To exist, socially, at this moment in time, we have to live online, disembodied and digitized, encased within the four corners of a Zoom call. Siloed away, with nowhere to go and no-one to see, it’s unsurprising that we’ve looked to social media as a sanctuary; a digital lifeboat in a shared storm. But while it might give the illusion of solidarity, it can also make you feel the most alone you’ve ever felt in your life, and the gulf between the digital self and the ‘real’ grows wider with every like, comment, and subscribe.

It’s a duality that Theatr Clwyd’s clever and inventive adaptation of Oscar Wilde’s The Picture of Dorian Gray revels in. Directed by Tamara Harvey and written by Henry Filloux-Bennett, this online play is an ambitious co-production between Theatr Clwyd, Barn Theatre, Lawrence Batley Theatre, New Wolsey Theatre and Oxford Playhouse, and features a star-studded cast including Russell Tovey, Alfred Enoch, Joanna Lumley and Stephen Fry (whose very appearance is something of an easter egg).

Not only does this version update Dorian Gray for the Instagram age, it sets most of the action in 2020 when its characters (and cast), like the rest of us, were in self-isolation. Sleekly made and brilliantly performed, it plays out in a series of FaceTimes, YouTube videos, Insta Stories, and interviews with the surviving characters. It’s an incredibly involving piece in the same vein as other internet-set mysteries like Catfish, Searching, and Unfriended, but with the kind of quality that you only find in a truly excellent piece of theatre.

This Dorian (Fionn Whitehead) starts out as a sweetly naïve English lit undergrad trying to make it big on YouTube, aided by his rakish BFF Harry Wotton (Enoch), family friend Lady Narborough (Lumley), and besotted benefactor Basil Hallward (Tovey). Basil, a closeted programmer who’s made little effort to conceal his feelings for Dorian, plies him with gifts – clothes, mobile data, a smart phone – and offers him a very special filter that will ensure his pictures will remain ever flawless and ageless: “a perfect digital Dorian”. There’s no catch, because the price is something that carries little currency in the digital age: your soul.

Filters give the illusion of perfection. They are insidious because they are invisible, and they make you feel as if being beautiful and happy and successful is natural for everyone in the world but you. Uploading a selfie to the digital panopticon takes deliberation, intent, and often deceit: the background, the lighting, the clothes, the hair and makeup, the filter – even the most spontaneous looking snap is a meticulously oiled machine. As Basil says, we spend our lives comparing ourselves to everyone else’s highlights. The greatest trick the influencers ever pulled was convincing the world that they woke up like this.

In many ways, the amorphous, abstract identity of social media is embodied by Basil himself, who becomes both the painter and the canvas. Basil, who we rarely see ‘in the flesh’, is simultaneously omniscient and insidious. Tovey, one of the finest actors working today, is characteristically magnificent here – but I’m not sure how I feel about Basil, rather than Harry, being Dorian’s tempter. In the novel, Basil didn’t want Dorian’s soul, he wanted his heart. But, perhaps, in order to translate the essence of the story, it’s necessary to share some of Harry’s original menace with Basil, turning the sombre, soulful painter of Wilde’s original into a low-key Svengali.

The mechanism of the Faustian bargain is reversed here too – the painting in the novel preserved Dorian at his peak, and grew more decrepit as his sins accrued, but here the filter enhances Dorian’s onscreen beauty while his flesh rots in the real world. The visual effects marking Dorian’s physical decline are brilliant and subtle – I truly couldn’t tell whether it was makeup or CGI – and Whitehead’s transformation into a Sargon of Akkad or Onision-esque shock jock is genuinely unsettling (the moment where he starts glitching between his two faces was particularly eerie). What’s less convincing however is his success as a social media influencer.

‘What if Joe Sugg became Jake Paul?’ That’s seemingly the question posed by the play, and we’re told from the outset that wherever Dorian goes, he charms the world – but that’s simply not the impression we get from the sweet, sensitive, introvert presented here. And his rapid rise to fame never fully convinces, because while his clothes get progressively fancier, his manner, home studio set-up, and even the editing style never rings true (the fairy lights on his shelf were a nice touch, though). Emma McDonald’s Sibyl Vane is far more authentic: McDonald captures Sibyl’s kindness and her fragility, and she really nails the Insta aesthetic right down to the dreamy line delivery and the flower crowns.

