Category Archives: Theatre

Review Can I Start Again Please? Battersea Arts Centre by Hannah Goslin

June 11, 2016 Hannah Goslin Leave a comment

Photo credits, Matthew Andrews

(3 / 5)

Language is the common denominator of all cultures. It’s how we communicate. How we progress. It’s a vital part of being safe and how we control our lives.

Can I Start Again Please ? Is a beautiful and simple piece of theatre with an abundance of subtext. It looks at language and how it is used and it’s restrictions. It also looks at elements of childhood trauma and abuse and how language is stunted by these events.

Two performers sat in huge dresses (Sue MacLaine and Nadia Nadarajah) our focus only on their face and their hands with a simple set of a few books by each of them, 3 bells and a large never ending sheet of paper across their laps.

At times the minimalism of such a small set and performance in such a large area creates a lack of intimacy. We are at times meant to feel as if we are being addressed but in a large area, it gives confusion as to whether we really are or whether this is directed to the other performer. Or was this the intention?

The performers show only two of the many ways we communicate – British Sign Language and vocally. The beauty of sign language is something I’ve never before taken the time to appreciate – the fluidity of the movement and the nature of gestures reminded me of a dance – a movement of language. If taken into a different context, there are many similarities in this language to what is achieved by physical theatre. The story or the expression is given through movement and at time abstract gestures rather than a simplistic mime; conveying emotion and meaning to anyone and everyone.

Touching upon childhood trauma – the combination of both these ideas into one production is very clever. The performers have taken from personal history which gives a personable and relatable performance. How we are given freedom of speech yet we can be threatened not to speak, be scared to or even lose the ability to through traumatic events, showing the growing limitations language has culturally.

Video credits, Zoe Manders

This minimalistic but contextually full performance is 60 minutes of intensity; highlighting the pain and structure of language especially in difficult situations as well as how culturally it has changed.

I left with much food for thought and a new appreciation of language.

http://www.suemaclaine.com/can-i-start-again-please/

Theatre

Review Sea Life The Hope Theatre, by Hannah Goslin

June 3, 2016 Hannah Goslin Leave a comment

(5 / 5)

London is well known for its Theatre Pubs. A wonderful concept, in the heart of boroughs of the city, there are little spaces where stories unfold, and below in the bar, people meet from all walks of life.

Invited to The Hope Theatre, this small and punky pub collates theatre goers and the locals in one amazing area. Heading upstairs, there is an instant change. A hustle and bustle of conversations drift away and the sound of sea gulls and shanties fill the small room. A strong smell of fish and chips fills the room as we sit like sardines next to one another in a dilapidated seaside bar. A green and blue tint on the stage, the whole room is painted and kitted out to involve you in the scene that begins to unfold.

The story sees 3 dysfunctional siblings after a tragic past and an even more tragic present. The play aims to look a life and death and does this with no fear of the audience sensitivity – just how theatre should be. The cliff is slowly breaking away with natural erosion, and the small towns past in the form of its grave yard is in danger of falling into the waters below and being lost forever. Enlisted to help, the brothers of this trio make the coffins and the other digs up the bodies – all three constructing silly and unordinary funerals in their never used bar.

The writing of this play is fantastic – it is full of emotion but also just as full with comedy. When you are told that this is a play about life and death, perhaps your mind immediately thinks it will be a negative emotional roller-coaster; not for the faint hearted. And it is, and it isn’t. We feel for the characters in their time of need, their frustration but also laugh at their oddball characters, their weird and unusual relationships and their even more bizarre situation.

To have such a mountain of content playing in such a small area is fantastic. The actors pin point their different characters so well. There’s a hint of a League of Gentleman to the production where it is funny but also so strange that you feel a little anxious as to whether something terrifying made suddenly be thrown in. And without giving anything away, it does just that. Finding yourself laughing but also being slightly shocked is a funny feeling but a wonderful one and replicating that with over 30 people is a triumph.

