Long before the shock of seeing Tracey Emin’s unmade bed as an exhibit in a gallery, or Martin Creed’s ‘Work No. 227: The Lights Going On And Off’, modern art has evoked strong emotions.

In this single-act play directed by Peter Harding-Roberts for Everyman Theatre at Chapter in Cardiff, the purchase of a blank canvas for a ludicrously high price pits pretentious Serge seeking to impress his friends against classicist Marc who scorns the work as a “piece of white shit”. When he asks “Are you going to have it framed?”, Serge laughingly replies “It’s not supposed to be framed. The artist doesn’t want it to be. It mustn’t be interrupted. It’s already in its setting”, echoing what Mark Rothko said about keeping his paintings frameless to increase their impact on the world, as part of the world rather than separate objects.

Their friend Yvan is drawn into the debate, whose appeasing nature suggests he may provide an opportunity for some resolution to their opposing views about modern art. More than the debate about the merits of the artwork though, ‘Art’ explores the art of friendship as the antagonists realise the fragility of their long-term relationships and question their validity, the painting itself a catalyst for amplifying hidden tensions in a longstanding three-way bromance.

Seasoned Everyman actors Brian Smith and Gregory Owens are joined by Michael Taylor Moran in Yasmina Reza’s 90-minute narrative, structured not in formal scenes but in pithy little episodes, mostly duologues between two of the three protagonists, punctuated by confessional asides that break the fourth wall. The action takes place in Serge’s apartment where two large off-white armchairs are separated by a settle that serves to prop the painting centre-stage as well as a seat when all three characters need to sit. The geometry of the minimalist and monochromatic set allows the three of them to keep their distance from each other which I believe helps accentuate their differences, although I heard someone saying they wished the actors got physically closer as one might expect of true friends. Yet others have criticised the playwright for failing to establish a solid emotional base for her characters’ friendship, that these men are just archetypes, but I disagree. We don’t need to know the origins of their friendship, just the characteristics that account for their differing responses to the artwork in question, and these are well-portrayed.

In the end there is a twist that leads to the suggestion that the canvas represents a man who moves across a space and disappears, a universal metaphor for life itself perhaps, in the same way Creed’s Work No. 227 is interpreted as signifying birth (lights on) and death (lights off). I will resist identifying which character interprets the white canvas in this way as it might spoil the enjoyment of a play I would recommend seeing, for its nonstop cross-fire of crackling language and performances by three actors who capably hold our attention throughout as their levels of exasperation rise and fall according to the strain of their characters’ efforts to keep their friendship alive.

In the programme notes, the director quotes the playwright who considered her play as much a tragedy as a comedy and challenges us to disagree. That ‘Art’’ won the Molière Award for Best Author and the 1998 Tony Award for Best Play suggests the play works, and this performance also, because it is both.

Art runs at Chapter until Saturday May 13th

There will be no new theatrical professionals in the future without development programmes. These programmes are problematic because the work that comes out through them is bound to be variable. Yet, just as investment clubs throw money at funds supporting collections of start-up businesses, in the hope that the one that comes good will offset the losses incurred on the duds, a theatre initiating a development programme hopes to be able to mine a new vein of artistic talent.

‘Truth’ or ‘Dare’ are representative of Theatr Clwyd’s investment in its local community. Each consists of five short plays, written by freelancers, performed by two teams of ten actors. The plays are given the full treatment, with two directors and two associate directors, two stage managers and two deputies and a good-sized creative team. No expense is spared.

You might think this would be high risk. Will anyone travel to see new work by unknown writers being staged on a Thursday night in a small town in north west Wales? Isn’t there a danger of having more people on stage than in the auditorium? This can happen but fortunately it doesn’t happen in Mold. Because of Theatr Clwyd’s reputation and its well established relationship with its audience, they turn out to see what is going on (including people who are still the right side of forty). Thus, on the Press Night for ‘Truth’ and ‘Dare’ there were well over a hundred people in attendance. The makeshift space, The Mix, Theatr Clwyd is using while its main house is being refurbished, was over three quarters full. The Mayor was there in person, too, wearing the chain of office.

