All posts by Guy O'Donnell

Hi I am Guy the project coordinator for Get The Chance. I am a trained secondary teacher of Art and Design and have taught at all Key Stages in England and Wales. I am also an experienced theatre designer and have designed for many of the theatre companies in Wales.
Art, Dance, Music, Theatre

Would you like to join us for a creative conversation?

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Image credit: Barbara Lavelle

Would you like to join us for a creative conversation?
Saturday, 23rd September, Central Cardiff.
We welcome your thoughts & insights, and value your opinions.
You are invited to join us LIVE in Cardiff at 2.30 – 4.30pm GMT
or on FB Live at 14.30 – 16.30 GMT; 09.30 – 11.30 EST; 06.30-08.30 PST. 
Dress Code: Up to you. 
RSVP (Places are limited)   
Purposefully, I deconstructed our activities and found creative listening rose to the top of our raw materials. The critiquing and response to Arts and Culture requires sharp and sensitive listening first and foremost.  
                             
We are thrilled to bring you Wales’ first Hot Tub salon. The topic: Creative Listening. Brought to you by Get The Chance, delivered by Third Act Critics, and presented as part of the Gwanwyn Festival of Creativity for Older People in Wales, funded by Wales Government and the Arts Council of Wales.

Creative Listening follows Advantage of Age’s successful season of hot tub salons in London. A of A received funding from Arts Council of England and were recently featured in The Sunday Times  and is, for all intents and purposes, the launch of Advantages of Age Wales. Thanks to Suzanne Noble from Advantages of Age for her support.

The event is also partnered with NYC-based producer Jonathan Pillot, who will launch the NYC Advantages of Age on Sunday, 17 September. If you’re in NYC, all the details are here Thanks to Jonathan for his support, too.
I took inspiration from his project Listening to America in the run-up to the US Presidential Election. Pillot took a Studs Terkel-esque road trip and produced a series of unscripted interviews with real people in the uneasy weeks running up to the November 2017 election. The election campaign really split opinions in the USA; at the same time BREXIT was splitting opinions in the UK. It left me pondering on the necessity of listening as a critical tool to progressing big ideas and forging change. I endorse promoting big ideas and forging change, and I believe in doing so by starting in a small, slow and steady fashion. I sensed a Listening to Wales project would be a powerful way to reach people here. Creative Listening is a small step in that direction.
Advantages Of Age’s hot tub salons were set up ‘as a platform to curate and host a series of performance salons incorporating an array of creatives united in their refusal to ‘grow old gracefully’ and to challenge the mainstream narrative of age. The events featured an array of creatives celebrating alternative narratives of age through creativity, querying, and rebelliousness.’  Creative Listening echoes those sentiments and explains why we are getting into a hot tub here in Cardiff, Wales.
I do not have a degree in Listening; I am not an expert in the field. But I am a human being — who has lived on this planet for 50+ years. For that reason alone, I believe that I and those others who fall into that broad category, have something to offer a conversation on listening.
To put a finer point on it, I have trained and studied performing arts and worked in the creative industries and the media throughout my life and career. Purposefully, I deconstructed Get The Chance’s activities and found creative listening rose to the top of our raw materials. The critiquing of and responding to Arts and Culture requires sharp and sensitive listening first and foremost.
We will be a gathering of human beings investing a few hours on a Saturday afternoon in September sitting in and around a hot tub exploring what creative listening means. I hope it doesn’t sound too banal. If it does sound banal to you, and you can’t be bothered to actually be there, perhaps you will check it out on the FB Live stream, and join us that way. That would be less of an investment in time and effort, so perhaps you will get something out of it via this alternative option.
I am excited by it. If you are excited by it, too, but cannot make it on the day, you can join us on the FB Live Stream, from anywhere. Hosted by Advantages of Age, the FB Live Stream will enable you to stay dry and still participate. Your contributions will be welcomed and valued, and our social media monitor will be sharing as many of your views as possible.
JOIN THE CREATIVE LISTENING FB PAGE AND WATCH FOR DETAILS ON HOW TO JOIN THE EVENT VIA LIVE STREAMING.

When I conceived of the idea for an event called Creative Listening, I thought I’d made the term up. I had no idea that there were so many different types of ‘listening’ out there, including ‘creative’, which had already been coined. ‘Creative’ I found was only one of a number of nouvelle and trendy labels for this very primitive activity. Other labels such as Deep Listening and Active Listening indicate that what might previously have been considered passive was being re-evaluated and now required energy, (the definition of active is ‘ready to engage in physically energetic pursuits’) and was making a profound impact (the definition of deep is ‘very intense or extreme’).
I was motivated by the amount of relevant material I was finding on this topic, and I knew that there was much to explore. Whilst working on the event, I was further motivated by the realisation that creative listening has a strong relevance to other themes I am inspired by and a synergy with other projects I am working on. If they are fusing together it has to be more than a coincidence. It is more likely because it is meant to be.
A final word about Get The Chance. I’ve really enjoyed and benefitted from being a Third Act Critic and being associated with Get The Chance for a number of years now. When I left my full-time career in the creative industries (for personal reasons) at the turn of the century, I did not realise it would be so difficult to return and especially to return with the status I had worked so hard to achieve. There is something very wonderful about being given a chance. There is something very powerful in a community-based social enterprise that supports you to get a platform to do what you really want to do. That there is a mutual benefit, and that the rewards are reciprocal, is even more rewarding.
Leslie R Herman
Producer
9 September 2017

Music, Musical, Theatre

Shows to see this autumn.

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The team at Get the Chance choose their own personal highlights of autumn 2017
Gareth Williams
Kate Rusby
Storyhouse, Chester.

