 405 371

Meline Mikaelian –   0411 155 774

Or online via www.trybooking.com/HPIV