As we congregate outside Butetown History and Arts Centre, our identity stripped back to little more than the number in our hand, Fio invite us to consider what life might be like if we were forced to leave everything we know and love behind in order to escape war and violence.
Civil war has broken out in the West. People are dying at the hands of the dictatorship and escape is the only option. The East can provide opportunities for some, but the fast track is only available to those with the right papers and the desired skills and experience. With our social media and newspapers plastered with news and images of mass migration to Europe, it is this reversal of roles which makes Swarm particularly interesting, directly provoking the audience to consider ‘What happens if this happened to us?’
“You’ve got a swarmof people coming across the Mediterranean, seeking a better life” David Cameron, July 2015
A defining feature of the media narrative surrounding immigration has undoubtedly been that of the dehumanisation of migrants. Swarm captures this brilliantly through Cara Jayne Readle’s portrayal of a Media Representative, reporting on the ongoing tragedy in the war struck west for the no doubt passive consumption of those back home.
As we are herded into the overcrowded transit centre where we wait to be processed, tensions run high amongst overstretched medical staff. Natalie Edward-Yesufu’s heart-breaking performance of a young nurse as she struggles with her feelings of hopelessness to change the devastating tragedy around her and the possibility of hope and a new life in the East.
As we navigate our way through the building certain aspects of the set create a particular degree of poignancy; a section of Ruth Stringer’s #2868 boats installation, a paper boat to represent the life of every Syrian refugee drowned or missing attempting to cross the Mediterranean so far in 2016; children’s colourings created by members of the community cast as part of the performance created on pieces of paper bearing statistics of the unbelievable scale of death and devastation that the East has faced; screens with images of the horrifying conditions migrants face and the overplay of refugee voices all add to this already captivating narrative which examines how people in these situations are forced to act and interact with the circumstances placed upon them.
This timely and poignant site-specific performance reminds us, if we really needed reminding, that this is a human crisis.
Cast: Mathew David, Christina Dembenezi, Natalie Edward-Yesufu, Natalie Paisey, Cara Jayne Readle Director: Abdul Shayek Assistant Director: Chantal Erraoui Producer: Alan Humphreys Designer: Lizzie French Stage Manager: Katie Bingham Filmaker: Kym Epton Community Cast: Jasmine Camilleri, Sahara Camilleri, Tia Camilleri, Josie Harding, Mira Lukawiecka, Stefan Lukawiecki, Donna Males, Geraint Stewart-Davies, Ananya Upadhyaya, Ayushi Upadhyaya, Akram Yasseen, Amani Yasseen.
Director James Williams was placed, alongside the producers at Arts Active Wales, with the admirable but ultimately unenviable task of threading together a week’s worth of workshops, carried out by young people who had never before met, together into a show worthy of the New Theatre.
Despite the insularity that is always a potential threat to any of these types of projects, they always expand outside their form – making it a real shame this performance, perhaps weighed down by the somewhat awkward virtue of its name, wasn’t a tad more well marketed. What the Sherman NT Connections festival did so well with interpreting set theatre pieces this project did for new material.
There were, of course, lots of layers of interweaving. The more complex ideas with the weaker ones, the reasonably large age gap of performers aged 14 – 25, and of course the disciplines of circus, design, dance, art, music and the spoken word. The poetry, overseen by Literature Wales was one of the highlights, although a few themes might’ve meandered, and there were moments where politics seemed a little indelicately transposed onto some performers. Having sat in on the workshop, any chinks in the material were minute distractions against the obvious double edged sword of the time frame, and the integration of every workshopped piece into the whole.
The ensemble for ‘Performance’ 2016
Community Music Wales where also very active in the show but where better executed and more memorable when used as a backbone for the other artforms. The Art and Design elements were the most sporadically used but well done; a Dali like background to an intense, exhaustive dance piece the most effective example. Impressive puppetry was also used, although the flashy teddy bear, turned Gothic by the lighting, would best be appreciated of those who, unlike this critic, have not been subjected to the ‘wonders’ of FNAF by younger family. No Fit State’s Circus performances showed the two most obvious flavours, a humorous but slight juggling gag to trapeze, but there will be no world in which the mastery of the latter doesn’t inspire some kind of awe.
All the elements worked well together, but Earthfall Dance had a monopoly on the night. Contemporary dance is one of those things all too easy to get wrong, viewed by the general public with cynicism, and even sometimes within the arts with a gentle wryness. In this show, it was stunning, performed by the trained dancers, with natural acting talent alongside passionate energy. It whipped up the most natural commentary and narrative of the night whilst seeming absolutely effortless. As always, simplicity was king and queen alike. Even though others without dance experience were involved, they too seemed totally natural. Whether swift and pulsating or tender and subdued, it was perfectly executed.