Kate Rusby is the undisputed queen of English folk music. With her immense songwriting ability and beautiful voice to match, she is undeniably one of Yorkshire’s greatest treasures. This short 25th anniversary tour will see her delve into an extensive back catalogue of songs. She will also perform material from her latest album Life in a Paper Boat. She demonstrates, time and again, an unrivalled knack for producing new and inventive interpretations in the folk tradition whilst remaining faithful to its roots. She has such a down-to-earth and whimsical personality that is gently infectious. Instantly likeable, this comes across naturally in her oft-acoustic performances. If you are looking for the perfect soundtrack to a clear autumn night under the stars, look no further. Within the close and intimate setting of Chester’s brand-new theatre, this will be a magical evening with one of England’s brightest and best musicians.
Helen Joy
Benny
Chapter Arts Centre, Cardiff.

Benny Hill was fun, Sunday evening viewing when I was growing up.
His programme was a silly, light-hearted view of the world through the eyes of some potty characters.
I don’t recall any sense of malice behind the scenes and I often refer in life as having the Benny Hill theme tune running behind it…
However, times have changed. It feels as if everything we grew up with in the 1970s has to be disregarded at best, vilified at worst. Sometimes with good reason.
I am curious. Who was the man behind the little round specs? Why do we judge the past, our past, so sternly?
Karis Clarke
The Rise and Fall of Little Voice
Theatr Clwyd,Mold.

Little Voice at Theatre Clwyd. I am a fan of musicals in general and enjoyed the movie version with Jean Horricks. My appetite has already been wetted with the theatre showing tweets of the large cast taking residence in the theatre.
Gemma Treharne Foose
Wizard of Oz Orchestra (St David’s Hall), I am a Poetato (Sherman Theatre), Slava’s Snowshow (Wales Millennium Centre) and finally – Aladdin (Park and Dare).

My choices this Autumn are all family choices, I see a lot of shows by myself but for me the absolute best experience is seeing my daughter get completely absorbed in theatre and enjoy it as an art form. Her highlights so far over the last year have been Hairspray at the WMC, the Borrowers and the Hunting of the Snark at the Sherman. Slowly, I’m expanding the type of shows she sees to include poetry and dance – but I think musicals are our absolute favourite! I feel lucky to have so much amazing family theatre on our doorstep – and we feel it’s not really Christmas unless we’ve seen Frank Vickery dressed as a pantomime dame at the Park and Dare – that always tops off the year for me and puts a spring in my step! During the last panto at the Park and Dare, the two dames had my husband up on stage dancing and taking selfies with him, my daughter was delighted – I think it’ll be hard to top that one!
Donna Poynton
Follies
NT Live

I love the concept of National Theatre Live; bringing top quality theatre to the masses without the cost of a trip to London and a full price ticket. Live broadcasts from our local cinemas immerse us in the theatre’s atmosphere and allow us to view productions that may previously have been off our radar.
Stephen Sondheim’s legendary musical follows the Follies girls (played in this production by Tracie Bennett, Janie Dee and Imelda Staunton) thirty years after their final performance at the Weisman Theatre in New York as they gather to share drinks, tell stories and sing a few songs (accompanied by a 21 piece orchestra!)
With a fabulous score and stellar cast I am excited to see this NT Live production this November.
Lauren Ellis Stretch
hang
The Other Room, Cardiff.

The home of Cardiff’s first fringe theatre, The Other Room are continuously showcasing sharp, fearless, contemporary theatre. debbie tucker green’s ‘hang’ premiered at the Royal Court Theatre in 2015, the piece will be making its Welsh debut with a cast of exceptional, home-grown talent. It’s one not to be missed!
Barbara Elin
Rip it Up
St Davids Hall, Cardiff.

I’ll be seeing Rip it Up in St Davids Hall on 9th October, it features Strictly stars Jay McGuinness, Louis Smith and Natalie Lowe – I’ve been a Strictly fan for ever and Jay and Louis were both my favourites of their respective years, and now they’re in Cardiff I can’t resist the chance to see them live.
Debbie Johnson
The Cherry Orchard
Sherman Theatre, Cardiff.

The Cherry Orchard at the Sherman. I’ve chosen it in the first instance because (too many) years ago it was my set text in A-level Theatre Studies. I found it really challenging, and eventually rewarding when it ‘clicked’.  The idea of Gary Owen adapting this play feels like an absolute minefield-which I am sure with Rachel O’Riordan’s direction will bring something to the stage which would make any student now picking up the text completely inspired.
Emily Garside
Heisenberg
Wyndham’s Theatre , Covent Garden

I’m excited to see this new play from Simon Stephens (which had it’s debut last year in New York) not only because a new play by Simon Stephens is always worth seeing, but because this is the first production from Harper-Elliot Productions. With director Marianne Elliot at the helm this new prodcution company sees Elliot (previously artistic associate at the National Theatre) promising to put women’s stories at the forefront. For this play in particular I’m excited to see this multi-layered play about the nature of relationships with the brilliantly talented Anne Marie Duff in the central role.
Charlotte Clark
Wind in the Willows
Sherman Theatre,Cardiff.

I am  looking forward to seeing The Wind in the Willows this autumn at Sherman Theatre. This is for a number of reasons. Firstly, it is a classic that I love and would love to see performed on stage. Secondly, as a Cardiff student, Sherman Theatre is a very practical location for me as it is close by and therefore makes it easy for me to see something local. Thirdly, as it is a Christmas time production it falls perfectly for me amongst my other workloads and commitments; by Christmas time I will have the holidays to commit to my university work and so won’t have too many deadlines to stress me out!
Vicky Lord
Blood Brothers
New Theatre, Cardiff.

