Health, healing and a musical unlike any other

Liliane Grace was a primary school student when she first began filling exercise books with stories, and 14 when she started entering story writing competitions.  

Now, she’s an accomplished writer with more than a dozen books and plays under her belt. With the help of a Regional Arts Development Fund (RADF) grant, she’s currently writing her first musical, which has the working title  HIPPOCRyTIC OATH.   

The musical explores the different definitions of health, and whether the healthcare path humans are currently encouraged to follow is the best one. It’s a complex topic, but Liliane is no stranger to grappling with subject matter that challenges its audience. 

She says she simply loves storytelling in all its forms. 

‘Fiction is my passion because I love the power of it: you can create anything,’ she says. 

‘I love the feeling of starting a story and having a glimpse of a plot but not knowing where it will go. I just start with a compelling idea and go from there.’ 

Liliane isn’t short of ideas – her stories have spanned a diverse range of subjects, from relationships, to chasing dreams, loss, poverty, wealth, health and wellbeing, all woven into complex and engrossing plotlines. 

She says she loves exploring life purpose, magic and power in her stories – and inspiration comes from very close to home. 

 ‘One inspiration was watching my kids reading Harry Potter and grappling with that idea of magic, and the other was a childhood influence from my mum who went through the Holocaust and spent her life deeply traumatised and would read a lot about the purpose of life and our power as human beings,’ Liliane says.  

’These two influences combined to inspire my first novel, The Mastery Club.’

Hippocrytic Oath tracks the journey of a newly-qualified doctor who becomes disillusioned with his ability to give people what they need with the tools he has been given. 

‘I have spent months researching this and the more I spoke with patients and health practitioners, the more I thought: We have lost the ability to follow our own common sense when it comes to our health, such as prioritising things like nutrition, clean water, sunshine, relationships and exercise,’ she says. 

‘I think one of reasons is because if we go down that path we have to change behaviours which people often find hard to do. 

‘My doctor character has a wake-up call moment in his journey where someone close to him is seriously ill and that makes him stop and question everything. 

‘The other main character is his grandma, and she is a symbol of connection to Mother Earth – she is there to help him join the dots between disease,, drugs, health and traditional medicine options..’ 

Liliane says putting a musical together brings with it brand-new challenges. 

‘I’ve got no musical background at all, I don’t sing dance or play music but every idea I ever have is like a download and this download was always a musical,’ she says. 

‘I have been so blessed to be able to do this with assistance from RADF – the first round allowed me to research and script the musical, and now I’m seeking funding to cover the costs of a second draft and for a composer to write the score.’  

All artists in Logan can apply for RADF funding – applications are open now. 

The Regional Arts Development Fund is a partnership between Logan City Council and Arts Queensland, and administered by Council. Find out more here.

Check out Lilian’s work on her website.