Overall, the pieces which were meant to form more of a cohesive story than a thematic connection were too brilliant not to hinder the more standalone pieces which would otherwise be fine if unengaging but it rather accurately depicted the current arts scene, whilst showing plenty of scope for new forms of talent. The difficulty in reviewing this was that any flaws are part of its form and therefore, any commentary can’t seem too constructive, but trying to bring young talent out of its usual spheres and into the general stage is an admirable thing. It was never going to be perfect or show any calculated insight, but it was certainly vibrant and showed plenty of the organic kind. Very much worth keeping an eye out for next year, but keeping it in context is essential for the ride.
Director: James Williams
Producer: Arts active
Assistant producers/collaborators: Literature Wales, No Fit State, Earthfall Dance, Community Music Wales, Criw Celf
Running time: 1 hr 20 mins
Full of fun and fantasy, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang needs no introduction, rating as it does high among the icons of musical theatre. Full credit must be accorded to this production by West Yorkshire Playhouse both for the high standard of its performers and for coping with what must be incredibly difficult logistics in staging Chitty on tour, involving as it does the transporting of some large and unwieldy objects. I will say no more on this subject for fear of giving the game away to audiences who are seeing the musical for the first time.
Based on the 1968 film adapted for the stage by Jeremy Sams, despite differences between making a film and staging a musical, and the moving forward of the era in which it is set, under the direction of James Brining this Chitty has an aura of timelessness about it which spans the generations. Pure nonsense, but totally believable. At its heart is the boy meets girl romance of lonely widower Caractacus Potts, an inventor of strange machines who is struggling to bring up two young children on his own, and the delectable Truly Scrumptious. Add to the melée an aged and slightly doolally grandfather, a wicked Baron and Baroness, a spine-chilling Childcatcher and a magic car and the result is as sweet as a dolly mixture.
Lee Mead is a mop-headed Caractacus, seemingly bewildered by life but full of spunk and determination. The lyrics by the Sherman brothers are well-known, and Mead is great in the foot-tapping fun numbers such as Chitty Chitty Bang Bang which gives its name to the title, bringing an unexpected lump to the throat with Hushabye Mountain, which has the added poignancy of the vision of his late wife appearing to him as he sings.
Andy Hockley’s Grandpa, bushy-bearded and bandy-legged, is a delight, the Welsh actor being accorded a special round of applause on opening night in Cardiff. Hockley manages well the balancing act of adhering to the original character created by writer Roald Dahl, based on a story by James Bond Creator Ian Fleming, yet adding his own twist.
Carrie Hope Fletcher’s Truly Scrumptious eschews the frill and flounces of the film and opts instead for more modern attire such as jodhpur like trousers which have the added advantage of showing off her shapely form. You can’t fail to be charmed by this Truly. Hope Fletcher brings a warmth to the role which reveals an understanding of the importance of family life which is one of the underlying themes. Her singing is impeccable; outstanding in her solo Lovely Lonely Man reinstated in Act II after being eliminated from earlier productions of the stage show, melodic and perfectly balanced in the songs she sings with Caractacus and the Potts children.
That accomplished actress Claire Sweeney makes a comical and high-kicking Baroness Bomburst opposite Shaun Williamson’s perfectly petulant Baron. More comic talent in that pair of would-be villains Boris and Goran, played respectively by Sam Harrison and Scott Paige. Matt Gillett’s Childcatcher is sinister and suitably spine shivering, while Bill Coggins gives a movingly compassionate performance as the concerned Toymaker.
It’s not only the wonderful music and lyrics that make this show what it is, but the choreography. Stephen Mear’s choreography is a star in its own right throughout, whether it be the foot tapping intricacies of Me Ol’ Bamboo in the fairground scene or the exotic rhythms of the Bombie Samba in which Sweeney’s take is a master piece of send-up on its own. Skilful video effects and animation work in tandem with an atmospheric yet simple staging which changes or revolves seamlessly. As for the music – under the baton of musical director and keyboard player Andrew Hilton it well deserves the applause it receives.
So what of Chitty herself? Let’s not spoil the surprise. Let’s just say you won’t be disappointed.