I’ve chosen this performance not only because it is a production with absolutely stunning music. This production really does show the vital importance of story and character in combination with the music. I love the story of twins who are born and died on the self-same day. However, my favorite character is the narrator as he represents an amazing opportunity to really dig deep into the symbolism of certain aspects of the story. This is also one of the first productions which I reviewed last time it came to Cardiff’s New Theatre. It was also Marti Pellow’s performance in this production which really showed me the symbolic potential of not just the narrator but of characters and theatre as a whole.
Danielle O’Shea
Cilla The Musical
New Theatre, Cardiff.

Cilla the musical at the New Theatre in Cradiff. I am going to see this production as the reaction to the death of Cilla Black showed how valued she is in contemporary British culture.
Catherine Parkinson
John Hegley The Sherman Theatre
Slava’s Snow Show The Wales Millennium Centre

John Hegley The Sherman Theatre
Slava’s  Snow Show The Wales Millennium Centre

Museums & heritage

Review: The Reenactement of Isandlwana (aka The Great British Stuff Up) Cardiff Castle

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(*Referred to as The Great British Stuff Up… to quote an official speaking at the Re-enactment.)
The sun came out. But not enough people came with it.
Cardiff Castle – a spectacular venue and in the coursing heat of the last day of summer, we saw the Battle of Isandlwana replayed. We heard speeches addressing the contemporary relevance of this violent occasion. We heard of the move from land grab to tourism; of enmity to friendship. Good speeches but hard to hear in fact as many of the people around me talked all the way through them.
So many chose to experience this remarkable and apposite performance through their phones and not through their own eyes and senses. Such a pity so many of us no longer look and listen and absorb in the moment any more. So many wandered off before the performance had finished – pity, they missed the Zulus and their Royal family chanting, singing and mingling with the crowd.

Where is the respect for the people who have travelled so far to share with us their culture and their skills, history and time? Where is the respect for ourselves to return that compliment?
Our guests deserved better and the organisers too.
It was also a pity that Cardiff Castle insisted n charging entrance – although the Re-enactment itself was free. The performance started at 4pm so it was not as if the Castle would have lost a day’s revenue. Sometimes generosity has its own reward and our guests should have had a bigger turn out.
This was a once-in-a-lifetime experience. I cannot thank the organisers enough for giving us the most impressive and life-affirming hand-shake between two nations, Wales and Zululand, after all these years.
 

Art, Literature, Museums & heritage, Musical, Theatre

Review: King Cetshwayo, The Musical, Theatr Brycheiniog by Helen Joy

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out of 5 stars (4 / 5)
 
The opening night of any performance is usually pretty interesting This was something else. A royal visit, the hands of conciliation shaking across the decades, the welcome of the Welsh to the Zulus, the acknowledgement of the times past and present with no apology.
I cannot say that it was a comfortable feeling in the room when the British role in the taking of Zululand was portrayed. The massacre of British forces at Rorke’s Drift promptly followed by the razing of the villages and the kidnapping of the King. An unrecorded conversation between Queen Victoria and King Cetshwayo and his return to South Africa.
Some of us in the audience dared to laugh at what that conversation may have comprised, given the dear Queen’s proclivities! This lightened an otherwise confused response to a musical storytelling which did not portray our Empirical desires in a good light. But a portrayal generous enough to acknowledge the bravery of soldiers on either side. Bold enough to openly regard a mutual respect for the field of battle and conquest.
Beautiful in its dance scenes, fearsome in its warring, acute in its narration – comic in its mimicry of the gun-carrying redcoats. The skin-prickling returning cries of warriors in the audience. The poet. The costumes. The toe-tapping music. The beat. The heat.
This was a slightly chaotic, slightly shambolic, utterly brilliant rendering of a terrible business all round.
A theatre packed with dignitaries and artists; and the men stand for the Queen. A queen surrounded by family and protected by warriors. Splendid and significant, she spoke of their visit as an advance party whose report back would determine any subsequent visit by the King. I get that. This is not easy political fayre.
Dorcas Cresswell and her team should be applauded for their efforts in bringing these extraordinary and important events together in ways accessible to all of us. It was refreshing not to hear apology for events long past but acknowledgement; commemoration not dismissal. Art and theatre expressing easily subjects otherwise difficult to discuss openly.
I hope I shall never forget seeing Zulu warriors hop on a bus in central Brecon. I have a feeling I might not be alone in this. Never underestimate the impact of a well-placed assegai.
As part of this series of events you can still catch the event below
Now – end of October: Sibanye – Brecon Welcomes the Zulu’s!

Free, non-ticketed exhibition in the Andrew Lamont Gallery, top floor of Theatr Brycheiniog.
An exhibition of photographs that were taken during a visit in January 2017 to KwaZulu-Natal by five members of The Friends of The Regimental Museum of The Royal Welsh, Brecon.
The visit was by invitation of KwaCulture – an organisation based in Durban and the visit coincided with the annual commemoration of the battles of Isandlwana and Rorke’s Drift which took place in January 1879.
The exhibition is part of the King Cetshwayo 135th Celebrations in Wales, August 2017 that has been organised by The Friends of The Royal Welsh Regimental Museum in partnership with KwaCulture and Maluju Charity.
The Andrew Lamont Gallery is open during Theatr opening hours and is fully accesable via the lift.
 
 
 
 
 
 

Theatre

An interview with Matthew Bulgo

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Hi Matthew great to meet you, can you give our readers some background information on yourself please?
Hello, I’m Matthew Bulgo and I mostly split my time between being an actor and playwright. I also do some work as a dramaturg…and when I’m not doing any of that I’m also an Associate Director of Dirty Protest.
So what got you interested in writing and the arts?
I first got interested in theatre when I was in school. My school didn’t have a particularly good drama department but through the school I got involved in my local youth theatre (WGYTC) and it was a hugely formative experience.