Sibyl tragically falls prey to the toxic celebrity culture normalized by Harry (Enoch), rebranded here as a louche Made in Chelsea-esque socialite who lives the decadent lifestyle of a reality star. Enoch  gives easily the most entertaining performance in the play, not to mention the most authentic interpretation of his literary counterpart, sprawled across a velvet chaise-lounge and elegantly sassing the ‘incessant’ barrage of theatre livestreams in #Lockdown1 like a latter-day Contrapoints.

His scenes with Whitehead and Tovey are mesmeric; Filloux-Bennett transforms the subtextual queer yearning underscoring the novel into text, and even separated by a screen, a Wi-Fi connection, and who knows how many miles, the chemistry between the central trio is off the charts. Wilde once confessed that he could ‘resist everything except temptation’. Social media is a creature of temptation, luring you in with a clickbait headline or an exclusive tell-all. It promises everything and gives nothing. It can facilitate cruelty without conscience or consequence and lives have been ruined, lost and taken. And none of us can say it’s not our fault: responsibility is fragmented between everyone who takes part in and enables this vicious culture of competition.

Lumley, sublime as always, delivers a monologue on how social media is ‘viral’ in every sense of the word: a poisonous contagion that’s infected the whole world. But just as The Picture of Dorian Gray showcases the internet’s ugliness, it also illustrates its beauty: its ability to connect people from across the globe in the shared experience of storytelling. Far from the isolating spiral of the doom scroll, this production illustrates the joy of collaboration, of creativity, and of art persevering in the darkest of times.

The Picture Of Dorian Gray | Theatr Clwyd is streaming online until Wed 31 March. Tickets are £12 each (one per household) including a digital programme and 48 hour access that allows for flexible viewing.

Comisiynu graddedigion celfyddydau diweddar a chyn-aelodau Theatr Mess Up The Mess i gydweithio â phobl ifanc er mwyn creu gwaith gyda Chanolfan Celfyddydau Pontardawe i’w rannu’n ddigidol

Mae Canolfan Celfyddydau Pontardawe wedi comisiynu Mess Up The Mess i gydweithio â thri gweithiwr llawrydd sydd wedi graddio’n ddiweddar ac sy’n artistiaid sy’n prysur wneud enw iddynt eu hunain, er mwyn cefnogi datblygiad eu harfer cyfranogol a’u gwaith creadigol eu hunain. Yr artistiaid sy’n amlygu yw Cerian Wilshere-Davies, Callum Bruce-Phillips a Ciaran Fitzgerald, pob un yn gyn-aelodau o Gwmni Theatr Mess up the Mess.

Bu’r artistiaid yn gweithio gyda grwpiau o bobl ifanc er mis Ionawr 2021 ac maen nhw’n paratoi ar gyfer noson o rannu digidol, lle byddan nhw’n rhannu’r gwaith maen nhw wedi bod yn ei greu. Bydd Cartref / Home ar gael i’w wylio ar-lein ar 25 Mawrth am 7pm.

Mae Mess Up The Mess yn arbennig o gyffrous ynghylch gweithio ochr yn ochr â’r artistiaid ifainc hyn, gan eu bod nhw wedi bod yn aelodau er yn 12-14 oed ac wedi bod ar siwrnai o 10 mlynedd a mwy gyda’r cwmni.

Mae’r Prosiect – Cartref / Home yn archwiliothema ‘cartref’ a defnyddio comedi i gael hwyl gartref. Bu’r artistiaid a’r bobl ifanc yn creu eu mannau ffantasi eu hunain sy’n gwneud iddyn nhw deimlo’n hapus, yn ddwl, yn anturus neu’n ddiogel. Bu’r grwpiau’n archwilio ffantasi, chwedlau a’r mannau a’r bydoedd yr ydym yn eu dewis yn gartref, ac yn paratoi i rannu’r gwaith maen nhw wedi bod yn ei greu ar-lein.