Sea Life must be one of my favourite shows so far in 2016. It appeals to everyone and is extremely British in its comical storyline and production. As a critic, perhaps you should find minor faults, but I cannot say there is a fault with this play. It has everything you need and that just a bit more.

http://www.thehopetheatre.com/productions/sea-life/

Theatre

Review Before I Leave National Theatre Wales

June 3, 2016 admin Leave a comment

(4 / 5)

National Theatre Wales soar as their revere for a nation of unified pride reigns in a more increasingly inclusive Welsh theatre, at the Sherman Theatre.

From first glance Before I Leave is a story of Alzheimer’s – inevitably sad and scattered with a respectably predictable style of humour. However, with a wonderfully assured cast, a truthful direction, and a truly vibrant script, a brewing passion of a profound Welsh musicality triumphs! Rocky’s war-cry of ‘Why can’t we give love one more chance?’ encompasses this performance for me. We all can appreciate the desperate actions of a character put ‘Under Pressure’.

To quote playwright Patrick Jones “This play is a testament to the healing power of song” From the perspective of, debatably, the youngest person in the audience on Tuesday night, regardless of my cultural experience – and knowledge of The Jam or Neil Diamond – I (like the entire audience) can acknowledge that music has an ability, if somewhat exploited in this piece, to evoke our human longing for nostalgia, understanding, belonging and escape. The Before I Leave chorus and choir added a beauty, in its sentiment, to a pop-rock enthused performance.

Director Mathew Dunster champions empathetic and honest portrayals, through an admiration for ‘the people’. From Desmond Barrit’s unapologetic portrayal of an ex-policeman embodying a life of continuous conflict. Celia Hewitt’s sorrowful, and enlightening, Isabelle, and Dafydd Hywel’s exulted grit in Rocky – who illuminates the truth behind a too well-known Welsh figure. But, Martin Marquez’s Joe – a slowly fading rocker, unsure of what he’s raging at anymore – makes for a seemingly effortless and encompassing performance, and perhaps, as a result, the most under-rated of the evening.

Dunster’s direction – of meandering crossovers and the adopting of minimalistic solutions – highlights a simplicity that poignantly reflects a nation of loss. This constant interchanging of time, characters and setting reinforces the spirit of a community continuing to live. And, the audience, intended or not, are coaxed to ‘power through’ the surges, and droughts, of a zealous intensity.

Jones’ sincere, and deeply-rooted play is confirmed in the understanding of its disease. Abrupt, and ambling, scenes are a mere portal into the scattered objectives of a chaotic (real) life.

Anna Fleischle recreates all too familiar settings. Chairs striking – in their primary colours – plonked, to animate waning lives, on the uninspiring mesh of carpet. Seamlessly, a reflection of the struggle to express vividity in an increasingly taxed and drained Welsh society, as well as those plagued by Alzheimer’s, can be discovered in a tragically governmental building – a Merthyr library. Straker’s poignant projections of our green valley, its ever-present brutality, and our glorious dead, succeed in capturing the tensions of an ‘evolving’ Wales.

Before I Leave is painstakingly perceptive – yet the light never fails to pierce through its shadows. National Theatre Wales commanded the audience to their feet and left them humming.

Theatre
Before I Leave
Venue: Sherman Theatre
Dates: 27 May – 11 June, PN 31st May
Director: Matthew Dunster
Written by: Patrick Jones
Design: Anna Fleischle
Technical: Heddwyn Davies/Andy Evans (Sound), Dyfan Jones (Music), Angharad Matthews (Costume), Dick Straker (Video designer), Joe Fletcher (Lighting)
Cast includes: Desmond Barrit (Evan), Olwen Rees (Isabelle), Dafydd Hywel (Rocky), Llinos Daniel (Gemma), Martin Marquez (Joe), Melanie Walters (Dyanne) and Oliver Wood (Scott)
Running time: 2hrs 30min

Film & TV, Theatre

Review Return of The Grumpy Old Women- Fifty Shades Of Beige, St Davids Hall by James Briggs

June 3, 2016 James Briggs Leave a comment

(5 / 5)

Returning after their sell-out Spring 2015 tour the Grumpy Old Women are back to share their Grumpy tales and tips with the nation. Award-winning comedian and original star of Grumpy Old Women Jenny Éclair is accompanied by fellow recruits Susie Blake (star of Mrs Brown’s Boys) and Kate Robbins (Singer and star of Casualty). Before I go on with the review, however, I must mention I cannot go into too much detail as to the tales told with my review because as Jenny Éclair said “What goes on in Grumpy club stays in Grumpy club”.