I joined the company when I was 13 and continued performing with them until I was 20 and I still work with them regularly. The company exposed me to a massive range of skills and genres of theatre and it was being involved in the company that encouraged me to audition for drama school and pursue a career in theatre.
https://wgytc.co.uk
My interest in writing sort of came as a by-product of that. I only really started writing around 5 years ago. I’d dabbled a little previously but 2012 is when I decided to try and make a go of it and strike a balance between acting and writing. For me, the two areas sort of spoke to each other. I like to think I write plays with the performers process very much in the forefront of my mind. I like to make sure that my characters have really satisfying journeys and that their actions and their motivations and psychologies are really water-tight and fleshed out.
You are an actor as well as a playwright. I wonder if your knowledge of both disciplines cross-pollinates when you are working in both different disciplines?
Ha! I think I maybe just answered that one about. Whoops. Yes, I think so. A lot of my favourite writers were actors at various points in their careers – Pinter and Albee are two big influences on me. Then more recently writers like Anna Jordan who trained at LAMDA around the same time as me before going on to be a Bruntwood winning playwright.

#YOLO was commissioned by National Theatre Connections for this years festival. Each play is specifically commissioned for 10 leading playwrights by the National Theatre’s literary department. The plays are written with young performers in mind. Can you tell us more about this process?
The first thing I’ll say is that the process was such a joy from start to finish. I was given a lot of free rein to really write about what interested me. The parameters were really liberating. It’s very rare in Wales to be asked to write a play that has more than about 4 or 5 characters in it so to be encouraged to write something for a big ensemble was not only a big challenge but also a real gift. It was also really exciting to write a piece knowing that it was going to be interpreted and realised in numerous different ways. I think this encouraged me to write a piece that had a lot of leeway in it, a piece that could be owned and customised by each company that performed it.

Each production I saw was bold and brave and full to the brim with vigour, enthusiasm and creativity. I left each performance with a spring in my step thinking about those young people. I have a huge soft spot for youth theatre. I’d love to write more plays for young people in the future.
The plays are then performed by youth theatre companies in regional/national competitions across the UK. Did you Get the Chance to see any of these performances?
I really wish I could’ve seen them all! I think I managed 8 or 9 out of a possible 25…so not bad going really! I travelled as far north as Newcastle and as far south as Chichester. I saw a fantastic production at the Bristol Old Vic which is one of my favourite theatres. And I was really pleased that there were two productions staged in Cardiff at the Sherman Theatre that I was able to catch. One of which – plot twist – was performed by my old youth theatre. There was such a beautiful symmetry to that. If it hadn’t been for that youth theatre, I probably wouldn’t be involved in the industry at all. It’s a really extraordinary company.
The regional/national NT Connections performances are often supported by free additional workshops and skill sharing events, do you think this type of activity is beneficial to youth theatre members? Have you ever been involved in any of these workshops?
DEFINITELY. I think it’s a fantastic opportunity for those kids to work with people who are currently working in the industry and also for them to engage with their local, regional theatre. They’re the next generation of performers and stage managers and playwrights and directors and I think exposure to these kinds of workshops and events at that age is hugely beneficial.

Images from the NT Connections workshops at Sherman Theatre, Cardiff.

After their performance at the NT Connections Festival at Cardiff’s Sherman Theatre, West Glamorgan Youth Theatre were chosen to perform #YOLO at the National Theatre in London. I believe you were a member of this Youth Theatre company yourself? This must have been a proud moment for you? Did you see their performance in London?
I was absolutely over-the-moon for them. I cleared the diary weeks in advance to make sure I could be there to see them performing at the National. I wouldn’t have missed it for the world.
My youth theatre (and I’m sure everyone feels exactly the same way about theirs if they attended one) was very special. It shaped me as a young man – emotionally, creatively and politically. It helped me grow up but also reminded me that to be an artist you have to be an eternal child. It helped me understand the past and hope about the future. I was really pleased they got selected to perform at the NT. I wouldn’t be doing what I do without them. I’ll be eternally grateful. I owe the company so much and this felt like a bit of pay-back.

The cast of #YOLO with past and present West Glamorgan Youth Theatre members at NT Connections, National Theatre, London.

It was so great to see the number of alumni of the company in attendance too from every generation since the company was founded in the mid-1970s. A lot of them aren’t involved in the industry but still feel a huge amount of warmth towards the company. There were people. Di Botcher was rehearsing at the National at the time for their production of Sondheim’s Follies and she made sure to be there. Michael Sheen is an alumni (and huge supporter of the company) and saw the show at the Sherman in Cardiff. He couldn’t quite make curtain-up for the performance at the NT but he arrived in time to greet the young people as they appeared from stage door after the show.

Michael Sheen with the cast of #YOLO at Sherman Theatre, Cardiff.

Get the Chance works to support a diverse range of members of the public to access cultural provision Are you aware of any barriers to equality and diversity for either Welsh or Wales based artists or specifically writers?
I think the major one for writers is age. There are so many opportunities whether it be writing courses or competitions or bursaries that are specifically for people who under-25 or under-30. I didn’t really start writing until I was 32. For anyone who doesn’t fit into those age brackets, it means you have to do things the hard way. I think the recent writing course at the Sherman and also the ‘writer-in-residence’ programme run by Theatr Clwyd are two fantastic examples of development opportunities where your age doesn’t figure in things. They both just want to engage with theatre writers whose voices they’re really interested in or excited by.
There are a range of organisations supporting Welsh and Wales based writers, I wonder if you feel the current support network and career opportunities feel ‘healthy’ to you?
It can always be healthier would be evasion of that question! I think writing courses and workshops and residencies are all brilliant ways to develop writers and there are some brilliant examples of those things happening in Wales…but I think what writers really need are productions at the end of the day. There are so many promising playwrights in Wales and so few opportunities for them to get their work produced on a Welsh stage. So, yes there’s lots of good supportive things happening…but I’d like to see more productions by Welsh playwrights on our stages.
If you were able to fund an area of the arts in Wales what would this be and why?
Youth arts for one. It always seems to be the first thing against the wall.
What excites you about the arts in Wales? What was the last really great thing that you experienced that you would like to share with our readers?
The fringe scene in Wales is particularly exciting, I think. From companies like Gagglebabble to The Other Room to Motherlode to Fio. Such an eclectic range of companies with really distinctive voices and aesthetics.