Maen nhw wedi holi cwestiynau fel  – pa dirweddau, gwrthrychau a chymeriadau fyddech chi’n hoffi eu rhithio yn eich lle chi? Pa fath o amgylchedd sy’n gwneud i chi deimlo’n gyffrous? Ym mha fath o amgylchedd ydych chi eisiau chwarae neu fod yn ddwl? Efallai mai natur yw’ch amgylchedd chi, lle gyda llawer o greaduriaid a phobl neu efallai man dan do yn arbennig ar eich cyfer chi. Efallai bod y mannau hyn yn heddychlon ac yn dawel neu efallai eu bod yn rhywle sy’n ddoniol iawn i chi.

Mae Callum Bruce-Phillips wedi ennill gradd mewn Astudiaethau Ffilm a Theledu/Llenyddiaeth Saesneg o Brifysgol Aberystwyth ac ar hyn o bryd mae’n gweithio tuag at ei radd MA mewn Cynhyrchu Ffilm. Mae Ciaran Fitzgerald yn awdur ac yn hwylusydd o Bort Talbot. Ysgrifennodd ei ddrama gyntaf yn 2013 i Mess Up The Mess, ac nid ydyw wedi edrych nôl. Yn 2019 graddiodd o Brifysgol De Cymru yng Nghaerdydd gyda BA mewn Sgriptio. Mae Cerian Wilshere-Davies yn hwylusydd, yn wneuthurwr theatr ac yn gomedïwraig, a graddiodd o Brifysgol Salford y ddiweddar.

Mae’r artistiaid yn hwyluso ac yn arwain datblygiad gwaith y bobl ifanc eu hunain, ochr yn ochr â chreu eu gwaith eu hunain. Cyfarwyddwr Artistig Mess up the Mess, Sarah Jones, sydd wedi bod yn mentora’r tîm. Roedd y comisiwn yn cynnwys dosbarthiadau meistr mewn meysydd sy’n gysylltiedig â’r prosiect creadigol; gweithio’n ddwyieithog gyda Bethan Marlow, gwneud ffilmiau mewn ffordd gyfranogol gyda Tom Barrance a dulliau cynhwysol o greu celf ddigidol gyda Taking Flight.

Meddai Ciaran Fitzgerald am y dosbarthiadau meistr;

“Roedd ein gweithdai gyda Tom Barrance bendant wedi cynyddu fy hyder yn gwneud ffilmiau byr. O’n i ddim wedi gwneud llawer o olygu fideos o’r blaen, a gydag arweiniad Tom dwi’n bles iawn gyda beth ‘nes i gynhyrchu, a fyddai bendant yn ei ychwanegu i fy ymarfer yn y dyfodol. Ar ôl ein sesiwn gyda Bethan Marlow, teimlais fod y rhwystrau i weithio’n ddwyieithog wedi cael eu chwalu. Roedd Bethan wedi neud yr holl gyd-destun yn gynhwysol iawn, ac wedi cyflwyno strategaethau defnyddiol iawn bydda i bendant yn eu defnyddio yn fy ymarfer yn y dyfodol. Roedd gweithdy Taking Flight ar sail cynhwysiant yn ddefnyddiol ac yn bleserus iawn. Dwi’n meddwl ‘naeth Elise a Steph atgyfnerthu pethau o’n i eisoes yn gwybod, ond hefyd ‘nes i ddysgu pethau newydd am gynhwysiant yn y celfyddydau, a hefyd falle herio rhai o’n canfyddiadau i. Dwi bendant isho gweithredu BSL a Sain Ddisgrifiad yn fy ngwaith yn y dyfodol.