Landing at St David’s Hall in their shed from outer space the grumpy old women, spacewalk onto the stage complete with space helmets and uniforms to a momentous applause from the audience, unsurprisingly the audience was mainly made up of women, with just a few men dotted about the auditorium. Given that I was possibly one of the youngest in the audience and being male I still felt as though I was able to relate to the topics they discussed – mind you having a Mum the same age as the Grumpy Old Women did help!
The Grumpy Old Women talked about a wide range of subjects that any person was able to relate to including a guide to nagging, how to get a roof rack put on a car without your husband moaning, dancing at weddings and pole dancing. Props littered the garden set and were used to brilliant effect during the show and even included a gigantic pair of pants and a BBQ.
The show is very clever in that it can be talking about a topic and then the lighting will change and you are plunged into a mini sketch. The sketches highlight the brilliant acting skills of all the Grumpy Old Women. The amazingly funny script really worked well for the stars and left the audience in stitches and in my case tears streaming down my face. I really like the fact that all of the comedy was good clean fun with very little use of bad language. When the language was used however it was delivered with fantastic comic timing.
The second half of the show sees them return to the James Bond theme which sparked a debate into why there has not yet been a female Bond. With the current news of Daniel Craig’s decision not to carry on playing Bond there is no better time than now to consider the possibilities of a female actress playing Bond and the three Grumpy women are obviously showcasing their talents to play Jane Bond.
For me there were two stand out moments in the show that were utterly hilarious, the first of these was when team Grumpy took part in ‘Grumpy Come Dancing’ based on the hit BBC show which had the audience in hysterics especially with Susie Blake’s pole dancing performance. The second stand out moment for me was the posh version of The Jeremy Kyle show, the writing was amazing and Kate Robbins impersonation of Jeremy Kyle was brilliant and even mimicked the way he lies on the step and goes up close to the faces of the people on the show. The content of the Jeremy Kyle sketch is also fantastically funny due to it being based around a mother complaining ‘My son will not practice the cello’.
At the end of the evening the audience gave a well-deserved standing ovation. Anyone who watches this show is guaranteed to have a fabulous night and will most definitely be leaving with an aching jaw from laughing so much. This really is a must see show that should not be missed and is most definitely the best night out I have had in a long while.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yQvJynv71Es
Return of The Grumpy Old Women- Fifty Shades Of Beige is currently on a UK wide tour and all of the dates are available via this link- http://www.grumpyoldwomenlive.com/

Theatre

Review Before I Leave NTW by Gemma Treharne-Foose

June 3, 2016 Gemma Treharne Foose Leave a comment

(3 / 5)

It’s taken me a while to process what I saw on Tuesday night at the Sherman Theatre, Cardiff. National Theatre Wales seemed to create a sensory experience before even setting foot in the theatre space. As we settled in our seats, the lady next to me commented how much the set looked just like a nursing home – I was sure the heat of the auditorium and (I thought) faintest smell of disinfectant were part and parcel of the show – or was I imagining it? It seems I’d misjudged the show and its assumed setting before it even began.

