The Story by Tess Berry-Hart centres around X (Siwan Morris), a person “of the people” returning to their homeland after a year volunteering in “occupied territories”, helping refugees. X is being held under suspicious circumstances by V (Hannah McPake) who, under many different guises, interrogates, questions and advises X.
As much as this is a story about criminalising those who help others – it also explores the violence of language, manipulation of tone and deconstructs the ideas of a story and truth in the world of “justice”. It is this that truly stands out in Tess Berry-Hart’s writing.
There is so much to like about Berry-Hart’s writing. It is technically very strong. The language is brilliant, at times beautiful, at other times horrifying. The slow-burning story is amplified by excellent psychology within the characters.
David
Mercatali’s direction is strong. Mercatali deals with the slow-moving story
well, pacing the play in a manner that constantly makes the audience think and
second-guess. The tone also shifts in an interesting and subtle way.
The acting performances are strong all round. Hannah McPake’s subtle diversity in her different “characters” as V is phenomenal, whilst Siwan Morris’ defiance as X is extremely moving. Luciana Trapman as The Storyteller also does a great job delivering powerful vignettes that are projected onto parts of the set.
Set up with promenade staging, Delyth Evans’ design is simple, yet effective. The long, narrow stage gives a real sense of entrapment that enhances the production. Combining with Katy Morison’s lighting which is mostly understated, but flickers and flashes at key moments. Tic Ashfield’s sound design completes the design elements in a very strong way. Somewhat unnecessarily, but effectively, bringing in glitches on voiceovers to distort the messages we’re hearing. This drives the audience’s curiosity to the mention of “the voice”.
This is potentially subjective, but The Story’s main issue is that it’s not challenging enough. There’s not enough emotion and the lack of a real story with a build really takes away from the potential power of this play. It feels quite safe and relies on an echo chamber for an audience. An audience who already think and feel how the play wants you to think and feel about the messages and themes.
It also
doesn’t go deep enough into the topics it tackles. Far from a dystopian world –
this is the reality of what we are currently living in. The dystopian feel
takes away from that realism.
The disappointment comes from the clear potential of the play. It’s on the verge of being something brilliant, just falling short.
The Story offers a lot to reflect on in its
content and enjoy in its production but doesn’t reach its potential through failing
to truly challenge its audience.
The Story at The Other Room, Cardiff 8th October – 27th October 2019 Written by Tess Berry-Hart Directed by David Mercatali Siwan Morris as X Hannah McPake as V Luciana Trapman as The Storyteller Design by Delyth Evans Sound Design by Tic Ashfield Lighting Design by Katy Morison Video Design by Simon Clode Assistant Director: Samantha Jones Stage Manager: Rachel Bell Production Manager: Rhys Williams Season Fight Director: Kevin McCurdy Fight Choreographer: Cristian Cardenas Choreographer: Deborah Light Production Photography: Kirsten McTernan Associate Director: Matthew Holmquist Casting Director: Nicola Reynolds BSL Interpreter: Julie Doyle Set Builder: Will Goad
Opening The Other Room’s The Violence Series autumn season is Matthew Bulgo’s American Nightmare. Bulgo’s third play with Cardiff’s pub theatre, this rendition tackles class and the flaws in the reality of the ‘American Dream’.
American Nightmare follows two pairs of very different kinds of people. The elite class, represented by Clara (Ruth Ollman) and Greg (Chris Gordon) plotting a new scheme to control and exploit the working and under classes, which are represented by Daria (Lowri Izzard) and Elwood (Gwydion Rhys).
Clara and Greg sit, drinking and dining in a New York skyscraper as Clara entices Greg with an extremely lucrative business proposal that will change the landscape of America both physically and culturally.
Meanwhile, in a bunker somewhere in America, Daria and Elwood are taking part in a programme that aims to produce a set of obedient, low incentive driven workers under the orders from a character named ‘The Program’.
The writing from Matthew Bulgo is perfectly good for the most part. Clara and Greg are a little too prominent and really it’s mostly unnecessary in the grand scheme of things. The characters exist mainly to provide context rather than any real drama or story within itself. Context that could be more creatively explained and unravelled in a less predictive manner.
The story mainly comes from Daria and Ellwood, this is where we get tension and see in depth, complex characters. Daria’s story arch is brilliant and everything she does makes complete sense in the context of the play. Every move is calculated perfectly from Bulgo.
Ellwood is a well written, realistic character for who you feel both sympathy and frustration. He has his ideas of how the world is and is firm in being resilient in the face of it, but at his heart just wants to get away from it all and live off the land.
The direction from Sara Lloyd is understated. Lloyd expertly controls the manipulation and psychology between the two sets of characters that drives the drama and tension of the play. This is American Nightmare’s real strength and Lloyd makes the most of it.
Lloyd is accompanied by an excellent production team with Delyth Evans’ set in particular standing out. The highlight of which is a pair of sliding doors that part to unveil the elite and close to lock the poor in to the bunker.
