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.