The audience enjoyed the double bill. They laughed long and loud. They clapped vigorously. They cheered and gave the casts of both groups of plays a standing ovation. It was quite a night and refreshing to experience so much open enthusiasm and support. It wasn’t unlike being at a football match when the home team wins.

That said, I think what appealed most to the audience were the performers. The evening became a show case for the actors and the creative team behind them, i.e. they fully repaid the investment. I felt, however, that the performers were better than the material they were working with. I couldn’t understand the connections between the plays and Truth or Dare, for example, and I couldn’t find the comic centre or the joke in most of them. I missed the point of One Stop Short and didn’t see why a stuffed teddy duck had replaced a dog in This Time Next Week. I felt there was an absence of plot And The Crowd Goes Boom.

This could have been down to my lack of perception but what the actors were doing, on the other hand, I could relate to completely. They managed to extract every last drop of potential from what they had been given. Every traditional theatrical gag was included, up to and including ‘Take a Chair’ – (Exit with chair) (groan).

What the audience got was a high-octane display of the art of coarse acting which, in some cases, took farce to a new level. One feature of this was the incorporation of objects provided by the audience for the cast to use as key props. These objects had not been seen before the night, so the actors were required to improvise to incorporate them quickly into the scripts. Cue much mirth as a doorknob became a murder weapon and a toilet roll became a prized personal possession.

Perhaps it’s unfair to pick out individual performances, because the evening favoured the comics over their straight supporters, but Seren Vickers was astonishingly daft as James Bond in drag; Laura Dalgleish managed to do things with a dowsing stick that I can’t describe and Geraint Edwards managed to completely reinvent the whole business of sales and marketing. These three weren’t just over the top. They were somewhere else entirely. Leilah Hughes as an all singing, all dancing Barbie was not far behind them.

Whilst the plays themselves were a mixed bag of different styles and approaches, there were two – The Wake and Bwgan (The Ghoul) – which stood out by being more or less naturalistic. The former was a set piece in which two sisters argue over what they will each inherit from their (toilet roll fixated) mother. The latter was a kind of ghost story in Welsh, which provided Betson Llwyd with the opportunity to be suitably ghoulish and to perform a bravura solo monologue. The fluent Welsh she spoke added atmosphere and musicality to the story, as I don’t speak I inevitably had to look away from what was being done on stage to read the subtitles on the overhead screen. Lisa Jen Brown contributed a lot to the success of both these pieces.

The language of Bwgan and the approach adopted in the other plays, up to and including the audience participation, has its limits, however. I’m not convinced this programme could transfer or tour and enjoy the same level of success as it had at Theatr Clwyd. In the end, although it was enjoyable, it wasn’t very original. What I would like to see personally is the same level of talent and commitment invested in plays that capture the imagination. There are short comic plays by Chekov and O’Casey that would really come to life with this cast’s energy. The treatment could also be applied to work by Ionesco and more recent comic dramatists like Dario Fo. This creative team could easily tackle longer classic plays by Moliere or Goldoni.

Finally, it would also be good to see serious work – drama that is disturbing and intellectually challenging – replacing the preoccupation with going for laughs, which is something of an easy way out.

Of course, it’s not fair to compare the programme with material by the greatest European playwrights and it’s beside the point. What one would hope, though, is that Theatr Clwyd’s development programme does succeed in unearthing writers and scripts which will allow them to get beyond providing their audience with light entertainment and just tickling their fancies. On the basis of the good things that were in this double bill, that should be well within the theatre’s capabilities.

(5 / 5)

It’s only fair to take the time to look at these pieces as separate entities as, although as with the popular game we may have all played as teenagers, ‘Truth’ and ‘Dare’ go together hand in hand, these performances also offer the audience two different casts, a variety of plays and writers and a change in creative teams, all which must be applauded in their own right.