Katy Morison’s lighting is simple, yet effective, working in conjuncture with Simon Clode’s videography that transitions the scenes. Tic Ashfield’s sound design doing its bit which blends nicely without invading the rest of the production.
Lowri Izzard is fantastic, perfectly displaying Daria’s journey and ulterior motives subtly throughout the play with the use of body movements and tone.
Gwydion Rhys is completely believable if not only for a poor Southern accent. His facial expressions are great as he transforms into Elwood. His descent is a shining light of the play and Rhys is a huge reason for this.
It’s hard to criticise Ruth Ollman and Chris Gordon but also hard to take too much from their performances. They have good chemistry and do their job well, but their characters don’t have much depth to delve into.
The main downer on the acting is Richard Harrington as ‘The Program’ who appears via video. As an authority figure with no remorse, he feels quite soft and unbelievable in the role.
There is one
issue that should not go unspoken in criticism of the play.
To ignore
race is a complete whitewashing of the issue of class in America. They are intrinsically
linked and whilst a white writer may not feel it appropriate to pass comment
the play is much weaker for overlooking this gaping hole in its content.
This is a
play set in a dystopian America – but what is written in fiction only holds
worth when considered in the context of it relates to real life. It is impossible
to talk about poverty, class and the American Dream in America without speaking
about race if you want to speak with true credibility.
Ignoring
race is potentially problematic considering what is suggested in this play has
literally happened and continues to happen to people of colour in the USA. This
is reality for some, this is what is happening.
The play is
exaggerated reality, yes. But all this play does is exaggerate the realities of
people of colour in America with a white face. If accidental a huge stroke of misfortune.
If intentionally ignoring the race aspect to poverty and class in the USA,
problematic.
The excuse of “that’s not what the play is about” isn’t valid here. The writer simply must tackle it to some extent. This is a whitewashing of the issue it deals with and the play is weaker for it.
Not to take away from what is there which is technically good writing, excellent production and some great acting. The issues with American Nightmare are what is missing in its content rather than its generally strong core.
American Nightmare at The Other Room, Cardiff 10th September – 29th September 2019 Written by Matthew Bulgo Directed by Sarah Lloyd Starring: Lowri Izzard as Daria Gwydion Rhys as Elwood Ruth Ollman as Clara Chris Gordon as Greg Richard Harrington as The Program Designer: Delyth Evans Lighting Designer: Katy Morison Sound Designer/Composer: Tic Ashfield Videographer: Simon Clode Production Manager: Rhys Williams Stage Manager: Hattie Wheeler Assistant Director: Duncan Hallis Casting Director: Nicola Reynolds Production photography: Kirsten McTernan Fight Director: Kev McCurdy Associate Director: Matthew Holmquist Accent Coach: Emma Stevens-Johnson BSL Interpreter: Sami Thorpe Set Builder: Will Goad
The Young
Artist’s Festival (YAF) is a week-long, annual event run by The Other Room,
Cardiff’s only pub theatre. For the festival, the theatre invites between 35-50
participants from Wales’ emerging creative scene into their doors to gain
invaluable experience working with their peers.
The
initiative is open to actors, writers, directors and stage managers and aims to
provide an opportunity to explore their chosen discipline, encourage
collaboration and artistic risk-taking. The participants are shown the value of
hard work with an intense, but rewarding, week. They’re given the opportunity
to work with new, contemporary work. But the ultimate aim is for participants
to gain confidence, grow and keep creating beyond YAF.
The week
starts with various workshops and talks from The Other Room’s staff and
industry professionals from a broad range of backgrounds. These workshops
include casting, starting and maintaining a company, arts council applications,
marketing, community theatre as well as sessions for skill-sharing and
networking. They also have specific workshops within their respective
disciplines with industry professionals.
The participants are then introduced to their companies, comprised of a group of actors, one director and one writer, and start working towards their end-of-week goals. Actors and directors present a performance of a given commissioned script and a dramatic rehearsed reading of their writer’s script. Writers write that ten-minute play whilst stage managers make it all happen.
Actors
The actors workshop this year was with Keiron Self and had a
specific focus on how an actor interprets text. The actors from YAF tell me
this was vital for the short rehearsal period they had. You don’t have long to
get to know your character, and it’s especially important in shorter pieces
where characters rely more on performance for characterisation.
Once the actors are in the
rehearsal room they have a couple of days to get off book before their first
performance. Something some saw as a somewhat daunting task, having never done
it in such a short space of time before. However, they realise it’s perfectly
possible and that the experience is vital for them moving forward. Especially
when preparing for auditions or working in the fringe environment where time to
learn lines is limited.
The performances at the end of the week come and go, but it’s
really about the experience of the week, of putting yourself out there and on
stage that seems to last beyond the week for the actors.
