Until 2018 I was a Theatr Clwyd Rock ‘n’ Roll Panto virgin! However, after attending Dick Whittington: The Puuurfect Rock ‘n’ Roll Panto last year I knew I would be spending at least one night a year with this fantastical, festive phenomenon! This year the classic tale getting the Theatr Clwyd treatment was Jack and the Beanstalk.

Upon entering the auditorium, we are greeted almost immediately with characters from the production mingling in the audience the interacting with the children as well as a never-ending stream of bubbles from the ceiling; and you’re never too old to enjoy bubbles! It isn’t clear whether this is the usual routine or whether the cast are, very effectively, covering the fact that the majority of the audience begin coming in after the 7pm start time (with evening productions generally starting at 7.30pm there is perhaps some confusion).

I adore the uniqueness of Theatr Clwyd’s pantomimes and this production is no exception; the small cast provide consistently strong vocals, fabulous harmonies and simple but effective choreography (without the need for a gaggle of ‘theatre kids’ in the background!) The cast all work so hard; darting between costumes changes to play the drums, guitar, keyboards etc. It is also extremely refreshing to hear constant use of the Welsh language throughout the show as well as references to the local area. The costumes are again a sight to behold; well thought out and often traditional but with hints of punk rock! Special mention must go to Dame Tegwen Trott’s wonderful array of dresses and headgear; the detail impeccable!

The set design is inspiring, particularly the magical moment in which the beanstalk appears through a trap door in the centre of the stage, slowly, as if growing. The beanstalk is designed around a ladder, which allows the characters to actually ‘climb the beanstalk’ into the clouds! This, for me, is what theatre is all about; where something happens on stage that gives you goosebumps and, even as an adult, almost makes you believe the impossible is possible! I was also curious as to how the giant would be portrayed. This is done very simply with the use of a voice over and the odd appearance of ‘parts’ of the character; the projection of a moving eye for example. This is all that’s needed to make the audience imagine that there really is a giant at the top of the beanstalk!

This production includes a superb cast with phenomenal vocals, wonderful musicianship and a brilliant repertoire of songs including I love Rock ‘n’ Roll, Thinking Out Loud and Material Girl! All of the cast members are truly fantastic in their own right but I feel I must single out Phylip Harries, Theatr Clwyd’s long running Dame, and I must say, the best Dame this side of Rhyl (!!!) and Ben Locke as Tommy Trott who just oozed theatricality; once on stage you can’t help but be drawn to his comedic facial expressions and hilarious reactions.

Da iawn Theatr Clwyd on another ‘ardderchog’ production!

Theatr Clwyd, Mold

November 22^nd 2019-January 18^th 2020

Writer: Chris Patterson

Director: Zoë Waterman

Resident Assistant Director: Eleri B Jones

Casting: Kay Magson CDG

Design: Adrian Gee

Musical Director: Tayo Akinbode

Choreographer: Will Tuckett

Technical: Mark Howland, Matthew Williams, Alec Reece, Edward Salt, Cassey Driver

Cast includes: Adam Barlow, Katie-Elin-Salt, Phylip Harries, Jessica Jolleys, Ben Locke, Alice McKenna, Peter Mooney, Elin Phillips, Lynwen Haf Roberts, Luke Thornton

Running time: Approximately 2 hours and 30 minutes (inc. interval)

Behind The Label is a theatre project created by people who have experienced homelessness, abuse and addiction, of the most harrowing kinds. It’s not dour or preachy in the slightest.

Being tucked away in a small theatre, wondering how to describe this performance, was a jarring experience. It shows the very best of what theatre can do – but the message of the show should spill into the streets, onto our ballots.

Set on ‘EasyInject’ airlines, the host and hostess provide great visual gags and wordplay to set the scene, even if the framing device seems a bit hollow to contain the meat of the performance. The videos of the performers before and after the monologues and dialogues were engaging, adding new layers to the show as it transcended from fiction, to documentary, to spoken word.

The concept allowed for a brilliant Britney Spears parody, which had the audience in raptures of laughter. The metaphor of ‘baggage collection’ could have been bluntly done, and there were a few times the execution faltered, but the concept was mostly pulled off very well.