The play won over the audience from the get-go as the characters emerge and we begin to see small vignettes and glimpses into their lives. These scenes cross over, interrupt one another and interface with their communal experience of singing in a choir. The set, beautifully designed by Anna Fleischle and her team, contextualises the rich landscape and history of the community where it is set on five digital windows, creating a vivid backdrop for the action on stage. This staging helps build up momentum and keep the play pacey and light, full of visual morsels and edgy, familiar riffs and melodies. The songs had a visible, moving effect on the audience as the connections between the songs and the choir members were played out. We see how the tangled personal lives of our loved ones are at odds with bureaucratic ‘local service providers’ and how at odds we are as a system to provide well-meaning person-centred care and support. There is one poignant moment where ex-police officer ‘Evan’ struggles to comprehend why a social worker is giving him a ‘needs assessment’ using an iPad: ”In my day, we had a pencil and a pad’, he muses while the social worker retorts: “Yes but I can see a whole street in New York LIVE if I want to…”. “Why…?” Evan says, completely exasperated by the whole thing. In that precise moment, Evan becomes our Dad, our Uncle, our Granddad…and probably us in the future, too.

Miner ‘Rocky’ is trapped in his past as an ex-picketing Collier and there is an on-going clash as Evan and Rocky dredge up previous battles fought during the Miners’ strike. Throughout the play we see dear Evan crumble as his daughter Gemma facilitates his confusion and takes advantage of his finances, causing him to lose his home and his grip on his own life and independence. We’re introduced to ex-punk Joe and his wife Dyanne who is doing her best to cope with Joe’s diagnosis of early onset Alzheimers. The first half, culminating in a rousing rendition of ‘Hurt’ by Nine Inch Nails/Johnny Cash, was tender and bittersweet.

The second half delves more in to the personal struggles of the characters as their meeting hub, the local library, is earmarked for closure as part of austerity measures (“Tory bastards!” Rocky spits out….and his frustrations with Tory Britain in the 80s seem as relevant as ever). As Joe struggles to comprehend and find words to air his frustrations, the couple clash causing Joe to lash out – there is a powerful scene between them as Joe becomes frightened and agitated and the police are called. Meanwhile, ex-librarian and Opera singer Marjorie is losing her grip on her orderly lifestyle and not even post-it notes can help her anymore. Will she be able to find her voice again?

In the second half, the pace of the play seemed to lose the hold for me slightly and lacked the initial punch of the first half. At times, the play reminded me of Jonathan Larson’s ‘Rent’ and seemed awkward in places as the scenes became longer. Rocky’s character was troubling for me. Jones clearly has a fondness for the Valleys and a clear message about their demise and future challenges. But the play does teeter very close to the edge of romanticism and sentimentality for a time when ‘everyone stood up for their rights’ and our communities were OK then. I find it awkward when the stereotype of the ‘wistful, mournful miner’ finds his way in to so many plays depicting Welsh/Valleys life (and this is coming from the Granddaughter of a Rhondda miner). There was something not quite right about the face-off between Rocky and the ‘Hoody’ who betrayed him.

That being said, the eventual coming together of Evan and Rocky was touching. They are after all, two sides of the same coin; both insecure, frightened and haunted by their past. Gemma’s treatment of her sweet Father Evan highlights the ugly side of all of us; too lacking in time, too impatient and to wrapped up in our own lives to care about the stuff that really matters. There is nothing like dementia or Alzheimer’s to drive this reality home. We see that it is all-encompassing and full of conflict for all who are touched by it. But it is a leveller, too. And we are reminded that living well is just as important as managing the condition. Exasperated by the choir’s experience at the ‘Britain’s Got Talent’ audition in Cardiff, mild-mannered Marge pipes up: “We are not SUFFERING from Alzheimer’s, we are living with it!”

The choir remind us that a diagnosis of Alzheimer’s does not mean that they ‘become’ their illness. There are shadows and small reminders that they are still there, if we care to look for them. In Isabelle’s tapping (as an ex-secretary), Ex-punk Joe not conforming when his wife wants him to get ready for an appointment: ‘Naughty boy!’ he shouts. This is what he was…and perhaps still is: a rebel at heart. We see it in the resilience and strength of character of Evan, despite being hemmed in and pressured to move in to a care home. This play is all of us. We are all Evan and Rocky and Gemma and the patronising stand-in choir director. Patrick Jones reminds us that even when the soul of a community is shut-down, threatened and it seems that all hope is lost, we are strongest when we find our community – wherever or whatever that community means to you.