Directors
The directors had a workshop with Simon Harris, who focused
on doing text work before rehearsals and working with new writing. The
directors tell me this was great experience going in. Often their teaching has
focused on working in the room and once again, the workshop complimented the
direction process for the week.
The directors also have a production meeting with stage
managers where they set out their vision and discuss the possibilities. This is
something few of the directors had done before and again, it’s something that
really helps with their personal growth.
Directors also expressed the experience of being able to work
with a writer and have them in the room. Directing for rehearsed reading is something
that kept coming up also. Directing with a specific focus on displaying the
writing, which is different from directing the commissioned piece. Directing
both during the week is a valuable experience to take away.
The trust and support given to directors to control not one,
but two pieces of theatre, be placed in a room full of actors and deliver their
own vision is something the directors also spoke highly of. The support from
The Other Room’s artistic director Dan Jones and YAF producer Claire Bottomly was
a big part of the director’s experience.
Stage
Managers
As previously mentioned, the directors and stage managers
have a production meeting near the start of the week. For the stage managers
this is something none of them had done in this way before and is extremely
helpful moving into YAF.
The stage managers are very hands-on during the week. With the
support of a professional stage manager, in 2019 being Kristian Rhodes, they
effectively make the shows happen. Bringing the director’s visions to life by
sorting set, sourcing props and arranging lighting and sound. They’re present
in some of the rehearsal process and get to tech a run of the final
performances.
Overall, the experience is positive for the stage managers.
They’re constantly busy and feel like they’re just on the job. But, crucially,
have that support from a senior stage manager and The Other Room staff.
Writers
The writers start their week in a writing workshop with a
professional playwright. This year, and the year I did it in 2017, it was with
Matthew Bulgo. Bulgo is an excellent playwright and I can say from experience, very
good at leading a workshop. He focuses this one on structure and writing for
short-form, which is key for the week moving forward. All writers expressed how
helpful this was on many levels.
Bulgo also returns to offer feedback, which is also offered
by The Other Room’s staff throughout the week.
The writers spend the first half of the festival writing a
ten-minute play. Something that sounds quite scary at first, but from watching
the scripts performed at the end, easily possible to a good standard.
Writers then go into the rehearsal room on the Friday and Saturday
to see their scripts rehearsed. This is a new experience for some, as is what
happens in the afternoon on the Saturday when their scripts are performed in a
dramatic rehearsed reading.
The writers seem to be the most stressed during the week, but as a result the most relieved and happiest at the end when they see their work. It’s an intense but rewarding week and in some cases the writers take their scripts and develop them further.
Speaking to participants from all disciplines, it’s clear
they’re there for similar reasons. To make connections and friends, learn,
explore, grow, reignite a passion, re-motivate, progress ideas, bounce off
others, practice professionalism and a collaborative process in a supportive
environment.
By the end it’s clear the week has been valuable, often in
more ways than they realise. It gives participants a sense of pride if they
need it or helps to ground them if they’re more critical. To realise that not
everything has to be a masterpiece, and anything produced within a week won’t
be perfect. But that it can be done. It shows them that this can be done and
all it takes is a bit of hard work and the knowledge, which YAF provides, to do
it.
When I did the Young Artists Festival in 2017, it didn’t seem
much different. The main difference is it seems more focused on creating an
environment of collaboration. Not that it wasn’t there in 2017. It’s hard to
really progress YAF every year, because it’s always been a really great week
for anyone involved. They’ve always been aware that people are different and
always tried to cater to everyone, making young artists feel comfortable in an
environment that, for many, is fairly alien – the world of professional theatre
making.
As part of the Professional Pathways Programme at The Other
Room, trainee director, Samantha Jones, and trainee producer, Yasmin Williams,
are presenting their showcase production, Crave by Sarah Kane.
I met up with them to chat about it before the run started which you can read HERE to find out more about the production process and the Professional Pathways Programme.
The Other Room opened in 2015 with Blasted, Sarah Kane’s first play. Fitting then that Jones and
Williams chose Crave which was a
turning point in Sarah Kane’s career. Both in her artistic style and her
critical reception.
It’s a turning point in their own careers and Sarah Kane has
always felt somewhat connected to The Other Room. A theatre that allows young
artists to take bold steps, as Kane was allowed to do by The Royal Court. That
is exactly what taking on Crave is
for Jones and Williams. A bold statement of, “this is what we can do.”
The writing is obviously excellent, and not really up for
review as such here. But it is worth saying, you won’t see many plays more real
and brilliantly written than this in your life. Almost every line is crucial
and despite running at 45-minutes, there are brilliant plays twice as long with
half the content. It truly is a masterpiece.
That said, the script can’t do the work on its own. If the
artists involved don’t rise to the challenge, the play will fail. Don’t be fooled,
the script is great but not an easy one to direct or act. It won’t carry itself
and is open to interpretation. With no vision, it’s just a bunch of words. Kane
makes those involved work for its brilliance. She wrote Crave for directorial interpretation, to be explored and played
with. This is exactly why Samantha Jones and Yasmin Williams chose it for their
showcase production.