Meddai Sarah Jones, Cyfarwyddwr Artistig Mess Up The Mess:

“Rydyn ni’n gyffrous iawn ynghylch y prosiect hwn am gymaint o resymau, gan gynnwys y cyfle i gomisiynu artistiaid sydd wedi dod trwy Mess Up The Mess. Dw i’n cofio cwrdd â phob un o’r artistiaid hyn a dw i wedi cael y fraint o ddysgu a chydweithio ochr yn ochr â nhw dros y ddeng mlynedd ddiwethaf. Rydyn ni’n aruthrol o ddiolchgar i Ganolfan Celfyddydau Pontardawe am y cyfle i barhau i gydweithio ar lefel broffesiynol gyda nhw i’w galluogi i fynd ar drywydd eu hymarfer ar adeg mor anodd i’r celfyddydau ac i bobl ifanc. Maen nhw’n bobl greadigol neilltuol sy’n llawn ysbrydoliaeth ac mae ganddynt y pŵer i ysbrydoli ac i ddatblygu lle diogel a lle sy’n meithrin ar gyfer ein cyfranogwyr ifanc er mwyn creu gwaith newydd a gofalu am eu llesiant.”

Bydd Cartref / Home yn cael ei ffrydio ar-lein ar 25 Mawrth 2021 am 7pm. Gallwch brynu tocynnau trwy Ganolfan Celfyddydau Pontardawe: https://pontardaweartscentre.ticketsolve.com/shows/1173609478

Rhagor o wybodaeth am yr artistiaid

Cerian Wilshere-Davies

Mae Cerian yn hwylusydd, yn wneuthurwr theatr ac yn gomedïwraig, ac mae wedi graddio’n ddiweddar o Brifysgol Salford gyda gradd dosbarth 1^af mewn Ysgrifennu a Pherfformio Comedi. Mae gan Cerian ddiddordeb mewn creu gwaith sy’n canolbwyntio ar dreftadaeth Cymru a mynegi hunaniaeth.

Callum Bruce-Phillips

Mae Callum wedi graddio o Brifysgol Aberystwyth gyda gradd mewn Astudiaethau Ffilm a Theledu/Llenyddiaeth Saesneg, ac ar hyn o bryd mae’n gweithio tuag at ei radd MA mewn Cynhyrchu Ffilm. Yn ystod ei radd israddedig, gweithiodd Callum gyda Chanolfan Ehangu Cyfranogiad, Cydraddoldeb a Chynhwysiant Cymdeithasol y Brifysgol, lle bu’n gweithio gyda phobl ifanc a phobl hyglwyf o gefndiroedd gwahanol sydd wedi eu tangynrychioli. Mae’r profiad hwn wedi ysbrydoli Callum i ddilyn gyrfa fel gwneuthurwr ffilmiau cymunedol sy’n canolbwyntio ar ehangu mynediad yn y diwydiant ffilm i grwpiau sy’n cael eu tangynrychioli ar hyn o bryd.

Ciaran Fitzgerald

Awdur a hwylusydd o Bort Talbot yw Ciaran. Ysgrifennodd ei ddrama gyntaf yn 2013 i Mess Up The Mess, ac nid ydyw wedi edrych nôl.  Yn 2019 graddiodd o Brifysgol De Cymru yng Nghaerdydd gyda gradd BA mewn Sgriptio, ac ar hyn o bryd mae’n datblygu’r ddrama gyntaf i gael ei chomisiynu ganddo, sef ‘Chasing Rainbows’ gyda Chanolfan Celfyddydau Pontardawe. Mae gan Ciaran ddiddordeb mewn datblygu gwaith â chymeriadau cryf wrth ei galon, sydd wedi ei anelu’n benodol at bobl ifanc. Ag yntau’n siaradwr Cymraeg rhugl mae hunaniaeth yn agwedd allweddol ar y gwaith y mae’n ei greu, ynghyd ag egwyddorion allweddol mynediad a chynhwysiant.

Recent arts graduates and alumni of Mess Up The Mess Theatre commissioned to collaborate with young people to create digital sharing with Pontardawe Art Centre

Mess Up The Mess have been commissioned by Pontardawe Art Centre to collaborate with three recent graduate freelancers and emerging artists to support the development of both their participatory practice and own creative work. The emerging artists are Cerian Wilshere-Davies, Callum Bruce-Phillips and Ciaran Fitzgerald, all alumni of Mess up the Mess Theatre Company.