Art, Literature, Museums & heritage, Theatre

Digwyddiadau ar stondin Amgueddfa Cymru, Eisteddfod yr Urdd Fflint 2016/Activities on Amgueddfa Cymru-National Museum Wales’s stall, Urdd Eisteddfod 2016

June 1, 2016 Guy O'Donnell Leave a comment

Menter gymdeithasol wedi’i leoli yn Ne Cymru yw Dyma’ch Cyfle, yn gweithio tuag at greu cyfleoedd i amrywiaeth o bobl sydd am brofi ac ymateb i chwaraeon, celfyddyd, diwylliant a digwyddiadau byw

Mae Dyma’ch Cyfle’n arddangos gweithgaredd ar wefan cylchgrawn ar-lein getthechance.wales/
Mae’r wefan yn cynnwys gweithgreddau gweithdy, adolygiadau, erthyglau golygyddol a llawer mwy
Mae’r wefan yn blatfform i’n haelodau i rannu, trafod a gwerthuso eu hymatebion personol gyda’u rhwydweithiau a’r byd ben baladr
Dyma’ch Cyfle yw’r gymdeithas sy’n cynrychioli aelodau Beirniaid Ifanc Cymru, Beirniaid Cymunedol Cymru a 3ydd Act

Digwyddiadau ar stondin Amgueddfa Cymru, Eisteddfod yr Urdd Fflint 2016
Dydd Mercher, 1 Mehefin 11:00 – Gweithdy Beirniadu gydag Aneirin Karadog
Dydd Iau, 2 Mehefin 10:30, 12:00, 14:00, 15:00 – Gweithdai Beirniadu Dyma’ch Cyfle

Get The Chance is a social enterprise based in South Wales, working to create opportunities for a diverse range of people to experience and respond to sport, arts, culture and live events

Get The Chance uses its online magazine website getthechance.wales/ to showcase its activity
The website content will feature workshop activity and outcomes, reviews, editorial features and much more
Our website is a platform for our members to share, discuss and evaluate their personal responses with their networks and the wider world
Get the Chance is the host organisation for members of Young Critics Wales, Community Critics Wales and 3rd Act Critics

Activities on Amgueddfa Cymru-National Museum Wales’s stall, Urdd Eisteddfod 2016
Wednesday, 1 June 11:00 – Critic Workshop with Aneirin Karadog (Welsh language)
Thursday, 2 June 10:30, 12:00, 14:00, 15:00 – Get a Chance Critic Workshops (Bilingual)

Theatre

Review Bird Sherman Cymru by Gemma Treharne-Foose

May 27, 2016 Gemma Treharne Foose Leave a comment

(4 / 5)

“We can’t escape who we are”

‘Bird’s popularity is simply soaring at the moment. As it approaches the end of its successful run in the Sherman, I (fashionably late as always), rocked up to the Sherman on Thursday night to finally see what the fuss was all about. The play, written by Katherine Chandler and directed by Rachel O’Riordan, focuses on two girls (Ava played by Georgina Henshaw and Tash played by Rosie Sheey) living in a care home facility finding their way in a world which has so far been cruel to them. They are on the cusp of something and we feel it intensely – but what?

The opening scenes between Ava and her Mother (played by Siwan Thomas) are awkward, desperate and heart-breaking to watch, setting the scene for the play. A raw, nervy and tense romp through the concepts of family, motherhood, friendship, coercion and control. The story of the play is depressingly commonplace (for those who have ever worked in/been associated with social care) Georgia Henshaw’s performance as Ava is simply spellbinding to watch as she squirms, paces and darts around frantically on stage. The girls, bound by tragedy and victims of terrible circumstance, are headed towards something they do not even understand themselves. Who will love these girls and who will look after them? Dare they even dream that there could be another life, another fate for them?

The play flitters between moments of light laughter and innocence, the joy of the affections the girls have for each other and the murky, intimidating relationships closing in on Ava and Tash. There are some difficult scenes and parallels echoing tragedies in recent years in Glasgow and Rochdale. There are moments in the play where your heartbreak for Ava’s and her (perhaps) inevitable fate will punch you in the gut.