Runs until 21st August 2016
Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, Wales Millennium Centre
Writer: Ian Fleming
Music & Lyrics: Richard M.Sherman and Robert B.Sherman
Director: James Brining
Reviewer: Barbara Michaels
En-route for the Edinburgh Festival 2016 – Exciting New Production from the Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama
.Fasten your safety belt and prepared to be gripped by high drama in Tom Hampson’s exciting debut play Two and One More, which opens on August 21st at Venue 13 at the Edinburgh Fringe and runs until August 27th. Members of What Might Have Been Theatre are producing and performing in the play at the venue, which is run by the college and has been providing a platform for performers and audiences to explore, create and experience some remarkable drama over the past twenty years.
Viewed at the RWCMD’s Bute Theatre during the run-up to the Fringe, Hampson’s play is set in London during the Blitz. A boy breaks into a London house and is discovered by the man living there alone. Or is he alone? What lies in the room next door? With young sector James Robert Rutherford as the young burglar, this play is guaranteed to have you on the edge of your seat.
The high standard of the productions staged at Venue 13 has seen audiences returning year after year – a critic writing in The Stage described it thus: “If there was an award for the best run Fringe venue, then this would be it.”
15 minutes. Not 2 hours and an interval. Not 1 hour straight through. 15 minutes is all it takes to pound you with intense and thought provoking truth.
Pigs and Dogs by the brilliant writer Caryl Churchil and directed by Dominic Cooke speaks about homosexuality in Africa and across the world and what this really means. Taking influence from the Anti-homosexuality act in 2014 in Uganda, the play takes quotes and facts from around Africa and other parts of the World about tribes and groups of people that have historically delved into traditions that would be labelled as ‘homosexuality’ despite the discrimination in society and law.
Simply the production only has 3 actors on stage who take sentences of the piece one after the other and bring across characters and their quotations. The performers do this extremely well and are quick and prompt, bouncing off one another. The characters and accents change from African, to American, to British and so on. The performers are brilliant at this and despite one actor being Caucasian, there is no sense of parody or comedy in his African characters. We forget that they are actors on stage, just engaged in the intense facts and shock at the naivety and cruelty of these discriminatory people. We even feel guilt and disgust at our own history and the laws which we once had in place against others.
15 minutes is all it takes to bring emotion, fact and truth to an audience. To be able to do that, is a total triumph and extremely worth watching.
From the get go, I was excited. I’ve always liked Peter Pan and Tinkerbell, even though I tucked it away and kept it as something for myself to watch quietly on home alone days. This was strikingly different to that, and a million times more fun!
The entire thing was a wholeheartedly adorable. The whole production was truly genuine, full of love and sparks of magic all which light up the audience. Particularly the costumes. Each had a childlike charm to them, and were equally beautiful, hopefully making them more valued and appreciated by the younger people of the audience.
The actors were phenomenal. I could see the dedication within each actor and how seriously they took what they were doing. I could tell how much they wanted every member of the audience – children and young people and adults alike – to fully enjoy themselves. I could see the hard work and commitment under the surface of a perfect performance all paying off.
The actors themselves (and I hope beyond hope that I’ve got their names right from where I’ve found them, if not, please forgive me) Emily March, (who plays Peter Pan), Meg Jones, (who plays Tinkerbell), and Cadi Mullane (who plays Wendy) were all honestly fantastic in their roles. Their confidence and charm were all mesmerising.
I always have a weakness for watching characters I’m not supposed to during talking scenes, and this production was no exception. Each person I watched was fully diligent to their role, always focused and dedicated to an enthralling performance.
To be particular, firstly, I think Emily March’s performance as Peter Pan was stunning. The confidence and the sheer brilliance stemming from her words and flowing through to the audience was quite the experience. The lines were delivered with the loveable boyish charm Peter Pan has coupled with clarity. I struggle to convey my wholehearted astonishment I felt. It was incredible. Similarly, both Meg Jones (Tinkerbell) and Cadi Mullane (Wendy) provoked the same emotion. Meg Jones’ performance fluctuating between speaking to the audience or speaking in ‘bells’ was well done and enjoyable. Her acting altogether was delightful. Lastly, Cadi Mullane’s acting was just as exquisite and fun, full of love and joy.
One thing that was truly incredible was the singing. All of it was honestly dazzling. Coupled with dancing which was amazing by itself and true talent, I was left very, very impressed. The day was a fun day out, and something I’d recommend to families and friends alike if today hadn’t been the last showings. If it ever returns, I will hope for the chance to see it.
All in all, I give it four stars, as it was a truly wonderful production which I wholeheartedly enjoyed and would gladly see again.
