Pictures by Kirsten McTernan
Described by Guardian critic Michael Billington as ‘a startling debut that spluttered and fizzed like an out-of-control firework’, Crazy Gary’s Mobile Disco starts its Welsh tour this week at Chapter in a revival by Waking Exploits. Chapter – famed for showcasing new works alongside old – is the venue where Gary Owen’s stage debut made its first appearance in February 2001. Since then, Owen has found much success as a playwright, now writing for Sherman Cymru, National Theatre Wales and the Royal Court, establishing himself as one of Wales’ most daring and definitive literary voices. This production, however, will bring the play and its writer back to their roots; back home, where they belong.

The play, set in small town Wales on a night out, concerns three very different but similarly flawed men whose masculinity is in crisis. Each one is desperate to shed those innate reputations that still haunt them from their schooldays – ‘the geek, the gimp and the bully.’ Owen essentially provides a voice for these men, unleashing a lifetime of frustration through a relentless tirade of visceral, abrasive monologues.

Waking Exploits have previously been lauded for their ground-breaking, innovative and ambitious projects, performing works by contemporary masters such as Caryl Churchill, Dennis Kelly and Simon Stephens. Also on board is director Matt Ball, formerly the two-year Creative Associate for National Theatre Wales and five-year Artistic Director for Camden People’s Theatre. Its cast will include Jordan Bernarde, Gwydion Rhys and Sion Pritchard. In other words, it is sure to be a good’un.

Gary Owen himself has said of the project, “It will be brilliant, but slightly weird, to see this play being done in Chapter again. It’s been done loads – every year, there are a couple of productions somewhere in the world – but seeing the play that started my career, at the venue where it was first produced, is going to be a huge pleasure. And slightly unsettling.”
After picking up the library’s copy of the play, I am quite pleased to say that I devoured it in one sitting. Coupled with the expertise of the creative team behind it, I expect this production will do it the justice it deserves.

With Scottish Independence elbowing Page 3 girls and royal foetuses out of the newspapers, this steamy Scottish sex farce by Johnny McKnight seems an appropriate diversion. Birds of Paradise and Random Assembly have brought their box of tricks to the Sherman to test how Scot humour translates to the Welsh. And, in all honesty, there’s not that much of a difference.
The focus of Wendy Hoose covers two attractive, sexually frustrated 20-somethings – Laura and Jake – who decide a one night stand is in order after sexting over a hook-up app (undoubtedly Tinder). When Jake arrives, finding Laura’s door wide open, he sees the buxom lassie, ready and waiting, in bed. After some of Jake’s wince-worthy dirty talk and clumsy undressing, he begins to make his move. Once the duvet is peeled, however, he finds he’ll be getting a lot less than he bargained for. Jake decides to ring a taxi as soon as possible but a forty-five minute wait leaves him stranded. That wait turns out to be a remarkably enlightening one.
McKnight’s wildly filthy one-act breaks every taboo in sight. It is more ground-breaking though than purely destructive. The laughs come thick and fast and are made accessible to those both visually and aurally impaired. A sign language interpreter, an acerbic audio describer and some uncouth emoticons all compliment, enhance and satirise the action, despite occasionally upstaging it.
For such a bawdy, rib-tickling script, it requires a pair of actors with dazzling stage chemistry. James Young, as the brash but gawky Jake, brings us a common chauvinist crossed with a hopeless, stumbling romantic, winning the audience’s compassion as well as their uncomfortable sniggers. Amy Conachan, alluring and seductive, shows no reticence in her performance and boldly establishes that she has the upper hand when it comes to ‘getting one’s leg over’.
Two-handed plays have the tendency to be a dull affair, often merely focusing on the couple’s relationship and nothing else. However, armed with its ‘twist’, it explores themes both in and outside of the bedroom. It reveals harsh and clandestine truths on modern attitudes to body image, sexism and the difference between sex and love. Though the crass language and frank sexual content may shock some, what lies underneath is a sincere, candid portrait of our perception of others and ourselves.
Wendy Hoose is at the Sherman Theatre until 13th Sept 2014.

