The Oreo Complex is a solo production, written and performed by Isaac-Ouro-Gnao. The beginning starts off with rooted and enchanted African tribal music produced by Ffion-Cambell-Davies. The audience were seated in a circular formation absorbing the subtle, repetitive tribal moves. Isaac positioned in the centre of the space was perfect to capture his worried facial expressions when saying the word ‘Oreo’ to himself, his traditional African clothing as well as the comfortability of him being in his skin; which was conveyed through the fluidity in his movement.

Slowly, Isaac strips down to nothing but a langot, which triggers him to start scavenging in to the audience’s space in search of clothing to ensemble a classic suit to wear. When Isaac finds the elements of clothing he instantly puts them on, a sign of relief and contentment is expressed on his face once fully dressed in to his new outfit. He then breaks the fourth wall by introducing himself where we see he is no longer the born and bred African witnessed in the beginning but a Black British, presenting himself as a spokesman.

It is from that point the play becomes a promenade performance; Isaac becomes a tour guide and invites the audience members into another space in the venue to experience his exhibition. During the exhibition experience, the audience are involved as Isaac interestingly stays in character but interacts with different members to read out transcripts, google search statistics, analyse the photography on the walls of him; which came to life when you got a deeper meaning in to what the imagery displayed. We are then brought in to a different part in the space which contained chairs and beans bags for a cinema experience; playing an audio visual spoken word clip of Isaac, repetitively using metaphorical references to an oreo to express his feelings which got faster as the clip went on. The phrase that stood out in particular was when he says ‘Unleash me, Dip me in your milk, dunken my complexity, white wash my existence’.

As we went around the space, Isaac did a fantastic job dissecting the origin of where the name calling of Oreo stemmed from. The space became an open conversation to those guilty of identifying others as an Oreo or a victim of being called one.

The Oreo Complex is all about unravelling the Oreo label, depicting the negative connotations derived and afflicted, with the effects it can have on the conscious being identified as one; especially when you have come from another culture and have to adapt in a new country, whilst also not detaching from your roots.

The narrative within this play is convincing as Isaac uses his body and poetical skill to reflect the psychological effect society can have on the brain, by derogatory name calling. The Oreo Complex is truly a captivating, unique production; conveying emotion through dance, poetry and film to simulate your thinking.

Tanica Psalmist

“This week I have had the absolute pleasure of learning how to become an Audio Describer with Taking Flight Theatre Company led by Louise Fryer, an audio describer and trainer extraordinaire .

As well as the brilliant Amelia Cavallo.

We had the added bonus of being able to put the work into practise by working alongside Illumine Theatre Company’s fantastic production of ‘2023’.

The training has been squeezed into a week and we have been educated in a multitude of skills and thrills of what goes into making work that is inclusive and accessible to people who are blind or visual impaired. We have looked at good practise in audio describing; from the many techniques into what is required vocally to the practicalities of where we set ourselves up, greeting users at venues, audio introductions and the touch tours before the performances.

We’ve been able to have fantastic discussions on how to script and present the work, the realities of the length of time it takes to do all of this as well as many discussions on how to implement this across Wales specifically. The hope being that this could be a core of people based in Wales who can make this type of access available in any venue anywhere in the country.

It’s been an extremely rewarding and challenging week. There has been a huge amount of information thrown at us, but it has been very much worth it.  A huge thanks goes out to Elise Davison and Beth House from Taking Flight for putting the training on, it has inspirational and I feel very proud to have been able to be a part of it.”

Owen has also taken part in Audio Decription training for Dance with Coreo Cymru and the Family Dance Festival. You can read and listen to an interview with Owen here

by Owen Pugh

2023

Cardiff, 2023 – a law passed in Westminster in 2005 has just come into force. Children told they were born from donated eggs or sperm, upon turning 18, are now entitled to know the identity of their donor parent.

Mary seeks out sperm donor Chris, knocking his world asunder. In this new era, where racial tensions run high, she wants answers. Who are her half-siblings? Could she have inherited her deafness? And is Chris prepared to risk his marriage and own family plans to help her feel she belongs?

2023 has been developed with support from academics and researchers in the fields of gamete donation and D/deafness.

By: Lisa Parry
Director: Zoë Waterman
£12/£10

Preview 3 October £10/£8

BSL interpretation: 11 October

Post show talks:

5 October: Science and Ethics in ‘2023’
11 October: Talk with cast and creatives (BSL interpreted)
Every performance will be captioned

Produced by Illumine Theatre, with support from Arts Council Wales, the Unity Theatre Trust and Chapter.

Age: 14+ (contains swearing and sexual references)

Tickets can be booked at this link

Starring Vika Bull and the Essential R&B Band, this smash-hit Australian production tells the story of soul icon Etta James’ remarkable life and career through the incredible songs that have rightfully earned her six Grammys, a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, and a place in history and our hearts.

This is the finest tribute to a musical legend I’ve seen since This is Elvis at the New Theatre; whereas that show dramatized it’s titular star’s two major comeback concerts in the style of a biopic, At Last: The Etta James Story punctuates an excellent narration of the singer’s tumultuous life with gems from her extraordinary musical repertoire – and it works beautifully.

Vika Bull’s effortless, extraordinary voice and charismatic performance achieves the almost unthinkable and does James justice. Along with her sumptuous vocals and charismatic narration, Bull possess that same raw gift of storytelling through song that set Etta apart, which is put to glorious effect in dazzling versions of I’d Rather Go Blind, All I Could Do Was Cry, and an absolutely staggering rendition of James Brown’s It’s a Man’s World. The titular At Last, arguably the most iconic song of Etta’s spectacular career, was so powerfully performed that the audience rose to their feet before the song was even finished.

Bull is supported by an amazing band, and her rapport with every musician was such a wonderful aspect of this production. The love for music was palpable between this talented bunch, and their enjoyment of performing Etta’s songs was palpable. Musical director John McAll, musical director on piano, Chris Bekker on bass guitar, Anton Delecca on saxophone – not to mention a joyous John Watson on drums, and Dion Hirini gloriously shredding that electric guitar like the lovechild of Jimi Hendrix and Mark Knopfler. Ben Gillespie on trombone also duetted with Vika Bull on a fabulous version of Wallflower (Roll with Me, Henry), and Tibor Gyapjas on trumpet also fantastically co-narrates the show with Bull as a truly dynamic master(s) of ceremonies double act.

There are too many excellent renditions to recount here, but I’m gonna give it the ol’ college try. Bull and the band perform sultry, soulful versions of I Just Want to Make Love to You, Spoonful, and Tell Mama, while Something’s Got a Hold On Me, Tough Lover and In the Basement made me want to get up and jive. And yet they approach the more sorrowful, soulful ballads with the same skill and passion, ascending to the heart-breaking heights of Sugar on the Floor, Would it Make Any Difference to You and Fool That I Am. And, if that wasn’t enough, the show closes with an emotionally epic encore performance of the Eagles’ Take it to the Limit, a song which Etta felt best described her tumultuous life.

At Last: The Etta James Story treats its eponymous icon’s songs and life story with respect, care and love – and I can only hope they return to the UK for a third time next year. Meanwhile, the show is touring around the UK through October, and if you can make it to one of these performances – whether you’re an Etta obsessive or an Etta amateur – I promise you won’t regr-etta it.