The simplicity of the idea really honed the performers vulnerability and range, the performers themselves were simply stunning. Every performer’s story was told through a scathingly honest lens, with hope and horror in equal measure. Their stories covered everything from domestic violence, to racism and alcoholism all with disarmingly charming morbid humour. All of the performers were the picture of courage throughout the show, flitting between their toughest personas and their most extreme vulnerabilities.

A few performers seemed like leaves every minute they were on stage, constantly shaking but with strong voices that carried the story of their lives throughout every corner of the building. It was impressive that the narrative of the play covered their failures and false starts as well as their hopes for the future and didn’t patronise anyone by pretending there are easy endings.

For the 2-hour run time, the theatre was transformed into a pulsing community. Where perfume and programmes mixed with old friends of the performers. Where I was genuinely charmed by the woman behind my seat, chanting words of love and solidarity to the people she recognised on stage.

Being tasked with this review made me feel quietly queasy. How can I review the ways performers package and unwrap their trauma? The empathy that pulsed throughout the audience.

‘‘Bring out Ozzy’, Ozzy, one of the performers, who has worked with this theatre group for years, seethed during one of his monologues.

While art is undoubtedly a healing force, at what point does expression move into exploitation?

I have nothing but the upmost respect for TVO, the theatre company who created this fantastic show.

Every performer said that the company had changed their life for the better, and it’s clear to see everyone behind it puts in an extraordinary amount of work to make this a genuinely empowering and well supported experience. But does all art about homelessness adhere to this standard of excellence?

I found myself asking such questions even more when the audience trailed out. I heard many say some variation of ‘that reminded me of me…’ as there was something relatable in each performers story.

When does identifying with something become co-opting it?

We have all felt isolated, estranged, angry, turned to ‘bad coping mechanisms’ because they are the only things that can drag us through the moment.

But we have not all slept in shop fronts, robbed or been robbed, held at the fists of appalling violence.

There were undoubtedly homeless people in the audience, people who had been homeless, and at risk of homelessness, along with the privileged. How is it that some people, with the same circumstances, can be homed and others left out on homeless through no fault of character or choices?

This show did everything theatre is meant for. Provoke questions. Stoke empathy. And amplify the voices of those we need to hear the most. The performers in this show, and their peers on the streets, have always had voices.

Let’s hope one day it doesn’t take shows like these, however wonderfully they are pulled off, for us to listen.

(5 / 5)

Behind The Label is a production by Theatre Versus Oppression supported by both the Wallich charity and Wales Millennium Centre itself (which is where this production was held) is a very important piece of awareness of important issues that anyone can face.

The name in itself is an incredible creative decision. The show is called ‘Behind The Label’ and it is about a group of people who are judged and many people have negative pre-convinced ideas about. But by these people telling their real stories, they are portrayed as normal everyday people who have gotten into bad situations (like anyone can) it is literally exploring the people ‘behind the label’s. This is defiantly not a family-friendly show and is clearly targeted at a more mature audience due to the nature of this show. It includes references to addictions, sex and drug use as well as very strong language.

The show is about a group of people who share their stories of how they ended up homeless but also discusses how some of them ended up in prison, addicted to drugs etc. There are only a few ‘characters’ in this show (namely the air hostess) but everyone one is simply playing themselves and talking about their personal experiences. These are normal everyday people who have lived through horrendous experiences and helps the audience understand how easy it is to end up in similar situations and that it isn’t always necessarily the individual’s fault/choice.

One of the many ideas people nowadays about homeless people is that’s it’s their choice and that they are doing it just for the money but this show aims to dispel those types of myths. This show defiantly gives a voice to those who are literally and figuratively ignored both in real life and in theatre by allowing people who have actually experienced these things to talk about everything that happened. Because of the real-ness of the narratives, this is an incredibly moving and emotional show that had the audience and even members of the cast in tears. However, the whole show isn’t all serious and deep there was a very hilarious sketch that occurred as a replacement for in-flight entertainment. They used a massive projection screen (which they also used to show interview-style scene) to show a recording of the exact same cast on stage recreating the iconic Britney Spears song ‘Toxic’ while this was hilariously funny, it also worked really well due to the lyrics relating to the nature of the show.