The artists have been working with groups of young people since January 2021 and are preparing for an evening of digital sharing of the work they have been creating. Cartref / Home will be available to watch online on 25th March at 7pm.

Mess Up The Mess are particularly excited about working alongside these young artists as they have all been members since they were 12-14 years old and have been on a journey of 10+ years with the company.

The Project – Cartref / Home explores the theme of home and using comedy to have fun at home. The artists and young people have been creating their own fantasy spaces that make them feel happy, silly, adventurous or safe. Exploring fantasy, folklore and the spaces and worlds we choose to make home, the groups have been getting ready to share the work they’ve been creating online.

Asking questions like – what landscapes, objects and characters would you like to imagine up in your space? What kind of environment makes you excited? What kind of environment do you want to play or be silly in? Maybe it’s in nature, in a space with lots of other creatures and people or maybe it’s an indoor space that is just for you. These spaces might be calm and quiet, or they might be somewhere that you find really funny.

Callum Bruce-Phillips is a Film & TV Studies/English Literature graduate from Aberystwyth University and is currently working towards his MA in Film Producing. Ciaran Fitzgerald is a writer and facilitator from Port Talbot. He wrote his first play in 2013 for Mess Up The Mess, and hasn’t looked back. In 2019 he graduated from the BA Scriptwriting degree at the University of South Wales in Cardiff. Cerian Wilshere-Davies is a facilitator, theatre maker and comedian, recently graduated from the University of Salford.

The artists are facilitating and guiding the development of the young people’s own work, alongside creating their own. Mess up the Mess Artistic Director Sarah Jones has been mentoring the team. The commission has included masterclasses in areas linked to the creative project; working bilingually with Bethan Marlow, participatory film makingwith Tom Barrance and inclusive approaches to making digital art with Taking Flight.

Ciaran Fitzgerald said of the masterclasses;

“Our workshops with Tom Barrance definitely increased my confidence in terms of filmmaking. I hadn’t done much video editing previously and with Tom’s guidance I’m really pleased with what I produced, and will definitely add it to my practice in the future.  After our session with Bethan Marlow, I felt that the barriers to working bilingually had been broken down. Bethan made the whole concept really inclusive and introduced some really useful strategies that I will definitely be using in my future practice. Taking Flight’s workshop on inclusion was really useful and enjoyable. It was really good to have a refresh on things that I already knew, but also to learn new things about accessibility in the arts, and perhaps challenge some preconceptions I had. I definitely want to implement BSL and Audio Description creatively into my work in the future.”

Sarah Jones, Artistic Director of Mess Up The Mess said:

“We are excited about this project for so many reasons including the opportunity to commission artists who have come through Mess Up The Mess. I remember meeting each of these artists and have been honoured to learn and collaborate alongside them over the last 10 years. We are hugely grateful to Pontardawe Art Centre for the opportunity to continue a professional collaboration with them and enable them to pursue their practice at such a difficult time for the arts and young people. They are exceptional and inspiring creatives who have the power to inspire and develop a safe and nurturing place for our current young participants to make new work and look after their wellbeing.”

Cartref / Home will be streamed online on the 25th of March 2021 at 7pm. Tickets can be purchased through Pontardawe Arts Centre: https://pontardaweartscentre.ticketsolve.com/shows/1173609478

Further information about the artists

Cerian Wilshere-Davies

Cerian is a facilitator, theatre maker and comedian, recently graduated from the University of Salford with have a 1^st class degree in Comedy Writing and Performance. Cerian is interested in creating work that focuses on Welsh heritage and expression of identity.

Callum Bruce-Phillips

Callum is a Film & TV Studies/English Literature graduate from Aberystwyth University and is currently working towards his MA in Film Producing. During his undergraduate degree Callum worked with the University’s Centre for Widening Participation, Equality and Social Inclusion, where he worked with young and vulnerable people from different underrepresented backgrounds. This experience has inspired Callum to pursue a career as a community film maker, whose focus is widening access within the film industry, to groups currently underrepresented.