Then newer companies like Run Amok, Graphic, Red Oak and Powder House whose work I’m yet to see but I’m really excited to see the contribution they make to the theatre ecology in Wales.

In terms of the last great thing I experienced…I’ll sum it up by saying the Edinburgh Fringe. I have gone to the festival every year for the past decade. If I’m not there with a show then I’ll go as a spectator and just glut myself on theatre. I always come out the other end of it feeling exhausted but really galvanised and really excited to get my teeth stuck into my next project. My highlights this year were Palmyra, Nassim, The Flying Lovers of Vitebsk, Translunar Paradise (the 2nd time I’ve seen it) and How To Win Against History.
Thanks for your time Matthew. Matthew is performing in The Cherry Orchard at Sherman Theatre this autumn.
http://www.shermantheatre.co.uk/performance/theatre/the-cherry-orchard/

Theatre

An interview with Ciaran Fitzgerald, Mess up the Mess Theatre Company

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Image Credit Kirsten McTernan

 Hi can you give our readers some background information on yourself please? 
My name is Ciaran Fitzgerald, I’m 22 and from Port Talbot in South Wales. I’m currently studying scriptwriting at the University of South Wales, going into my second year in September. I have cerebral palsy which effects the way I walk and talk. In my spare time I’m a member of Mess up the Mess theatre company, and have been since 2011 and have performed in many shows with them.

https://messupthemess.co.uk
So what got you interested in the arts? 
I got interested in the arts when I was about 13, I joined a local theatre company for young people with disabilities. After about 2 years I found the group wasn’t challenging me enough as a performer. Around the same time, Dafydd James was developing a play called ‘Click,’ about social networking and the concept of identity and the internet for Mess up the Mess Theatre Company. I played the part of Rob, a character who had cerebral palsy, I really enjoyed performing onstage with a diverse group of young people in a wonderful play. I have been performing, writing and volunteering with Mess up the Mess ever since.

Can you tell us about  Us Proclaimed: Clywch Ni? 
Us Proclaimed: Clywch Ni is a devised play with music which focuses on the life experiences of a group of young people between the ages of 11 & 22. The play explores themes including sexuality, gender identity, disability, mental health issues and also explores what the cast of young people think of each other and themselves. The question the play asks is whether we should seek to escape the difficulties we face in life, by vesseling them into ‘Robots’ or Musical theatre, and masking them in that way, or whether we should face our demons head on, and fully acknowledge their existence. Who do we want to be? What kind of society do we want to live in? These are the questions that the play asks.

Us Proclaimed: Clywch Ni throws a spotlight on the unique identities, perspectives, passions and interests of young people growing up in Wales today through music, comedy, poetry, drama and movement. How did you think the production has managed to capture all the different young people’s voices? 
I would agree that the voices of young people have been clearly received and heard throughout the project, however, not all of these extracts of self-expression have translated into scenes or sections in the play. Every member of the cast does however have a chance within the play to voice their opinions on subjects including, sexuality, gender, anxiety, the relationship between themselves and their parents and so forth.  You may ask whether this play is fully representative of the experience of being a young person in Wales in 2017? I would argue not, and I would also argue that it does not need to be. The play is representative of the company of young people who perform the play, but perhaps not the young people of Wales in general.

There are a range of organisations supporting Young Peoples creativity on this production. I wonder if you feel the current support network and career opportunities for young creatives feels ‘healthy’ to you? Can more be done? 
I think that certainly more can be done. There is definitely a base platform for young creatives within organisations such as Mess up the Mess to exude and foster their creative talents, but perhaps as young people get to the age where they want to make more of a solid impact upon the arts in Wales, there is no solid further platform for them to move on to other than university education, which is no guarantee of a career in the arts. I think that generally, there needs to be more opportunities for young people who perhaps want a career in the arts, but don’t want the pressure or debt that university brings. I also feel that there needs to be more opportunities for arts graduates to attain employment in their chosen avenue of the creative industry. There seems to be an appreciation of the incredible artists, actor, writer and directors that we have in this country who are already proven at the highest level, but less of an incentive to promote the new talent coming through the ranks. Companies like Mess up the Mess and Get the Chance definitely need to be at the forefront of this, and do their best to guide their young people who want a career in the arts along the right paths. There should I feel also be more liaising between production companies and youth arts organizations to offer young people who are interested in the arts, opportunities such as internships and work experience. We have wonderful youth arts companies in Wales, we also have many wonderful professional production companies, we need to bridge the gap between these two.
If you were able to fund an area of the arts in Wales what would this be and why?
If I were to fund one area of the arts in Wales, I would give more opportunities for graduates, or young people making their first forays into the professional industry. Perhaps offering internships or permanent placements for young writers, performers and directors in Wales.
You can catch performances at the dates/times below
Miners, Ammanford
25 August, 7.30pm
26 August, 2.30pm & 7.30pm
Tickets
Ffwrnes, Llanelli
7 September, 1.30pm & 7.30pm
Penygraig
8 September
Tickets on sale on the door through ArtWorks
Dance House, Wales Millennium Centre
16 September, 2.30pm & 7.30pm
Tickets not on sale yet
Thanks for your time Ciaran

Museums & heritage, Music

Get the Chance to be a music journalist at this years Sŵn Festival.