“We can’t escape who we are” (Tash)

The play seems timely with recent reports suggesting that children in care homes are over-represented in the criminal justice system and criminalised over minor incidents.

‘Children in care should not be prosecuted for minor offences, a report looking at their over-representation in the criminal justice system says. The review for the Prison Reform Trust calls on the government to draw up new procedures to protect these children from criminalisation.’

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-36342621
http://www.prisonreformtrust.org.uk/Portals/0/Documents/In%20care%20out%20of%20trouble%20summary.pdf

There has been an increasing focus on plays like Bird acting as a form of ‘cultural tourism’ or ‘poverty porn’. We’re saturated with so-called poverty porn in wider popular culture. In recent times, television shows like Benefit Street, Shameless and even the Jeremy Kyle show sensationalise and feed in to the wider dominant narrative around the deserving poor vs. underserving poor. Our tolerance and understanding of these central characters often depends on the characterisation of the subjects/case studies within the production: are they even trying to change? Are they worthy? Are they a lost cause? Damaged goods? Could they ever be ‘useful citizens’, whatever that means. Are theatre productions like Bird, Boy (Almedia Theatre, London) and Re:Home (The Yard, London) recreating a similar kind of ‘human zoo’ that we see so often on the TV?

Depicting poverty in popular culture can have positive consequences on our understanding on social class and real poverty. The appalling slums and workhouses depicted in Dickens’ novels serve as a form of social commentary of life in Britain during rapid industrialisation and urban growth.

“In the little world in which children have their existence, whosoever brings them up, there is nothing so finely perceived and so finely felt, as injustice.” Charles Dickens

Slum housing in Providence Place, London, 1909. Copyright: © London Metropolitan Archives

Stateside, documentary photographer Dorothea Lange’s photograph of a desperate and hungry mother during the Great depression would propel the Government in to action to aid migrant labourers and their families.

Migrant Mother Dorothea Lange

In 1960s Britain, we were rocked by Ken Loach’s drama documentary ‘Cathy Come Home’, which exposed the harsh realities of homelessness and unemployment. (Loach continues to focus on this themes with his film ‘I, Daniel Blake’ recently winning the Palme d’Or at Cannes. ) ‘Cathy Come Home’ caused outrage, prompting a debate in Parliament and leading to the establishment of the charity ‘Crisis’. It is a great example of how culture can influence the political agenda and is widely recognised as one of the greatest drama documentaries ever made.

Theatre like Bird can challenge us and take us out of our comfort zone Are we actually mobilised and ready for any sort of real change in ‘Austerity Britain?’ and does the play actually inspire you to do anything with your emotional investment in the characters? Are we now too apathetic to be shocked in to action? It is surprising that in the play it is Lee who highlights how disconnected Ava – and we – are with the wider world. “Human contact – it’s important.” Yet as he tells Ava, we are too busy looking at our phones to connect (face-to-face) with one another and have difficult conversations. Are we also too busy being manipulated that we are now more focussed on debating over who ‘deserves’ our help and feathering our own nests?

Theatre can and should be a vehicle for social change, just like a well-made viral video or popular cause campaign. Plays like Bird can shine a light on the problem. Could more be done to help audiences think about solutions? Could charities and outreach organisations capitalise on these engaged audiences? In much the same way as the creation of the charity ‘Crisis’ was born from ‘Cathy Come Home’ Like so many of those who’ve been coming to see Bird and emerging from the theatre positive, pumped and ready to make change in society, charities may well be in a prime position to help. A text donation, a volunteering opportunity – anything! That’s something I’d like to see take off…

Drama

Bird
Sherman theatre
May 26th

By Katherine Chandler
Director Rachel O’Riordan
Designer Kenny Miller
Lighting Designer Kevin Treacy
Composer and Sound Designer Simon Slater
Assistant Director Elgan Rhys
Casting Director Sophie Parrott CDG
Cast
Ava – Georgia Henshaw
Claire – Siwan Morris
Dan – Connor Allen
Lee – Guy Rhys
Tash – Rosie Sheehy
Running time: 1hr 20 mins.