As it is, the artists involved relish and rise to the challenge brilliantly.
Samantha Jones’ direction is sublime. Close attention is paid
to rhythm which highlights the script’s strengths. The tone is handled really
well helping Jones control the pace, which is done beautifully.
The decision to perform in traverse is a great one, not
allowing the actors anywhere to hide. Sometimes Crave is performed quite statically which really doesn’t seem to
work. Jones, however, brings the play to life with excellent physicality,
making the most of the small space. The playis breathing and vibrant in its direction, which compliments Crave perfectly.
All four performances are excellent. Its hard to pinpoint one as a standout as they all work well as an ensemble and stand-out as individuals. As the production is in collaboration with Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama, all four actors are second year acting students and they do their college proud in this production.
Emily John explores her character and it really feels as we
get to know her throughout the play. She feels both strong and vulnerable at
the same time which is really powerful.
Callum Howells brings natural charm and humour to his role. His
character, A, is completely unaware of himself in a beautiful and disturbing
way, depending on the context. Not distracting from the production’s dark tones,
rather offering a break from it. His delivery of ‘that’ monologue is simply magnificent.
Johnna Dias-Watson feels ever-present in the production. Her
care in physicality stands out and you always feel her presence because of it,
and when you don’t, there’s a reason why. Playing a ‘mother’ figure, this works
perfectly.
Benjamin McCann also brings some humour to the production, but his character is much more aware of himself than Howells as A. His delivery towards the end of the play is particularly good. He feels natural and I have to say I personally resonated most with him.
Zoe Brennan and Mimi Donaldson’s set design is lovely. Creating a claustrophobic feeling in the traverse set-up which allows space for the direction and acting to flourish. The lighting from Ryan Joseph Stafford is mystic and minimal, setting the mood well. Joshua Bowles’ sound design creeps through, mostly subtly, yet obvious in moments. None of the design is complicated but compliments the production allowing the play to flourish.
Crave at The
Other Room is an excellent production of Sarah Kane’s masterpiece exploring
what it is to love.
Ultimately, this production is very hard to put into words. I
left the theatre and felt completely different for two days. Even writing now, I
just don’t have the words to justify my feelings. It is a compliment to Kane’s
excellent writing, but the job of Yasmin Williams and Samantha Jones is to make
this play speak as loudly as it can. They have done that extremely well and
deserve the credit for what they achieved with Kane’s work.
Crave by Sarah Kane at The Other Room, Cardiff 30th April – 11th May 2019 Directed by Samantha Jones Produced by Yasmin Williams Starring: C – Emily John M – Johnna Dias-Watson B – Benjamin McCann A – Callum Howells Set Designed by Zoe Brennan and Mimi Donaldson Sound Designed by Joshua Bowles Lighting Designed by Ryan Joseph Stafford Stage Managed by Millie McElhinney Deputy Stage Managed by Emily Behague Assistant Directed by Nerida Bradley
As their showcase production of the Professional Pathways Programme at The Other Room, Yasmin and Samantha are presenting Crave by Sarah Kane, at The Other Room running between April 30th and May 11th 2019.
I met up with Director Samantha Jones, Producer Yasmin
Williams and Assistant Director Nerida Bradley to chat about Crave, Sarah Kaneand the Professional Pathways Programme.
Why Crave? Why Sarah Kane? Why Now?
Being completely technical, for the Professional Pathways
Programme I think this is exactly what we needed. There are no limitations, no
rules, no guidance and that’s exactly what we needed from a script as a
challenge and a gift.
When next are we going to get the opportunity to stage
whatever we want with no limitations – Sarah Kane, obviously. It’s exactly the
kind of work we’d like to see more of in Cardiff. The way it plays with form, but
also what it says and what it means to people.
The Other Room opened with Sarah Kane and this play was an
artistic turning point for her career. So, it just felt right, being the first
Professional Pathways Programme at The Other Room and a turning point in our
careers, to stage this play.
There are loads of reasons why this play is relevant now, but
really what’s so great about Sarah Kane is that she’s so real she’ll always be
relevant and so will Crave.
What does
Sarah Kane mean to you as artists and people?
As an artist she’s bold and experimental. Her work is full of
anger, but doesn’t fall into the trap of angst or the box people tried to put
her in. She’s angry but it still feels feminine without the work needing to be
about femininity. Just feminine through the way she uses language. Everything
in the text is earned and the artists involved in her plays have to raise their
game to her level.
As a person, she doesn’t make you feel judged, she just makes
you feel and reflect. She can make you feel anything with her words. When I
first read one of her plays, I had to read the others and read them all in one
sitting. She’s just great.
What’s your
aim with this piece?
Is it enough to say truth? Sarah Kane said, “I write the
truth and it kills me,” so it’s important to stay true to that.