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Are you aged 14+?
Interested in brilliant contemporary new music ?
Want to Get the Chance to see and review Songhoy Blues, Aquilo, Jen Cloher, The Amazons and loads more amazing artists at this years Sŵn Festival?
Want to access a free workshop which will give you an insight into the role of a music journalist?
Then, this is for you!

 
What’s involved?
You will take part in a 2 hour workshop with Guy O’Donnell Director of online magazine website Get the Chance at a venue to be confirmed.
You will need to be free to attend a range of performances during the festival.
To apply contact Get the Chance director Guy O’Donnell at getthechance1@gmail.com. All applicants need to be aged 14+
Here is a link to more information on this years Sŵn Festival
http://www.swnfest.com/presents/

Music, Theatre

An interview with Geoff Cripps

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The Director of Get the Chance, Guy O’Donnell recently got the chance to chat to Geoff Cripps. We discussed his career to date, his band  Allan Yn Y Fan and his thoughts on music and theatre in Wales today.
Hi Geoff great to meet you, can you give our readers some background information on yourself please?
I was born and raised in Pontllanfraith in the Sirhowy Valley and educated at Pontllanfraith Grammar Technical School, University College Swansea and UWIST Cardiff. My early interest in music and the arts came from my mother who gave me piano lessons when just an infant. Pont Grammar School with its annual musical theatre productions and very broad church school “Folk Club” encouraged the performer and participant in me. This was the fabled sixties (yes – I am an old git!) and I remember various peers showing each other in the school playground their mastery of the latest guitar riffs or chord sequences of the rock & pop music of the day…That, plus when I was in the sixth form, there was a sequence of wondrous gigs at the pre-refurbed Blackwood Miner’s Institute by the likes of Dave Edmund’s Love Sculpture, Black Sabbath, The Strawbs often supported by the Rhondda band which became Racing Cars. All heady stuff!
In Swansea I became the organiser of our hall of residence folk club – which was also where I first started booking performers. At this point I was mad about music, never recovered actually, and saw 137 bands in my three years there ( I was the nerdy boy who star rated them all in his diaries!).
At this stage apart from being taken to panto as a small boy and one trip to the Prince of Wales Theatre in Cardiff I was not a theatre goer or knowledgeable at all on this genre.

You are a member of the band Allan Yn Y Fan. Congratulations on your 21 years together! What are you all currently working on?
Thanks Guy. Sometimes it is hard to fathom how the initial quartet of myself, Kate Strudwick (currently boss of Head 4 Arts), Chris Jones & Linda Simmonds have stuck it out for more than 2 decades…Even harder is for me to think quite how I managed to make 4 albums, tour to Germany, Czech Republic, France, Ireland whilst Artistic Director at RCT Theatres! The current line up now also consists of lead singer Catrin O’Neill and fiddler Alan Cooper and together we are working hard to try and get the gigs that keep a six-piece band on the road!

These are tough times…but we are excited that next month we perform for the first time at the Abergavenny Food Festival Community Feast (14th Sept.), followed by our first ever performance in Austria at the House of Regions in Krems (21st Sept.) and then are honoured by performing at the Welsh night of the Labour Party Conference in Brighton on 24th September. We might all have a lie down in a darkened room after that lot!
http://www.ayyf.co.uk
As you mentioned earlier you are the former artistic director of RCT Theatres. Get the Chance has had a great deal of support for its work in the valleys venues of South Wales. The venues very often act as the social and cultural hubs of our communities. How do you see venues of this nature developing in the future?
I am so pleased that Get the Chance has been so well supported by the Valleys Venues. I came in to running a Valleys Venue – the Beaufort Theatre Ebbw Vale when I was first appointed as Arts Development Officer for Blaenau Gwent CBC way back in 1994. This was not long after the initiative from the old Welsh Office and South East Wales Arts Association which had enabled the refurbishment of a number of Valleys Venues in the late 1980s and early 1990s. This initiative brought back to life or reinvigorated some ex-Miner’s Institutes which had previously been the cultural and social hubs of the valleys communities. These days I am very fearful for the future of many of these venues in a period when money is so much scarce than in those heady days of the ‘90s but also when, it appears to me, that, despite all the evidence gathered over the past couple of decades, the value of the investment in arts and culture is still little appreciated by the political funding masters. I think that those local authorities that continue to invest in and support their cultural venues are to be applauded. Those residents in areas that still have their cultural venue operating and supporting professional and amateur artistic endeavours should cherish and use them – and shout about the opportunities they offer loudly and often to all their elected representatives.
The best venues and those which keep deepening the nature of their active engagement with their local population will be the ones which will survive and may ultimately thrive.
When you have any spare time you are also a board member of Creu Cymru and Theatr na nÓg.Creu Cymru is a development agency for theatres and arts centre in Wales. Is it possible to explain your more about this organisation and your role?
I have since retirement been proud to have had the opportunity to serve on the boards of The Borough Theatre Abergavenny, Creu Cymru and since 2016 Theatr na nÓg. I hope that whatever “wisdom” I may have picked up over my “career” I can share with and strengthen through good governance of these artistic organisations.
Creu Cymru is an organisation unique to Wales – its strength and appeal reflected in the fact that virtually all the professionally run theatres and arts centres in Wales are in the membership. It aims to be the development organisation for all those working in these arts venues – and links the big operations such as Venue Cymru or Wales Millennium Centre to places such as the Congress Theatre Cwmbran or Galeri Caernarfon.
Creu Cymru offers opportunities for theatre staff to go and see work – whether that be in Edinburgh, across Wales or – sometimes funded by WAI – for international visits such as to CINARS in Montreal. Visits such as these enable the programmers and marketers in the venues to see work across the genres and to debate with peers the merits or otherwise of all scales of artistic endeavour. This often leads to such work being brought to Wales for the benefit of Welsh audiences.
Creu Cymru arranges regular arts consortium meetings (Music, Drama and Dance) at which the work is discussed, members can bring to the table ideas they wish to or are about to develop and also identify strands of work that will enable them to reach out to parts of their audience ecology they wish to reach.
http://www.creucymru.com
I have been fortunate to have had two periods of board membership – coming to a conclusion in 2018 – and through my own membership it was the backing of or the interactions with my colleagues in Creu Cymru which emboldened me and my RCT Theatre team to start in our co-producing and producing role which I am delighted to see being continued by Angela Gould now.
It was this latter involvement which really set the seal on my support of and active involvement with Theatr na nÓg leading to us co-producing Tom in 2014 with the premiere being held at The Muni in Pontypridd. I am delighted to be on the board of such an inventive and exciting company – and also delighted that as one of the new strands of their work they are encouraging the participation of young people in theatre making via their Ambassador scheme.