This concept has been built on Curtain Up, which was performed in September 2021, in response to the Covid pandemic. This production embraced many freelance artists and this time around, Theatr Clwyd has commissioned ten freelance writers to create ten brand new plays on the theme of ‘Truth’ or ‘Dare.’

Each of these brand-new plays is captioned in Welsh and English with the scripts being a mixture of English language, bi-lingual and Welsh language. It is so refreshing to consistently hear our native tongue throughout, yet it is easy to follow even for a non-Welsh speaker- and would be well suited to those learning Welsh.

We’ll begin with ‘Dare’ (mainly due to this being the first treat for audiences on this particular occasion). ‘Dare’ opens with ‘Barbie Butt’ written by Greg Glover and we go on to witness four other plays- ‘Show Us’ by Kallum Weyman, ‘This Time Next Week’ by Natasha Kaeda, ‘Annwn (Mold Gold)’ by Hannah Daniel and ‘And The Crowd Goes Boom’ by Bethan Marlow. It would be easy to give a summary of each play and choose the best bits but I encourage those reading this to go and experience ‘Truth or Dare’ for themselves as it’s clear that no one performance will be exactly the same each evening- not only dependent on the audience and their reactions but also down to the fact that audiences are encouraged to bring props for the actors to use in each play- changing up the delivery and the outcome of each piece every time! This provides a lot of laughter, not only for the audience but often for those on stage! Props during this evening’s ‘Dare’ range from a tin of Heinz baked beans to a fake, rubber poop! All of the performers must be praised, not only for their character work and scripted sections but also for their improvisation skills whilst dealing with an unknown item being inserted into the play with no prior warning!

‘Dare’ offered up so many laugh out loud moments- highlights being Geraint Rhys Edwards’ as ‘salesperson’ (absolutely hilarious and fantastic comic timing!) and Sara Harris-Davies’ poignant speech at the end of ‘This Time Next Week’- perfectly balanced reflection betwixt the brilliant comedy of the the rest of the piece.

After a slightly longer than usual break (which is a welcome change and chance for the audience to discuss what they have already seen as well as an opportunity to spin the ‘Truth or Dare’ wheel and pick the relevant card- my ‘Truth’ card asks ‘what is your guilty pleasure?!’ What a fun way to introduce some conversation starters to the interval!)

‘Truth’ commences with ‘One Stop Short’ by Alexandria Riley, ‘The Wake’ by Ceri Ashe, ‘Maternity Leave’ by Lucie Lovatt, ‘Bwygan’ by Melangell Dolma and ‘Two Parts Madness, One Part Mayhem’ by Christian Patterson. Where ‘Dare’ provides more laugh out loud moments, ‘Truth’ is more of a balance between sadness, darkness and ridiculousness! We move between themes of loss, bereavement, love and loneliness to the grand finale which certainly lives up to its name and is the icing on the cake! Again, there are lots of stand out moments and performances during ‘Truth’- Mirain Roberts and Lisa Jen Brown as feuding sisters who end up having to recapture a childhood performance from their days in the Eisteddfods at their mother’s wake to Francois Pandolfo as the over-the-top (but not TOO over-the-top!) grieving widow alongside Seren Vickers who just screams Rik Mayall! Again, audience props brought a unique flavour to each play- this time a window squeegee and a toilet roll amongst others!

‘Truth or Dare’ is a wonderfully entertaining evening at the theatre. A unique concept, an extremely talented cast and creative team and filled with moments of contemplation and plenty of giggles!