Theatre

Review Blavatsky’s Tower 3 Crate Productions by Corinne Cox

May 26, 2016 Corrine Cox Leave a comment

(4 / 5)

This week at Chapter Arts Centre, the final stop of their 4 week tour of Moira Buffini’s 90s play, emerging Welsh Theatre Company 3 Crate Productions treat audiences to a unique insight into the lives of the Blavatsky’s. Choosing never to leave their top floor apartment in order to avoid ‘the crushed’, when Dr Tim Dunn enters their lives (bringing with him our socially constructed perception of normality) the company’s exploration of the family’s unusual relationships leads us to question the very notion of what it means to be ‘normal’.

The back story to the tale had distinctive parallels with Ballard’s 1975 High Rise through Hector Blavatsky’s visionary plans for his architectural masterpiece and how the result failed to realise the utopia of his vision. In Hector’s case this results in the descent of a veil of disillusionment and subsequent abstraction from the outside world, turning his back on the society that rejected his vision and barricading himself and his three children (emotionally rather than physically) within the four walls of their apartment in search of a higher meaning. Even as we see him on his death bed, Tony Leader’s portrayal of Hector Blavatsky makes it clear to the audience that despite his frailty his tyranny has undoubtedly defined the lives of his family, evidenced in the mixture of the love and slight resentment they have for him.

Audrey, the only Blavatsky to leave the house on account of being the breadwinner for the family, has a distinctive hold over her siblings and the power play enacted between the characters is extremely well executed. Hannah Lloyd’s portrayal of younger sister Ingrid perfectly captures the vulnerability of a character who is simultaneously curious of the tantalising outside world and altogether fearful of leaving the apartment, particularly heightened by Audrey’s antagonising. Through the sister’s interactions we experience first-hand the heightened tensions that social isolation can bring to relationships and the need that Audrey seems to feel to be in control of at least one aspect of your life, in this case through her power over her siblings.

Yet as we watch the squabbly interactions between the siblings we could equally be looking into the living room (although significantly less furnished) of any contemporary family and despite their idiosyncrasies we don’t doubt the close bond between the Blavatsky’s in spite of how this has been defined by their experience at the top of the tower.

3 Crate Productions make us laugh with the eccentricities of characters who have interacted only with each other but also challenge us to question our own preconceptions of what it means to be normal.

Director: Peter Scott
Assistant Director: Matt Rushmere
Marketing Manager: Rachel Kinchin
Photography: Kirsten McTernan
Print Design: Rich Chitty at Ctrl Alt Design
Original Music: Loui Milne

Dance, Theatre

Review Black Stuff Earthfall by Helen Joy

May 25, 2016 Helen Joy Leave a comment

(3 / 5)

It is late but still light in Cardiff Bay. I am rushing back to the foyer to regain my handbag from the cloakroom, when I am stopped by another member of the Black Stuff audience: what did you think of it? You want me to be totally honest? Yes. Ok, I am hungry and I was bored. Me too, she says, I was watching the audience to see whether it was just me. So was I, I say.

Why bored when there is energy – this unrelenting, grubby energy in the piece?

The manic desire of 4 performers to activate their audience in the filthy black, broken building of Cardiff’s coal black past begins with the usual introduction of the heroic industrial past, the rise of hateful capitalism and the loss of jobs. A facile, lazy, predictable position.

A loose plot of past characters all real and one still living, uncomfortably atop a wonderful, surreal story of miners and hangmen.

Hard to understand, hard to hear the words, hard to follow the perambulatory plot through the rotting rooms. Gratuitous fire and semi-nakedness with a moment of light with Anna Karenina and a cricket match in a corridor over rail tracks. Oh and some nervous amusement over the dining table. Smashing. Grim.

Let me just run over a couple of scenes.