http://www.theatr-nanog.co.uk
Get the Chance works to support a diverse range of members of the public to access cultural provision Are you aware of any barriers to equality and diversity for either Welsh or Wales based artists/creatives?
The barriers I am aware of are our poor transport networks, lack of money and lack of equality of opportunity – often compounded by the first two factors. I hope that with the focus Get The Chance brings to certain projects/areas/opportunities more pressure will be brought to bear on those who can best resolve some of the infrastructural issues!
There are a range of organisations supporting Welsh and Wales based musicians, I wonder if you feel the current support network and career opportunities feel ‘healthy’ to you?
For Allan Yn Y Fan our best supporters are the Musician’s Union and TRAC (which I was delighted to be the first Development Director 2001-2003). In some areas there has been support from ACW and WAI enabling Welsh musicians to take part in show casing opportunities such as WOMEX and Showcase Scotland at Celtic Connections. As a band we have been fortunate to have received modest grants from ACW to support our tours of Wales in 2010 and 2016 but with the diminution of Lottery funds – getting such awards are going to be increasingly rare. It is also a shame, in my view, that ACW has not supported the production of CDs in the way that Creative Scotland has and continues to do.
I do hope that in my lifetime we might see a showcasing event which will spotlight the current vitality and breadth of traditional music acts in the way that Showcase Scotland and Folk Expo England do.
https://trac.wales
I do hope that in my lifetime we might see a showcasing event which will spotlight the current vitality and breadth of traditional music acts in the way that Showcase Scotland and Folk Expo England do.
If you were able to fund an area of the arts in Wales what would
 
 
 
 
If you were able to fund an area of the arts in Wales what would this be and why?
See above – I would fund for a three year period on a tapering basis a Welsh traditional music expo with opportunities for the general public to attend all the showcase performances – this would assist in breaking down the widespread apathy or ignorance to the “real music” of Wales.
What excites you about the arts in Wales?
The blurring of the roles of “Presenter” and “Producer.” The contributions of artists across the country who do what they do for insufficient recompense or recognition.
What was the last really great thing that you experienced that you would like to share with our readers?

Just because it is so fresh in my mind I nominate the NTS production of “Our Ladies of Perpetual Succour” which I first witnessed at the Traverse in Edinburgh in 2015 and last week loved once again as it approaches the end of its’ London run at the Duke of York’s Theatre. I just wish that our National Theatre companies would develop and tour a show in the country’s theatres!! Site specific can be brilliant but please National Theatre Wales and Theatr Genedlaethol Cymru – put something of value into the network of Theatres in Wales….. (retires to await the brickbats!)
Thanks for your time Geoff
 

Theatre

An interview with Charlie Hammond from Me Me Me Theatre

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The Director of Get the Chance, Guy O’Donnell recently got the chance to chat to Charlie Hammond. Charlie spent time training in Cardiff and was one of our Young Critics. We discussed his career to date, Me Me Me’s current production ‘Clonely’ and the Edinburgh Festival Fringe.
Hi Charlie can you give our readers some background information on yourself please?
Sure, I am an actor and theatre-maker based in the North-West. I create a lot of physical, visual, and chaotic performances. I borrow heavily from clown and physical comedy, and I have trained with various clowning and physical practitioners, in particular Philippe Gaulier, who is regarded as a leading practitioner in clown and performance training. His school is near Paris. I have also worked closely with director Cal McCrystal, who I learnt a great deal about directing and performance from whilst acting as associate director for Giffords Circus. Giffords are a traditional 1930’s style circus who create intimate performances which tour largely in the South-West of England.  Originally I studied English Literature at Cardiff University, and spent a large amount of my time being involved with the artistic community in Cardiff, including writing for the Young  Critics.
http://community.nationaltheatrewales.org/profiles/blogs/young-critics-review-children-of-mine-by-charlie-hammond
http://www.walesonline.co.uk/whats-on/theatre-news/review-its-family-affair-well-6140851
So what got you interested in the arts?
Just everyday culture really. Growing up my parents watching a lot of comedy, Red Dwarf, the Young Ones, that kind of seminal alternative comedy, and I absorbed a lot of that. And then the high school I attended had very good arts facilities and that really started my interest in performing, and I did a lot of singing in chamber choirs and a barbershop choir, theatre productions and musicals. I also always felt that the arts was actually something I always found challenging, where as more traditionally academic subjects like mathematics and science came a little bit easier to me.