Offering up a dark alternative for this year’s Cardiff Comedy Festival, the continuously laudable performers at ROGUE’Z Theatre chose to perform Harold Pinter’s third full-length play of familial rivalry and sordid desires, The Homecoming. In this first-rate revival, the company consider the thick, underlying subtext as well as what is written so that both Pinter aficionados and complete beginners are satisfied.
Although this is more a character-driven piece, the plot can be said to be a little thicker than some of Pinter’s other plays. An all-male, virile household gets all shook up when Teddy, the estranged son, makes an impromptu return from America, now armed with a doctorate in Philosophy and a curiously detached, dangerously magnetic wife named Ruth. His family consist of Max, his cantankerous father, Sam, his mild, even effeminate uncle, and his two brothers – Joey, a dopey amateur boxer, and Lenny, a suave pimp. His arrival is treated with surprise and disdain but the men, particularly Lenny, pay more attention to Ruth, who seems uninhibited and unthreatened by their vulgar propositions. During Teddy and Ruth’s brief sojourn at the home, a power struggle ensues that digs up hatchets that should have remained buried. It culminates in Ruth becoming a new part of the family, but very differently to how she, or Teddy, imagined.
The company conveyed the painfully awkward silences as well as the geysers of viciousness between the brothers and the father. Jeff Fifer snapped and barked as the belligerent patriarch Max and his interaction with his adorably timid brother Sam (Ray Thomas) proved comically callous. Three finely diverse performances were given by the three brothers. Richard Jones carried an interesting paradox when playing Teddy – something of a bumbling, submissive fool despite being prodigiously intelligent. Darren Freebury-Jones nailed the role of the boxer Joey switching from hard and thuggish to vulnerable and naïve after his encounter with Ruth upstairs. Andreas Constantinou gave yet another commendable performance as the lewd and lecherous Lenny, experimenting vocally with volume and tone to make him slightly volatile. Regardless of being outnumbered by men, Nerys Rees as Ruth displayed dominance as well as maternal humility, since she fills the role of the absent mother as well as the sexual object. Unlike Vivien Merchant’s passive and compliant portrayal in the film version, Nerys Rees acted as though she could see straight through the masculine facades.
Pinter’s not for everyone, I understand that. One needs an acquired taste to fully appreciate his deadpan humour and the scenes of almost horrifying slander. Perhaps some moments of amplified hilarity could have left newer audiences a little less bewildered but it is that perplexity that makes Pinter and his work unlike any other.
As ROGUE’Z Theatre are acquiring a well-honed knack for dark and twisted productions, I can’t wait to see what’s up next.

The Big Move to London!
Finally, the 4 years of working hard and waiting for my dream to come true is suddenly over. Since I was young I have always wanted to live in London and work in the Theatre Industry. With a BA(Hons) in Performing Arts with modules in performance and arts marketing and events management from the University of Wales, Trinity St David, I created my own city wide business, worked in arts marketing and event management on many projects, worked with countless companies and performers on a personal, professional and educational levels and taken up many opportunities to not only work in box office, front of house and administration but also running the former two in sizable teams.
A little stint in writing reviews for the Theatre Royal in Plymouth added another string to my bow. When moving to Cardiff to complete a masters in Events Management (particular interest in cultural/theatre events), I aimed to continue my experience in Theatre with front of house work in a couple of venues, working in hospitality at the Wales Millennium Centre as well as devise and create my own work, still running my business from one city to another till finally handing over and leaving my company behind for bigger and better things. My determination lead me to pick up my interest in writing reviews and a little social media contact with Young Critics Wales lead me to becoming a young critic over the last 6 months, giving me many opportunities to see fantastic performances, be part of huge events and meet some incredible people. It also gave me the kick to start my own website and blog and delve into art journalism as a whole. A meeting with many in this industry opened my eyes to the reality of how art journalism is suffering in Wales and I then felt that my passion should be spoken about, and from my own words (something I continue to strive in).
With only a dissertation left, which I am basing on theatre events in London, I am moving to the big smoke in less than two weeks. While I’m there I’m hoping to work in the industry and soon work my way up, something I feel I have the determination and drive to do to build an even more fantastic career. In such a dynamic and diverse theatrical city, I hope to continue my work as a reviewer and art journalist as a correspondent for Young Critics Wales and with my own freelance work. The excitement and buzz that theatre gives me and the opportunity to write about it has and will be nothing but a joy to do!
What is only left to say is to thank Young Critics Wales and particularly Guy O’Donnell, the project coordinator, on the fantastic opportunities this scheme has offered me and hopefully will offer more in the future. It is a shame to miss out on great Welsh theatre in our fantastic venues but to see more theatre as a whole is an opportunity that is hard to miss!
If you are a London based venue or company please get in touch with Hannah at the contacts below.
Check Hannah Goslin out at the following websites :
http://gozzers.co.uk
http://gozzers.wordpress.com
http://hgozzers.wordpress.com
https://www.linkedin.com/pub/hannah-goslin/67/263/173
Twitter – hgoslin_2

‘The Greatest Liar in all the World’ performed by the Carmarthenshire based company, Familia De La Noche, take the story of Pinocchio, after becoming a real boy. Conrad Sharp, playing the older Pinocchio looks back on his life with grievance. Throughout his life he’s told lies to get him out of trouble and now his last request is to tell the truth, the story of his past. This is a well thought out story that merges farcical tales with romance, truth with pain. They use a variety of different arts such as puppetry, physical theatre, clowning and live music. Each craft, perfect for the story line making their work unique and immersive.
This highly comedic play has touching moments that emphasise the pain of Pinocchio’s past and his search for the one he loves. These moments are so contrasting with the comedy before hand, that it moves the audience so much more. The skilful Dot Cotton whom dances with such elegance is entrancing to watch. She is accompanied by a simplistic but highly emotive piano melody performed by Max Runham, a wiz with all things musical. He knows exactly how to create the perfect tune to accompany with the action on stage. However, the highly emotive section would be Conrad Sharp’s monologue and the very end scene, the unexpected heart-wrenching twist. Truly outstanding to say the least. After being through a journey with them, learning about his true life, this thought-provoking twist was a beautiful end to a magnificent piece of theatre.
This story, perfect for all ages captures the beauty within many forms of acting. Their high level of talent and the imagery they are able to produce makes it spell binding performance. I’m excited to see what they produce next.