At first, I thought the fact that this play was set on a plane with the name ‘Easy Inject’ was really strange. But after a while, this became very clear. Many things in the show related to the plan such as not belonging as you don’t have a ticket, taking a leap of faith and actually the Toxic video was historically also set on a plane. This inclusion was a very clever way to transition from story to story as were all of the tying together key ideas in the show. The other unusual thing about this show is that from my perspective the script didn’t particularly matter as it was about each individual story rather than a bigger overarching narrative. In fact, that was a moment towards the end of the show where one actor forgot their lines and someone else helped them on stage which didn’t take anything away from the show in the slightest.

The issue I had with this show was not at all the cast or the creative team but rather with the audience. During the production, I watched there was a member of the audience who decided to shout empowering messages throughout. While I understand being incredibly moved by the stories being told, I do think that this was distracting for the other audience members and clearly put off some of the cast. Ignoring this though, overall this is an incredibly important piece of theatre that is all about giving a voice to the voiceless. It did everything it needed to do and had the audience feeling the full range of emotions. I would rate this play 5 out of 5 stars and would encourage people who interested in how theatre can be used to empower people, to catch this show before it’s gone!

“Yn Ei Blodau” yw cynhyrchiad cyntaf Criw
Brwd a drama gyntaf Elin Phillips. Cwmni newydd mentrus Elin a Gwawr
Loader yw’r cwmni ifanc yma ac maent yn awyddus i leisio barn merched sy’n
goroesi bywydau anodd yng nghymoedd y De. Mae’r ddrama’n olrhain hanes Fflur,
athrawes ifanc sy’n rhy barod i blesio ei mam a’i chariad Scott. Mae’n ceisio byw
y bywyd traddodiadol benywaidd – swydd barchus, perthynas, priodas a phlant – ond
yn dawel fach, mae’n dyheu i wrthryfela a thorri’n rhydd. Mae ei mam yn dyheu i
weld ei merch yn setlo a chael plant, ond yn dawel fach, mae Fflur yn dymuno
byw bywyd heb gyfyngiadau, cyfrifoldebau na disgwyliadau. 

Mae’r
ddrama ar adegau yn llawn hiwmor deifiol a sefyllfaoedd doniol, ond ar y cyfan,
mae caethiwed a rhwystredigaeth Fflur yn ein sobri. Mae’r wên deg sydd ar
ei hwyneb yn fwgwd i’r tristwch oddi tano. Daw hyn yn amlwg wrth iddi
geisio ufuddhau i reolau ei phartner Scott yn ogystal â’r euogrwydd mae’n
wynebu wrth iddi wrthryfela.  

Portreadodd
yr actores Kate Elis y cymhlethdodau hyn yn effeithiol drwy arwain y
gynulleidfa drwy amrywiol sefyllfaoedd ac argyfngau ym mywyd Fflur.  Roedd
ei gwaith corfforol (dan ofal medrus Eddie Ladd) yn dda, ond hwyrach byddai
deunydd ehangach o’r llwyfan a’r gwagle wedi ategu at y perfformiad. Defnyddiodd
yr actores rhywfaint o’r offer llwyfan mewn modd symbolaidd, er enghraifft, y bêl,
ond nid oeddwn yn teimlo bod angen cymaint o’r offer hyn ar hyd y llwyfan.
Serch hynny, hoffais y deunydd o olau a sain a oedd yn ychwanegu tipyn at
awyrgylch y ddrama. 

Er
bod cymeriad Fflur yn teimlo ar goll ac yn fregus, yr hyn sy’n rhoi gobaith
iddi yw y plentyn mae ar fin geni. Dyma fydd ei ffocws, ei dyfodol newydd gwell
mewn byd sydd weithiau’n greulon a ffug. 

Llwyddodd
y dramodydd i ddefnyddio hanes Blodeuwedd – un o ferched mwyaf arwyddocaol ein
chwedloniaeth – fel is-destun i’r ddrama, ac roedd hyn yn gorwedd yn gyfforddus
o fewn sgript sy’n trafod yr un themâu, sef  nwyd, caethiwed, disgwyliadau ac wrth gwrs rôl merch
mewn byd sydd wedi’i reoli gan ddynion.  Roedd hon yn noson lwyddiannus
arall yn y gyfres “Get it while it’s Hot” ac edrychwn ymlaen at weld cynhyrchiad
nesa’r cwmni, ‘Pan Ddaw’r Haf’ ym
misoedd cyntaf 2020.