Our project coordinator recently spoke to Theatre Designer Bethany Seddon on her training at the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama, Youth Theatre at the Sherman Theatre , recent production designs for Cardiff Open Air Theatre Festival and career to date.
Bethany (centre) working on the recent Cardiff Open Air Theatre Festival
Hi Bethany, You have currently designed a range of productions for Everyman Cardiff Summer Festival You must be busy! Is it possible to give our readers some background information on yourself?
Of course! Well I was born in Newport, South Wales, and as a child and well into my teenage years I was fascinated with theatre and, in particular, acting! I took part in as many productions as possible with school, at the age of 13 I joined the Dolman Youth Theatre and at 16 joined the Sherman Youth Theatre, and both groups offered invaluable experience both on and off stage. As I was approaching the end of my A levels I had a huge crisis of confidence and decided acting wasn’t actually for me… so what was I to do? I took a year and did an art foundation which I loved but by the end of the course, scared of narrowing my options too much, I moved onto a Fine Art degree, which, unfortunately just wasn’t for me. By Christmas I knew I wasn’t enjoying Fine Art at all and I happened to be acting and designing a show with the company Inky Quill. I was so excited by the possibilities of design and part of me had always wanted to design for stage so this seemed like such a logical step for me to take. I did a quick google search, found out Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama did a Theatre Design course and applied straight away. A few weeks later I attended an open day and fell in love a little more, and few weeks later again and I had an interview and luckily, they accepted me onto the course. Three very hard years later, a little caffeinated and sleep deprived I was sent out into the world and, thankfully, I haven’t stopped working since. The course taught me such a wide range of skills that I work between designing for stage, to working in TV and film, and pick up bits of work in assisting and using skills for jobs in technical drawings, construction, painting, prop making and teaching/ creating workshops.
Between theatre and TV and film work, South Wales is a great place to be based. You have some wonderful companies that range in size and statue that are always looking for new designers to work with. Cardiff is bustling with a whole host of theatres and companies who are always creating new work and writing, which really is very exciting, both for work and just to go and immerse yourself in the creative world. The neighbouring cities around Cardiff are also bustling with creativity, so it doesn’t take much to find yourself working in Swansea, or Bridgend, or Bristol. The arts network is really incredibly small, but people are always on the lookout for a designer, or assistant so honestly it’s just being able to say yes to possibilities… without being taken advantage of, of course.
You frequently support workshop activity with members of the public, do you think this type of activity is important and why?
I believe it is incredibly important work, especially when you believe in what the company is creating. Working with Sherman Five at the Sherman Theatre, Cardiff and Mess up the Mess have both shown me how an individual can develop in such a short amount of time through workshop activities, and I have witnessed massive developments in individuals self confidence.
The workshops are all about allowing creative expression, however simple to start and encouraging a participant to let go of their inhabitations. From long term projects to one off days like creating monsters at the Wales Millennium Centre , it’s such a joy to see people from various backgrounds and age groups connect with a task through their creativity.
Are their any individuals or organisations that helped support you in developing your skills and knowledge?
Mr Phillip Mackenzie
Sherman Youth Theatre and the youth theatre director at the time Phillip Mackenzie were brilliant at helping me understand theatre wasn’t all about the text behind a proscenium arch. At the age of 16 I was allowed to explore different styles of theatre which I believe was just invaluable and the group I was working with were all so dedicated and focused on what we were creating, and we had so much fun working on our productions. I honestly look back and think about how lucky I was to be working with that group! I think I might be in a very different place if it wasn’t for the wonderful opportunities to act and travel I had with the Sherman. However my training and work ethic was greatly enhanced by Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama and the head of the BA Hons Design for Performance Mr Sean Crowley. I learnt so much in those 3 years and would not be doing as well as I am without the training and support of the alumni.
Mr Sean Crowley
When you aren’t involved in the arts or culture what do you like to do in your spare time?
Spare time?! After opening 4 shows in 4 weeks, and having very few days off this year I’m afraid I fail a little at answering this question!
I know I used to like to read and go to see theatre, but for me it’s been a while since I have done either! I normally crash when I get home, or continue working away till quite late, and try to see friends and my family when I can. Luckily most of my friends are in the arts so understand our varying schedules often conflict and the ones that aren’t in this little bubble are the most wonderful people to put up with me without getting too annoyed at long periods of silence!