Thanks Charlie, can you tell us about the work your company is taking to this Edinburgh Festival Fringe?
So, our show Clonely is a sci-fi adventure in existential crisis, a blend of bulls**t arthouse theatre with nonsense games and DIY props.
Our company, Me Me Me Theatre, strive to poke fun at the avant-garde, science fiction cinema, the audience, and crucially, ourselves. It’s a mixture of theatre, sketch comedy and audience interaction that blends together into a surreal and anarchic hour long show about space and being a clone.

Me Me Me is made up of myself, and writer-performer Jasmine Chatfield, who recently won a Northern Writers Award 2017, and produces and excellent art event in Manchester called FLIM NITE. We started working together this year, and have set out to make the kind of weird and funny work that we would like to see on stage. Closely runs Friday 4th to Sunday 27th August (Mondays off):, Laughing Horse Free Fringe at The Mockingbird, 2.45 (1 hr).
https://tickets.edfringe.com/whats-on/clonely
The festival features a huge range of productions and there is great deal of competition for audiences, why should audiences come and see your production?
To support the free fringe and new work. But if you are interested in weird comedy, with sci-fi elements which doesn’t take itself too seriously then you should watch our show. We are very proud of it, and really feel that it captures the best of free fringe. I mean and also the Scotsman gave us 4 stars, which we were pretty chuffed about, and called us ‘gifted physical comedians’, so there’s that as well!

What would you recommend seeing from this years festival?
Butt Kapinski’s film-noir show is one of the best pieces of clown which really plays into its concept and gets the audience on board. I love Red Bastard, and his new show Come Lie with Me is a very interesting and electric dissection of the rules of love. Jordan Brooke’s Body of Work is a fantastic show; it’s just transferred to the Pleasance Courtyard and is a masterpiece in audience manipulation. But that’s just the few I’ve been able to see.

What do the artists and companies do when they aren’t performing?
Anything to pay the bills! It differs from person to person. Most artists hold down a couple of days a week doing a steady job, some work full-time and balance creative opportunities on top of that. I am very fortunate as I currently work pretty much full-time as a performer, but I also run workshops and do various little jobs to make extra cash. But when I say full time a lot of that time is spent making work, which tends to be a labour of love.
And finally what’s the best Fringe show you’ve ever seen?
Couldn’t pin it down to one. You assign so much weight to a type of show you’ve seen for the first time. John-Luke Robert’s work has always been memorable for me, he was my first introduction into a very different type of comedy and show. The Alternative Comedy Memorial Society has always been one of my favourite shows to visit to see something totally different. I remember rating NTW ‘The Radicalisation of Bradley manning’ as a powerful and mesmerising performance. But then it might have to be A Young Man Dressed as a Gorilla Dressed as an Old Man Sits in a Rocking Chair for 56 Minutes and Then Leaves, which is exactly what is says on the tin as is for one-night only, and represents the fringe perfectly.

Literature

Irlen awareness at the Welsh Assembly and Houses of Parliament

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Irlen Ambassador Jennifer Owen, 27 from Merthyr Tydfil has taken her campaign to get Irlen Syndrome recognised in schools to a national level. Jennifer was invited to hold a Irlen Awareness’ event in Parliament after her successful event last year in the Welsh Assembly. Jennifer gives a personal response below to her advocacy activities.

Photo Credit by Up Coming

I had a meeting with my A.M. Dawn Bowden and my M.P. Gerald Jones, Dawn suggested ” We could hold an awareness day at The Welsh Assembly”  I was totally shock and excited about taking my campaign called the ‘Voice for people with Irlen Syndrome’ with my aim of those living with Irlen syndrome beckcoming recognised by the NHS and in schools.
I didn’t expect my event to so be successful, Hannah and I gave our speeches about living with Irlen Syndrome and the issues we  face on daily basis.

It was an amazing experience to hold an event at The Welsh Assembly and for Dawn to take forward Irlen Syndrome and the associated issues to. The Welsh Assembly holds a special place in my heart because it was the start of our campaign moving  forward and that the politicians started listening to us.

Jennifer and Hannah meet Gerald Jones M.P.

Photo credit Up & Coming

Jennifer was then invited to hold a Irlen Awareness’ event in Parliament after her successful event last year in the Welsh Assembly. On Tuesday 28 March she headed up a group of Irlen representatives and supporters for the event which was hosted by Gerald Jones MP for Merthyr and Rhymney.
Hanna Miller, Irlen campaigner said:
‘It was great opportunity to go to Westminster as Irlen ambassador to campaign for the condition due to no funding for the lenses and lack of awareness in schools to have Irlen screeners in every school.’
The event started with a warm welcome from Gerald Jones MP followed by speeches from Jennifer and Hannah Miller talking about their experiences with Irlen syndrome. After that there was a discussion about the issues people with the condition are facing on daily basis – like being refused coloured paper. MP’s Stephen Doughty (Penarth and South Cardiff), Carolyn Harris (Swansea) and Chris Elmore (Ogmore) were among the politicians who came to hear the views and engaged in debate.
Jennifer said of the day:
‘Getting our voices heard in Parliament is remarkable and one that will never be forgotten because of how important the condition is. It was so important to able to educating the people in power about the way they are treating people with Irlen syndrome – as at the moment it is so wrong! I am so gratefully to my own MP Gerald Jones for hosting this event and to other M.P.’s like Stephan Doughty for being interested in learning about Irlen Syndrome.”
The event helped to raise awareness of Irlen syndrome and to educate people about the implications it can have on a person’s whole life. The campaigners hope that Irlen will be officially recognised, especially in schools where it can have a huge impact on the learning outcomes for young people.

What is Irlen Syndrome?


Jennifer is a member of the Up and Coming project based in Merthyr Tydfil. Some of the information in Jennifer’s article first appeared on the  website below.
http://www.upandcomingsmt.org/about-the-project/