But also, Crave is
written in a way that allows us to play and experiment. She was bold and
experimental in writing this play, so we need to be the same in presenting it
too.
It’s about what it means to be a human, the loneliness that
comes with that, what love is, etc. We all have different perspectives and
feelings in regard to this play, as I’m sure you will when you see it. Everyone
will feel different things as the play is so true it relates to everyone individually.
We want the audience to reflect and feel something about the themes, but more
importantly about themselves.
Sam, considering how open the script is to a director’s interpretation, how are you approaching Crave as director?
Crave is a play
that is always moving and changing as you work on it, so it’s more of a
facilitation process, rather than direction and I wouldn’t have it any other
way.
It’s key working with Nerida, not only as one of the best assistants
around, but as someone who loves Sarah Kane and understands the text in a way
that is different, but just as brilliant, to me. The whole team, including Yasmin
and the actors, the same. The moment someone puts their stamp on Sarah Kane is
the moment the it dies. So, everyone in the room has a voice.
Yas, with
the everchanging, undefined nature of the script and production process, how
are you approaching Crave as
producer?
One of the great things about the Professional Pathways
Programme is that this is the first full-show I’ve produced on my own, and I’ve
been trusted to do so. The experience has sort of confirmed my theory that
nobody really knows what a producer is and it’s an everchanging role in
theatre. But given me confidence in knowing that’s okay. There is no set of rules
for a producer as the job changes so much from show-to-show.
Part of what makes producing Crave so great, is that I have to be involved in the creative discussion to do the job. It might be easier to produce if things were more set in stone, but as the piece is constantly moving forward and growing I need to stay on my toes and get involved in the room. It’s very hands on and it needs to be as I have to stay connected, artistically, to the production.
How have
you found the past year at The Other Room as part of their Professional
Pathways Programme?
The
Professional Pathways Programme has been a great way to step into the world of
professional theatre making. Building new relationships, especially with each
other as this year has just made us want to work with each other more in the
future. Opportunities to work with new writing with things like SEEN and Spring
Fringe Script, working with Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama have also
been super beneficial.
Learning how
a theatre building works and runs, beyond the shows, has probably been the
biggest thing to learn. And now getting to work on whatever play we want, being
able to produce it and put it on for a full-run is the perfect way to end the
year. Overall, it’s been an invaluable experience for both of us.
Nerida, as
you’re on arts placement at The Other Room and assistant director on Crave, how have you seen Yas and Sam
grow over the last year?
They were always capable of doing this. But they’ve just had the chance to prove it. They’ve not just done the job but really added to the discussion and put their ideas forward. In particular they’ve absolutely smashed the year in transforming SEEN and working on Spring Fringe Script amongst other things. It’s just so great that they’ve been given the opportunity and platform to show what they can do as well as learn and move forward.
Crave runs at The Other Room in Cardiff between April 30th and May 11th 2019. Presented in collaboration with the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama and The Other Room’s Professional Pathways Programme. You can read more about the production and the Professional Pathways Programme HERE.
Crave by Sarah Kane at The Other Room, Cardiff 30th April – 11th May 2019 Directed by Samantha Jones Produced by Yasmin Williams Starring: C – Emily John M – Johnna Watson B – Benjamin McCann A – Callum Howells Assistant Directed by Nerida Bradley Set Designed by Zoe Brennan and Mimi Donaldson Sound Designed by Joshua Bowles Lighting Designed by Ryan Joseph Stafford Stage Managed by Millie McElhinney Deputy Stage Managed by Emily Behague
Bottom is an auto-biographical play about Willy Hudson, a queer man exploring the overriding questions of, what it is to be a “bottom” or a “top”, why does it matter and whether “bottom” in bed means bottom in life?
It’s a coming-of-age story, a queer story, a gay story, a story about insecurity in many forms, about relationships and ultimately, a classic love-story. But really, who needs labels when you’ve got substance? And Bottom has substance in bucket loads.
Willy takes us on his quest for love from the moment he came out to the morning after his first sober date. He’s awaiting a text from his date which triggers him to explore various aspects of his life and why this text, as opposed to the others, is so important.
Before this, Willy has been partying and sleeping around, as a bottom, for his entire sexual maturity, if he’s not been at home masturbating. This is the first time he’s felt a connection and the first time he’s not needed drugs or alcohol. But there are problems, the dinner he cooked was burned, he couldn’t ‘get it up’, he hid in his bathroom and they didn’t have sex.
As the play develops, in its non-linear pattern, we learn about Willy’s sexual history – but what we’re really doing is understanding his quest for love. Willy isn’t looking for sex, but that is what he’s been taught, so that is what he gets.
Willy Hudson immediately establishes a relationship with the audience from the moment he enters wearing only a towel, looking for his clothes which are hidden underneath our chairs.