Model Box ‘Into the Woods’ Cardiff Open Air Theatre Festival
Realised Set ‘Into the Woods’ Cardiff Open Air Theatre Festival
Model Box ‘Peter Pan’ Cardiff Open Air Theatre Festival
Model Box ‘Peter Pan’ Cardiff Open Air Theatre Festival
More examples of Bethany’s work can be found at her website http://bethanyseddon.com
Why is it that Transgender and LGBT movements are still considered taboo? We have had such horrors through history in regards to discriminating these persons, up to the Orlando shootings recently. Why are we still struggling to bring these stories to the forefront? We tell tales of every other type of person in the world but hardly ever of LGBT persons.
Enter Rotterdam – this play written by Jon Brittain looks at a lesbian couple and their troubles in acceptance – Alice has not come out to her parents with a real fear to do so and Fiona announces that she has always identified as a man and wishes to make the transition into Adrian. We see their relationship fall and the emotional struggles they face with this huge change. Comical interludes tend to be brought in by Adrian’s brother Josh and Alice’s co-worker Lelani who we realise also take on a substantial amount of emotion in this situation.
Rotterdam is an extremely clever play. It is filled with emotion and struggles, with us really feeling for the characters but is also hugely hilarious, being not afraid to take a comical spin on the rollercoaster, without being offensive and by taking a delicate and sympathetic approach on this realistic story.
I admit that I came away from the production in tears – all the performers did an amazing job to naturalistically and truthfully bring the pain, confused and uncertainty to the stage. It felt as if we really were involved in the story and always engaged. It brought ideas across that without being in the situation that you would not necessarily think would affect those who are. It questions whether changing gender makes you a different person and soon turns this around to show that it can physically but really the same person is there.
Rotterdam is an excellent production. Taking a very respectful approach to the story, it leaves you really thinking more about this situation that happens across the world. As the song says, ‘This could be Rotterdam or anywhere’.
The Folly Mixtures are a cabaret and burlesque troupe that are well known for their consistent and smooth performances using modern, remixed music, fire play and dirty comedy.
Tonight was of no exception. Listening to our compere between sections, the theme of America is picked upon satirically, with comparisons to us as Brits and our stereotypes. This is clever, at times improvised and makes us laugh at the irony of our own situation as well as the stereotypes of America.
With the performance, the different routines also pick upon stereotypes of America – the old 1950’s diner girls, baseball to even a poke at Donald Trump and the current election campaigns. We love all of these – bedazzled and glittered, the stereotypes are nothing but fun and gorgeous, high end and professional.
We are also introduced to our only male burlesque performer – Dave the Bear. While like the women, he is there to perform routines and for us to appreciate the human form, he is flirtatious with the male audience members, crude with his jokes but all of this is brilliant and comical.
My only issue with this performance is that Burlesque is known for its celebration of all body types – these woman have wonderful bodies, almost envious but very similar and lacking celebration of all women. I also find that the group performances get a little samey when solo performances would have been welcomed to showcase each performer and perhaps a little more comedy in these routines would have created a different dynamic.
Overall, the Folly Mixtures were beautiful, glamourous and skilled. A great night out none the less.
The London Wonderground is always a favourite place of mine each Summer. It is a very versatile place full of comedy, cabaret and new and old exciting acts.
As the name suggest, Sh*tfaced showtime is going to be fuelled by alcohol, theatre and comedy. We are unsure what the ‘showtime’ part is going to be but this adds to all the fun and essence of surprise through the night.
The premise of the show is for a group of classically trained musical theatre performers to put on a 1 hour version of a production [in this case, Pirates of Penzance] while one performer is ridiculously drunk. The audience are invited to participate when we believe that the performer is becoming sober and this is where our host intervenes to give ‘one more drink’ for which we eagerly chant.
Watching a person on stage becoming hilariously drunk, you would think that this would be uncomfortable. It is not. It is full of hilarity, as we watch her attempt to keep to the performance but get distracted and all the frivolities we associate with intoxication. We as the audience find this all very comical as outsiders but we can all relate to this state. Despite this, her singing and performance ability at times is very accomplished and is evident her talent despite bringing a lot of comedy with her distractions.
The other sober performers are also very talented and skilled and in their own right, bring a fantastic version of Pirates of Penzance. There are times where the performance goes off course due to our drunk performer and they do well to bring it back to the narrative or to go along with the diversion. Their trust and interaction with one another is genius and makes you feel safe that despite the uncertainty of what could appear on stage [or even off stage].
Sh*tfaced Showtime is genius. To be brave enough to go ahead with such a concept is admirable and executed with sheer perfection and brilliant talent.
Creating opportunities for a diverse range of people to experience and respond to sport, arts, culture and live events. / Lleisiau amrywiol o Gymru yn ymateb i'r celfyddydau a digwyddiadau byw
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