Dreams of Peace & Freedom in Edinburgh for ECHR75

Aim: In the 75th year of European Convention on Human Rights, show your support and celebrate its protections with performances of our song cycle

This year is the 75th anniversary of the European Convention on Human Rights. We are celebrating its protections with performances of Sue Casson's song cycle Dreams of Peace & Freedom which tells its forgotten story. The ECHR's British ‘artisan’ David Maxwell Fyfe was born and grew up in Edinburgh and we are asking for your support to bring it home to the Fringe.

Thank you for all the tremendous work with your song cycle to remember and celebrate David Maxwell Fyfe's fantastic work 

Angus Macdonald, Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe

A SCOTTISH STORY

Few people know why the ECHR came to be and even fewer know that its history is rooted in the landscape of Edinburgh, where David grew up around the Meadows. Among these historic surroundings David was immersed in the romance, rigour and natural law of the Scottish Enlightenment that are the foundation of modern human rights.

For this reason, Scotland's capital city was the perfect place to premiere the show in 2014 as part of the Festival Fringe. Since then, it has been performed in other landscapes of David's story, including; Dornoch Cathedral, at the Palace of Westminster, The Palace of Justice Nuremberg (where the Trials took place), Merchants Hall with his school, George Watson's College, Holywell Music Room in Oxford (where he was educated) as well as museums, theatres and lecture halls around the UK.

'The most incredibly stimulating piece of history that most people don't know.’

Helena Kennedy KC

ABOUT THE SHOW

In its 75th anniversary year we have forgotten why we have the ECHR. A living commemoration of a living law, this beautiful song cycle offers a new way to view the Convention, telling its story through the words of its British ‘artisan’, Edinburgh-born David Maxwell Fyfe. It shows how the seeds of ECHR grew in the wasteland of the evidence of the Nuremberg War Crimes Trials. Firmly rooted in humanity, David's personal papers, Sue Casson’s music and archive film blend in this powerful celebration of the Convention's protections.

These performances are part of a year long commemoration of ECHR75 called Songs of the People that has been recognised in a recent Early Day Motion in Parliament. 

‘A wonderful and meaningful performance. Music and art capture the spirit of universal human rights’ 

Francesca Klug OBE, writer and academic

OUR STORY

We are a professional theatre company featuring a new generation of David Maxwell Fyfe's family, which is why we have chosen to tell his important story in a show. Our company English Cabaret has been presenting telling ideas in story and song at the Fringe Festival for over a decade, and its founders Tom Blackmore and Sue Casson using it as a platform for their original work for 20 years before that. As a vibrant international showcase of the arts, it makes sense for a work that celebrates all that is good about humanity and it's expression should be at the Fringe in the Convention's anniversary year.

'One of the most beautiful things I've ever heard. A magnificent work about freedom, democracy, liberty’

MusicalTalk

WHAT YOU WILL SUPPORT

A celebration of the protections of the European Convention on Human Rights through our project Songs of the People and performances of Sue Casson’s Dreams of Peace & Freedom.

When signed, the Convention protects the rights to life, liberty, security, marriage, privacy, a family life, a fair trial and a just outcome. Protocols were added in the early days to protect the rights to education and property. In addition, the Convention offers freedom from torture, slavery, forced labour, discrimination and punishment without law, and freedom of thought, conscience, religion, expression, assembly and association. These protections have been the bedrock of 75 years of post-war peace and are worthy of celebration.

Sue Casson has many years’ experience bringing shows to the Edinburgh Fringe. The increased cost of bringing a show to the Fringe is now widely recognised, in particular the rising costs of accommodation in Edinburgh, but also more generally the increased cost of living, production and marketing.

We believe that it is important and timely that the protections of ECHR are celebrated this year, as its future is under question, and there are few voices speaking up for it. This is a significant Scottish story, born from the injustices of the Clearances and the glow of the Scottish Enlightenment.

Your contribution will enable us to reach out into the local Edinburgh community - to activists, faith groups, educators and political leaders in addition to performances,  to join this important celebration. 

‘**** a fine tribute to an idealistic and important figure.' 

ThreeWeeks

FIND OUT MORE

Our show page | https://www.englishcabaret.co.uk/productions/dreams-of-peace-and-freedom

Our Linktree with streaming of original cast recording | https://linktr.ee/dreamsofpeaceandfreedom

Our project website | https://www.songsofthepeople.co.uk/

Follow us on social media @SongotPeople

 Instagram | https://www.instagram.com/songsotpeople

 X | https://x.com/SongsotPeople

YouTube | https://youtube.com/@songsotpeople

Bluesky | https://bsky.app/profile/songsotpeople.bsky.social

Funding method

Keep what you raise – this project will receive all pledges made by 11th August 2025 at 1:55pm