Ciaran Fitzgerald

Ciaran is a writer and facilitator from Port Talbot. He wrote his first play in 2013 for Mess Up The Mess, and hasn’t looked back.  In 2019 he graduated from the BA Scriptwriting degree at the University of South Wales in Cardiff, and is currently developing his first commissioned play ‘Chasing Rainbows’ with Pontardawe Arts Centre. Ciaran is interested in developing work with strong characters at its heart, particularly aimed at young people. Being a fluent Welsh speaker, identity is a key aspect of the work he makes, along with key principles of access and inclusivity.

The online stream ‘Illusions of Liberty’ was Produced & Written by Lorna Wells, Directed by Aisling Gallagher, Performed by Corinne Walker as Liberty Jones, Lighting & Sound design by Chuma Emembolu, set/costume designer by Sally Hardcastle , assistant director/stage manager by Gwenan Bain, Cello played by Meera Priyanka Raja, Produced by Rebecca Dilg & Filmed by Applecarts Theatre.

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The themes associated with this production are pain, health, hope judgement, loss, self-doubt, discrimination, love & wellbeing.  Illusions of Liberty is a comedic & heart-felt one woman show, featuring a live cello player whose ambience brought an intensifying effect, mainly because the musical harmony was an emotional & mental depiction of the character Liberty’s mindset. What we saw in sequences was how Liberty’s mind gradually weakened & deteriorated overtime from her internal inflictions from baring a chronic illness & the misconstrued inputs from healthcare professionals which had then left the state of her mind bewildered, detached & deprecated. The set was kept minimal and the mis-en-scene was kept simple with few infrequent light changes, deviating between dim & low lighting.

This play is the journey of a Black woman living in a biased society with a chronic illness & the feelings associated, such as losing confidence and strength, lacking security due to the disparity between misconceptions & battling the unseen of what makes her body, mind & soul feel disconnected from the world and invisibly paralysed. The sounds from the live cello were compelling, projecting various interpretations of herself before when she was a principal cellist & her now as a defiled, deflated & dismissed health-case, affected by a global illness.

Illusions of Liberty consciously aims to raise awareness on the insecurities that influences people’s self-esteem, ongoing disputes with concerned relatives, constant inward sanity checks; as well as restoring relationships that were self-doubted, eventually realising the reality to accept those who acknowledge your essential qualities such as inward beauty, sexiness, talent & humour, willing to be strong enough for the both, irrespective of brain fog and invisible lines that occasionally occur as chronic symptoms.

Liberty and her mum throughout the play struggle to connect, however they authentically synchronise with moments of laughter towards the end. The plot twist being that her mother had been battling with the chronic illness PTSD for 20yrs, never disclosing this to her loved ones. The unexpected exposure allows the mother and daughter for the first time to relate and emotionally support each other, sharing warmth & unison symbolically chanting healing, safety, support and understanding.

Illusions of Liberty is informative, transparent and resonating for many who can relate or who know of someone who can. Circulating mental, emotional, physical and spiritual complications that’s presented when faced with an invisible illness. As well as what strength, courage, perseverance and freedom truly looks like beyond the surface.  

Hi Jack great to meet you, can you give our readers some background information on yourself please?

Hi, I’m Jack. I graduated in 2019 from Royal Holloway, University of London with a BA in English and Theatre Studies. I’m a dirty Leeds fan, a chaotic book-worm and a prospective East 15 Acting School student.

What got you interested in the arts?

Musicals. I’m a hardcore thespian at heart. The unbridled joy of singing and dancing with a group of people at such a young age instilled within me the transformative qualities of the arts. Singing in particular engendered a keen interest in poetry; something I focused on for my undergraduate thesis. Everyone should sing and dance more.

It’s great to be able to discuss some positive news about a new play being produced and performed during this difficult Lockdown period. You have just directed BEAR by Bridgend based writer Jon Berry and it can be listened to now here…

https://youtu.be/XGoV8FFy4SU

…I believe the plays production has had some ups and downs?