Hudson’s performance is honest, he feels like himself, it barely comes across as acting. It feels as only Willy could have played this part. Hudson deals with his past emotions critically and delivers a brilliant performance, channeling his inner Sasha Fierce.
Hudson’s honesty and self-reflection leads into his writing too, which is carefully constructed into a brilliant non-linear plot. This allows Hudson to stay true to his story, whilst also telling a theatrically intriguing story. The writing is beautiful, honest, well-structured and funny. There’s no way you’d guess this is Hudson’s debut as a playwright.
Director, Rachel Lemon, admits this was a hard show to direct, in the post-show Q&A. Hard because it’s so truthful to Willy, there were times where the best artistic choice changed Willy’s story somewhat. But, Lemon does a good job of maintaining a strong piece of theatre whilst telling Willy’s truth.
It is chaotic at times, Willy jumping all over the place with his non-linear plot. That chaos however is representative of Willy’s life in the story, so it works brilliantly, and Lemon’s direction ensures this succeeds.
Tic Ashfield’s sound design compliments the play perfectly. I’m no Beyoncé fan (sorry Willy, I prefer Rihanna), but the music choices are brilliant and are exploited at the right times for emotional effect. The inclusion of Beyoncé isn’t a weird gimmick that Hudson throws in as a fan, which was the worry going in. It fits.
You’ll do well to see a more important and relevant play than Bottom in Wales this year. Hudson doesn’t fall into the trap of negativity that surrounds so much LGBTQ+ theatre and media generally. He spoke about the importance of positive LGBTQ+ stories and how it was important to him that this was positive, in the post-show Q&A.
Yet, Hudson doesn’t shy away from tough topics and critiquing aspects gay culture either. He also speaks about fears of backlash that he’s seen other shows get. But says that at the end of the day, “it’s just a story and it is my truth.”
Not only for the LGBTQ+ community though, Bottom should be celebrated by everyone. In a time when the government are forcing a debate about the education of LGBTQ+ relationships, this couldn’t be more relevant or important. You could do a lot worse than take your kids to see this production. It is a play I needed to see at fourteen or fifteen and is equally important now.
It’s an educational piece, but not supposed to be. It doesn’t aim to teach, it’s just a story. This fact is just a reflection of where we’re at as a society.
I have personally never related so much to a piece of theatre. Yet, I’m not LGBTQ+. Hudson tells a human story, where the protagonist happens to be queer. He doesn’t simplify it to labels, he explores the human behind the labels within LGBTQ+ and wider society. This is so powerful and something we need more of.
Bottom it is a heartfelt, honest, funny and thought-provoking exploration of gay relationships in modern Britain. Miss it at your own risk.
Bottom is part of The Other Room’s ‘Spring Fringe’ curated spring season. One of eight shows coming to Cardiff’s only pub theatre over eight weeks. Tickets can be found HERE.
BOTTOM at The Other Room, Cardiff 27th – 30th March 2019 Written, Performed and Produced by Willy Hudson Directed and Produced by Rachel Lemon Sound Design: Tic Ashfield Movement Director: Jess Tucker Boyd Lighting Design: Lucy Adams Line Producer: Sofia Stephanou Dramaturg: Bryony Kimmings Graphic Design: Jimmy Ginn Photographer: Joe Magowan Videographer: Tristan Bell
As we enter the space at The Other Room, we are greeted by Betty Walsh (as Betsey) and Emilia Stawicki (Emily). They remind you that your alcohol is apple juice and, as the play starts, that you, the audience, are a group of ten-year-old girls, arriving at Camp Be Yourself. Also, to stay inside the red-markers because there isn’t (but might be) the threat of bears.
What follows is an organised and hilarious mess where two characters, Betsey and Emily, are exploring what it is to be an adult, whilst they’re supposed to be running a camp.
Delusions of grandeur, suppressed insecurities and the absence of a mother drive Betsey’s character. Whilst Emily is nervous, repressing emotion, unsure of herself and eager to impress.
The performances of both characters are hilarious and relatable. Both Walsh and Stawicki are great comedic performers, exploiting the use of facial expressions and mannerisms expertly. They both perform with conviction and full knowledge of their characters who are instantly recognisable, but leave room for growth.
Whilst a lot of that growth and conflict is subtle, it’s
presented clearly and naturally throughout. Everyone leaves the theatre sure of
who these women are, what issues they have whilst having a good laugh along the
way.
The writing is more sophisticated than you might expect. It’s well-structured, the characters have real depth and there’s natural conflict which builds very convincingly.
The writing and performances from Stawicki and Walsh deserve huge credit for achieving this.
The fact that there is a non-binary character (Billie) referred to throughout the play may go unnoticed by some but definitely deserves a mention. It’s nice to have a non-binary character where their gender doesn’t affect the plot, they’re just a normal person and that’s okay.