You can find out more information about the productions and book tickets here

‘Dare’

Cast
Ashley Mejri
Laura Dalgleish
Jake Sawyers
Victoria John
Kieran Bailey
Caitlin Drake
Leilah Hughes
Hefin Wyn
Sara Harris-Davies
Geraint Rhys Edwards

Creative Team
Director – Francesca Goodridge
Associate Director – Daniel Lloyd
Company Stage Manager – Cassey Driver
Deputy Stage Manager – Martha Davies
Prologue Writer – Matthew Bulgo
Set & Costume Designer – Millie Lamkin
Lighting Designer – David Powell
Sound Designer – Ben Morgan
Casting Director – Polly Jerrold
Producer – Jenny Pearce
Production Manager – Jim Davis

‘Truth’

Cast
Francois Pandolfo
Mirain Roberts
Gabin Kongolo
Lisa Jen Brown
Betsan Llwyd
Londiwe Mthembu
Elinor Larsson
Catherine Morris
Oliver Morgan Thomas
Seren Vickers

Creative Team
Director – Hannah Noone
Associate Director – Juliette Manon
Company Stage Manager – Alec Reece
Deputy Stage Manager – Amy Wildgoose
Prologue Writer Matthew Bulgo
Set & Costume Designer – Millie Lamkin
Lighting Designer – David Powell
Sound Designer – Ben Morgan
Casting Director – Polly Jerrold
Producer – Jenny Pearce
Production Manager – Jim Davis

(5 / 5)

There was a very vibrant atmosphere when we walked into the studio to see Es and Flo. The music they put on before it started had quite a Reggae feel and influence, and the set just blew me away. It was so beautifully done, because you could see the home and decor influences of the 80s, but you could tell it wasn’t set in the 80s, it had a bit of a modern feel. The set design by Libby Watson was amazing, in how they thought of every detail. There was a picture of Jamaica above the fridge, they had a kettle that they used many times during the show, and the milk from the fridge, they had wine on the kitchen counter, they had a sofa and a chair which had a mismatched feel and the books that lined the shelves behind them made up the intricate details and gave hints to the characters; they had a lot of travel books and a Spanish dictionary above a Collins English dictionary. They had an older-looking radio that was cleverly used at the start of the play, and the whole piece was very intimate and real, and the start saw Es putting on the kettle for tea, turning the radio on and letting it play something to do with the Conservative Party, and the opening line was ‘F***ing Tories’, which broke the ice in a funny and clever way, while introducing the characters’ beliefs and values.

Another thing that was very cleverly done with the set/ space was between scenes they would show images and sound clips from Greenham Common Women’s Peace Camp, because the characters first met there and they stood up for what they believed in. One of the songs they kept repeating the tune of was Frère Jacques, and the lyrics that they/ the women at the peace camp had sung were ‘we are women, we are strong, we say no, to the bomb’ and I think using that sound was connecting and emotional on another level. They projected these images onto a black curtain just above the stage, and in the second part, after using the projection to transition between scenes, they drew back the curtain to reveal another stage space for a hospital scene, which was so cleverly done because they didn’t have to change any of the set and it was still very much intimate and a slice of their lives.

The general story and the characters were so well created, that you felt emotionally invested in each one of their lives, and you could imagine their stories before, and possibly after, the plane that we were invited into. Even the character who seemed the most judgemental and nastiest character, had changed and you saw the life she had outside of Es and Flo and felt very sorry for her.

One of the best parts of the show was showing a lesbian couple on stage, which I think invited a wider range of audiences, and not being afraid to not just kiss, but ‘snog’ in front of the audience as well! Another part I loved about it, which links to society being judgemental of gay couples in the 1980s was that there were 5 characters in the cast, all women, so we didn’t actually have the perspective of a male character although two were mentioned (Es’s ex-husband and her son, who was Catherine’s husband), which I thought was very clever.

Some of the best shows I have seen have been in ‘small’, intimate spaces, and I think that’s because you really get immersed in the show because it’s so close to you, and you can empathise with the characters a lot more that way.

I really think that I have just witnessed a truly brilliant piece of theatre (and you could too!) that will become very popular, and reach far and wide. Not only did it have a good story, curtesy of the Playwright, Jennifer Lunn but the characters were multi-dimensional, the Director, Susie McKenna had a great vision as well as the set designer, and every other factor contributed to it being an amazing show, so I urge you to hurry down to the Wales Millennium Centre while you still can.

You can find out more about the production and book tickets here