Jon Berry and I were running auditions for BEAR in a comically cupboard sized space in the furthest corner of the Sherman Theatre, early March 2020 – our eyes set firmly on the Scottish capital. We had secured financial help from the Carne Trust and were assembling a company to take BEAR to the Fringe. Needless to say, the rest is history. Throughout the pandemic we met as a creative team and continued to rehearse and discuss the piece virtually, but the length of the pandemic took its toll and the viability of a live production at a venue vanished.

Some months ago I thought to myself ‘enough is enough’ and with a bit of tenacity and good faith I pitched the project to some folk at Awen. I was looking for financial support for my actors as well as some much needed publicity. Awen were very generous and I was able to not only pay the actors involved but also myself, as well as the writer Jon and even get a fabulous motion designer on board to bring an even greater reality to the voices.

And now for the inevitable question, why should we listen to Bear?

Bear is a piece about crisis and community, family and blame; themes that we have all experienced intensely over the past 11 months. All the characters are managing their own crises whilst giving so much of themselves to a seemingly ‘bigger’ cause; a missing daughter. In addition to the arresting textural quality of Jon’s writing the audio drama features beautiful animation by Cardiff based animator Emma Davies.  It’s a play about resilience and keeping an eye on hope, something that I believe will resonate profoundly with all who choose to listen.

The production has been supported by Awen Cultural Trust who are they and how did they come to be involved?

Awen Cultural Trust is a charitable organisation focusing on the enhancement and accessibility of cultural opportunities in the Bridgend area. I first encountered Awen as an employee at one of their beautiful venues. I joined after finishing my degree, as a Front of House assistant before successfully applying for a Duty Manager role at The Grand Pavilion Theatre, Porthcawl.

It was there that I forged some great relationships and organised ‘WHIP’ (Working Hard in Progress); my first collaboration with Jon Berry.

WHIP was, at its bare bones, a scratch night. We invited writers from around South Wales to send in new writing that they felt needed critical attention. Each writer had a six hour rehearsal process spread over 3 weeks where they could essentially ‘R and D’ their work with some local actors. Jon and I would aid the directors dramaturgically. The process culminated in a sold out event at an Awen venue where each writer celebrated their work as well as receiving the opportunity to ‘Q & A’ with the live audience. Lots of drinks were drunk and brilliant stories were shared – a cracking event we hope to revisit soon.

I believe you are based in Bridgend? Are there many opportunities to pursue a career in the arts where you live in this area of Wales?

Yes, I am based in sunny Porthcawl – a wee seaside resort for the beautiful and the damned. Sadly there aren’t a great deal of opportunities, particularly when you surpass the adulthood milestone. There are loads of Youth orientated events in the area, which is an amazing kickstart for anybody’s creative career, but nothing that really caters to those over the age of 18. Nothing that is readily available at least.

Get the Chance works to support a diverse range of members of the public to access cultural provision. Are you aware of any barriers that creatives in Wales face. If you do what might be done to remove these barriers?

Diversity in the decision rooms of funding. Diversity in the creative teams. Diversity in the Front of House staff. It’s not enough for some of these big buildings and organisations to “discuss diversity” and talk about a community of people, they need to talk to them directly, include them in the discussion. We need to fundamentally change the makeup of who is creating and watching work. Reassessing the arbiter’s of taste in the Arts is a monumental task, but it’s necessary.

There was an important scheme some years ago from ACE called ‘Change Makers’. It was a fund directed at increasing senior leadership in art and culture by helping to develop a cohort of leaders who were POC or disabled by means of targeted senior leadership training.

With the roll out of the Covid-19 vaccines, the arts sector is hopeful audiences will return to venues and theatres. If theatres want to attract new audiences what do you think they should do?

Theatres are proper funny places. They are beautiful, intricate, complex and unlike any other building you will find. But they are buildings. And people make buildings. Theatres need to serve their community like never before and I believe this is vital. They need to be producing and creating theatre that seeks interlocutors, rather than just presenting to an audience; reflect the social geography of a location.

I always think of the panto model. It’s a big day out. It’s an event and not just a performance in a theatrical space with lights and actors and pricey ice cream. How do we generate that excitement and enthusiasm for every show all year round?

What excites you about the arts in Wales?