The pop-culture references provide a fair amount of comedy throughout. The few references to Tiffany Trump, in particular, are great. The use of music too is really funny. Michael Sambello’s ‘Maniac’ used for a dance-break reminded me of American Pie, when they use the same song for a dance-off. That made me chuckle, along with the use of PTAF’s ‘Boss A** B*tch’, which I recognised from the first drum-beat.
It certainly helps that the references and comedy generally fit my personal sense of humour. Betty Walsh’s character in particular I liked. It reminded me of Ja’mie King from Summer Heights High or a female David Brent. My worry is that perhaps this won’t appeal to an older audience. But a lot of the comedy does come from tried-and-tested means, is fairly intellectual and very self-aware (even if the characters aren’t).
The play touches on various themes, such as; adulthood, sisterhood (in a friendship sense), motherhood, childhood (in particular, how that affects us later in life), responsibility and insecurity. What is really nice about this play is that it doesn’t try to answer any questions, it merely explores the characters and themes in a comedic way and leaves room for you to think further. Both characters have a lot of depth and we explore that through comedy rather than a dramatic exfoliation of their personal history. This works really well and is really satisfying and refreshing to see.
Camp Be
Yourself is a must-see, hilarious hour-long exploration of two very
different women and their ideas of adulthood.
Camp Be Yourself is part of The Other Room’s ‘Spring
Fringe’ curated spring season. One of eight shows coming to Cardiff’s only pub
theatre over eight weeks. Tickets can be found for this and other upcoming
Spring Fringe shows HERE, with an ever-growing discount for the more shows you book.
Camp be Yourself at The Other Room, Cardiff 20 – 23 March 2019 Presented by Box. Theatre Company Created by Emilia Stawicki and Betty Jane Walsh Starring: Betty Jane Walsh as Betsey Emilia Stawicki as Emily
Bummer
and Lazarus is an absurdist play by Yorkshire-based Big Egg Theatre. Loosely
based on two real-life dogs of legend from 1860’s San Francisco, we follow
Bummer and Lazarus as they try to find food and a way out of the room they are
stuck in.
Whilst Lazarus has an existential crisis and is desperate to
know the meaning of everything, Bummer is much more grounded and focused on the
goal of escape. Lazarus asks an infinite amount of questions before truly
testing Bummer’s patience, driving the conflict throughout.
The writing from Jack Harrison varies a lot. There’s a lot of
subtlety to the writing which is brilliant and the rhythm at times is great. But
the mood and tone rarely shift which makes the production a little stale.
Bummer explains the existence of time, inanimate objects and
indeed existing itself to the curious Lazarus. However, this is all stuff the
audiences knows and the novelty of Lazarus’ innocent thirst for knowledge wears
off quickly.
These conversations fill the time but don’t hold the attention.
There is some wit and humour, but really not enough to carry the play. The subtlety
of the relationship changes are good, but ultimately the play doesn’t fulfil its
potential.
The performances also vary. The physicality between the two is generally good. Bummer the old, wise, beaten dog and Lazarus an excitable puppy. But where the physicality works, the emotion behind the characters feels bland and underdeveloped. Perhaps an issue with the writing but the performances from Jack Harrison and Alec Walker don’t do enough.
Some people will love this show. If you can get over the
issues, there are certainly things to enjoy in this production. If you’re a fan
of absurdist theatre, then definitely go and see this. The potential is
certainly there, it’s just not quite hitting every note.
Bummer and Lazarus is an absurd comedy about two dogs working through an existential crisis that doesn’t quite realise its potential.
Bummer
and Lazarus is part of The Other Room’s ‘Spring Fringe’ curated spring
season. One of eight shows coming to Cardiff’s only pub theatre over eight
weeks. Tickets can be found for this and other upcoming Spring Fringe
shows HERE, with an ever-growing discount for the more shows you book.
Bummer and Lazarus performed at The Other Room 05 – 08 March 2019 Presented by Big Egg Theatre Company Written and Directed by Jack Harrison Produced by Lydia Harrison Performed by: Lazarus – Jack Harrison Bummer – Alec Walker Assistant Director – Dave Reeson
See-Through is an amusing exploration of Claire Gaydon, a 29-year-old, Drama school graduate, “giving it a go” on the old YouTube. A semi auto-biographical play about boundaries online, oversharing and the relationship between a mother and daughter.
The play opens with Claire Gaydon singing ‘Gimme More’ by
Britney Spears, (an excellent song choice), before she sits down, back to the
audience and presents herself through a screen.
Early on, Gaydon establishes her character and tells us this is a true story with a few fabrications. The character finds her voice and begins establishing her channel. Starting out with generic challenges and funny videos with her mother. The more she shares, the quicker we learn that other content will get more views.
In particular, content where Claire overshares with titles such as “Sex and Weed”. The more she overshares, the more she knocks down the boundaries between her and the audience. Eventually, Gaydon goes too far and shares a very personal experience. Something she hasn’t even told her mother, who subsequently finds out through the video. This forces Claire to re-evaluate and reflect on her YouTube experience.