One. A big dark room smelling of damp is lit by a flame at a far corner. 3 men mine lumps of dusty coal from a thick layer of the black stuff neatly carpeting the floor around us. They writhe in it, dance in it, they move it across the space like rocks in Bent. Their movements are assured; working hard and fast, balletic and athletic around our living, Spanish centrepiece and she is glorious in her command.

Another. That dining room with that dining table. Our coal streaked men of nations sit around a polished surface in high backed chairs. They philosophise. They are served soup slopped into their bowls by their opinionated lady. They eat and talk and slaver and drool their words and food dripping over them. Bowls are there for smashing.

So much effort goes into this production and it feels so cruel to be so cold about such a hot topic. But, sometimes theatre can be too clever, sometimes effects override a good story. The location is impressive, the ideas are sound and the performers are exciting – they don’t need to try so hard to impress us for so long. It is exhausting. It becomes monotonous, dull in its efforts to share that energy.

After the finale of rolling and crashing big blue drums around a collapsing ballroom of an office, the applause from the people backed against the walls is long and loud.

In the foyer, I ask another person what she thought: I am reeling, she said, it gave me so much to think about. She is happy and fulfilled by her experience. She is probably not alone. Not bored at all.

Theatre / performance art/dance
Black Stuff
Wales Millennium Centre, Cory building
Tue 17 May 2016 to Sat 28 May 2016
Directed by Paul Davies
Movement Director: Catherine Bennett
Design: Cadi Lane
Lighting Design: Ben Stimpson
Production Manager: Dan Taylor
Performers: Rhys McLellan; Neal McWilliams; Barbara Sarmiento Araña; Aled Bidder
Video: Erin Rickard
Original Sound: Adam Howell
Thanks to Betty Rae Watkins, Sarah Pace and the Josef Herman Art Foundation Cymru – See more at: http://www.volcanotheatre.co.uk/whats-on/black-stuff#sthash.45gW7ytc.dpuf

Theatre

Review (BSL) A Sunny Disposition The Other Room by Heather Patterson and Gareth Freeman

May 24, 2016 Guy O'Donnell Leave a comment

This is a BSL review of A Sunny Disposition, written and directed by Nicola Reynolds, performed at The Other Room, Cardiff. A written transcription is available below the video.

Hello, my name is Heather Patterson and this is Gareth Freeman.

We recently went to see a performance in Porters which had a small theatre inside a pub! Gareth felt the pub had a relaxing and welcoming atmosphere. The BSL interpreter was on hand to give information before the performance started.

We watched a performance called ‘A Sunny Disposition’ which was performed by a single actor throughout for approximately an hour. The story was about the effects of alcoholism and it’s knock on effects on others.

Heather asked Gareth how he felt watching the performance and he said that the story hit home as he has personal experiences of this in the family. Gareth felt that the story was realistic and he could connect with it. Heather mentioned the impact, the memories and how it can affect you as a person.

Heather asked Gareth how he managed to watch the performance using a BSL interpreter? It was generally felt by Gareth that the story was not lost in translation, he possibly missed the understanding of some signs used due to the regional dialects used in BSL but this did not affect the overall enjoyment. The venue was perfect for this type of performance as you are so close to the acting to be able to read all the emotions in the actors face and body language.

In the Q&A session Gareth wanted to asked questions but felt he did not have the confidence to do so. He wanted to say how much this performance related to his own experiences. The Q&A session was interesting and we both enjoyed that part.

We felt that that the story was realistic, emotional and understood the issues that it had a powerful impact on us. We both agreed having addiction issues were not easy for the person and others living with it.

Heather asked Gareth if this performance should be seen by more deaf people and he felt that everyone was different but encourages them to see it. Gareth will definitely be going to see more performances in Porters as it gives him an avenue to relate to his feelings/personal issues through theatre. Having theatre in BSL enables Gareth to have a social life, to enjoy watching things on an equal par to others (those who can hear) and generally feel less isolated.

We were most impressed that the writer wrote the story based on her own personal experiences, this helped us to really absorb the story and the performance. We will certainly look forward to another story by the same writer.

Thank you for watching us.

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