Honestly? The Welsh language. I was born in North Yorkshire and only made the move to Wales at 10 years old. Learning the language was, and remains to be, daunting. Yet with the very recent strong and youthful charge for Welsh independence the language has gained a new found pertinence for my friends and I. We’ve all seriously started learning. I think the Arts has to take hold of this and broadcast it for everyone to hear. Whilst employed at Awen I witnessed some astonishing bilingual theatre for young audiences, and only just before lockdown took hold I watched the tragically hilarious Tylwyth (Kin) by Theatr Genedlaethol Cymru at the Sherman Theatre. Tylwyth, performed entirely in Welsh, was a revelation to me as a director.

Firstly, I found that I understood so much through gesture and scenography, which is a completely separate phenomena. But more impressive was that, as a non-Welsh-speaker, I was still completely immersed in the language, the jokes, the fillers, everything! It opened my eyes (and ears) to the beautiful complexity of working and creating in Welsh and I think we should hold onto that dearly and not as a novelty either.

What was the last really great thing that you experienced that you would like to share with our readers?

There are so many brilliant acts of art I have witnessed over lockdown, not least theatre. However, I have to give my immediate thoughts to France’s ‘Lupin’.

https://youtu.be/ga0iTWXCGa0

A Netflix mini-series that captures all the slickness of a Bond chase montage at one glance, only to be peppered by the implausibility and wit of Jonny English on steroids, the next. It was a perfect watch from beginning to end. Short, clever and all in another language. Language was no obstacle in this charming espionage thriller that was a much needed binge-worthy bit of fun to kick off (hopefully) a much better year.

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Local artist and The Riverfront Theatre and Arts Centre’s Associate Artist, Connor Allen, has successfully received a £20,000 award from the Live Work Fund from Jerwood Arts. 

The fund received over 1,200 applicants and Connor is one of just 33 artists across the UK to have been successful.

Connor will be using the funding to set up a collective of professional black artists working across various artistic disciplines, of all ages and based in Wales.  The collective will support the development of artists during the challenges faced due to the current pandemic including mentoring, sharing and supporting each other’s practice as well as providing increased representation and professional opportunities for more black artists to grow and progress. Members will work together to learn and develop as well as to give back to the arts community and inspire the younger generation of black artists in the making.

The Live Work Fund has been created in direct response to the impact the Covid pandemic has had on self-employed artists across the UK and is the result of four major arts funders (Jerwood Arts, Wolfson Foundation, Esmée Fairbairn Foundation and The Linbury Trust) coming together to award a total of over £660,000 to successful applicants.

About the bursary and project Connor said “My growth as an artist and the development of this project and my collective idea wouldn’t have been possible without the Jerwood bursary and the support of many organisations such as The Riverfront who have been instrumental in my success since me becoming Associate Artist.

“I believe that the impact of my collective idea can be exciting and influential on the landscape because it will allow artists of colour in Wales the opportunity to develop themselves and explore their craft alongside my own exploration throughout 2021. This has the potential to nurture the next wave of exciting Welsh artists of colour which in my opinion is awesome and so much needed.”

Since graduating from Trinity Saint David as an Actor, Newport-born Connor Allen has worked with companies such as The Torch Theatre, Sherman Theatre, Tin Shed Theatre and National Theatre Wales. He joined The Riverfront Theatre & Arts Centre as Associate Artist in 2020.

During the past 12 months, despite the difficult circumstance the pandemic has created for artists, Connor has written and performed multiple pieces across South Wales including Dom’s Drug Prayer as part of Sherman Theatre’s Ten and The Making of a Monster at Le Public Space’s Right Now Online Theatre Fest. He was also commissioned by Literature Wales to create an online album of creative mediums, 27, a collection of thoughts from his life, the journey he has been on and the lessons he has learnt.

Olivia Harris, Creative Producer for The Riverfront said “We’ve been working with Connor for some time now and are delighted his talent has been recognised with this bursary. He truly deserves it and we can’t wait to see where it takes him and go on this journey with him.”

To find out more about Connor Allen and to keep up to date with his upcoming work, visit https://www.connorallen.co.uk/