The performance from Claire Gaydon is strong. It’s obviously a personal piece, but one she is critical and self-aware about in her performance. Gaydon obviously enjoys the funnier moments of the script, but it is the more serious ones where her performance is strongest.
The writing is witty and amusing but doesn’t hold back on personal details of the character. Despite seeing the majority of the performance via a screen, we get to “see-through” to the emotion of the character behind the screen. This is something we don’t get in real world YouTube which works really well and is a really nice concept.
A worry going in was that the play would trivialise YouTube a bit, but it doesn’t do this. Another worry was that the use of technology would take away from the intimacy of the play. But if anything, it allows us to get even closer to the character. Gaydon just has fun with it and through a good use of technology delivers an interesting piece both in terms of its content and presentation.
There are moments that could be cut a little. Moments that drag, especially near the start, where Claire researches YouTube – which ultimately serves as a quick introduction to audience members who are not so familiar with the platform. We learn a little about the character through this, but really not enough for the opening minutes. This is, however, carried well by humour and is the only real blip in the production, and one which is ultimately understandable.
See-Through is not the most plot-heavy play, but its strength isn’t in the plot. There is a story that jumps around in terms of timeline, revealed through the screen chronologically. But this is more of a character-based piece which peaks as we eventually go behind the screen and see Claire writing a letter to her mother.
A real strength of the play is that it could go down with any age-group. Anyone “older” who is put off by the mention of YouTube really needn’t be. It’s objectively funny and enjoyable as well as having a deeper message and a story to tell which will resonate with almost anyone in some way.
The message is subtle and well crafted, which is a testament to the writing and performance of Claire Gaydon. It’s intimacy and excellent character work will have you thinking about it long after the production is over.
See-Through is a humorous, intimate and emotive play that explores the character behind the screen of an aspiring YouTuber.
See-Through is part of The Other Room’s ‘Spring Fringe’ curated spring season. One
of eight shows coming to Cardiff’s only pub theatre over eight weeks. Tickets
can be found for the upcoming Spring Fringe shows HERE, with an
ever-growing discount for the more shows you book.
SEE
THROUGH performed at The Other Room
21st – 24th February 2019
Created, performed and presented by Claire Gaydon
Associate Directors: Jaz Woodcock-Stewart and Grace Gibson
Music by James Jacob
Video Editing Support: Joseph Brett
Stage Manager: Ben Lyon
Just a Few Words explores the psychological and emotional impact of having a stutter. How that affects your everyday life and indeed, your love life. We follow our protagonist (Nye Russell-Thompson) as he struggles to tell the woman he loves how he feels.
I’d heard a lot about
this piece and my main worry going in was that the writing would be structured poorly.
This isn’t a worry that need be had. The writing from Russell-Thompson is
brilliantly structured as we follow the protagonist’s journey through his mind,
preparing what to say.
Just a Few Words is
frustrating at times as a slow-moving piece of theatre, deliberately so. This
allows the audience to imagine, if not feel, the frustration that can be felt with
a stammer. Not to pity but understand. You never feel sorry for the character
which is a real strength of the piece. He feels like someone going through
something which is presented as normal and relatable.
A one-man-show created
and performed by Russell-Thompson, you can’t help but notice how this is more
real to Nye than it would be to another actor. Even without the knowledge of
who he is. This is a credit to his abilities as an actor, but also serves as a
note to organisations who don’t hire disabled actors to play the roles their
disabilities represent.
The debate about
stammering being a disability will continue, a debate I’m not qualified to
comment on and one this production doesn’t claim to solve. But what this play does
present clearly is that Just a Few Words is
stronger because of Nye’s personal performance. And it is the character’s
emotive story that is the main strength of Just
a Few Words.
The music and sound utilised in the production are excellent. From stuttering on an Otis Redding love song played on a record player in the beginning, to a grainy, static from said record player that runs for the entirety of the play. The sound is simple but adds a huge amount to the ambiance.
The minimalist set is great too. A record player in one corner, a table in another and the use of pre-written cards which act as subtitles for our protagonist’s thoughts that scatter around the stage complete the show and makes it everything fringe theatre should be.
Just a Few Words is an excellent and relatable portrayal of life with a stammer, blending a beautifully minimalist approach with powerful writing.
Just a Few Words is part of The Other Room’s
‘Spring Fringe’ curated spring season. One of eight shows coming to Cardiff’s
only pub theatre over eight weeks. Tickets can be found for the
upcoming Spring Fringe shows HERE, with an ever-growing discount for the more shows you book.
JUST A FEW WORDS performed at The Other Room 13th February – 16th February 2019 Presented by StammerMouth Created and Performed by Nye Russell-Thompson Stage Manager: Megan Randall
Creating opportunities for a diverse range of people to experience and respond to sport, arts, culture and live events. / Lleisiau amrywiol o Gymru yn ymateb i'r celfyddydau a digwyddiadau byw
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