"Solo" / "Mydidae" / "Peacekeeping"

Recent reviewing assignments included a double-bill of new short operas in the Ffresh Restaurant at the Wales Millennium Centre, “Peacekeeping” / “The Filmmaker And The Organ Trader”, which made up in musical inventiveness for what they lacked in narrative subtlety. Rather more involving was “Mydidae”, Jack Thorne’s intense drama about a troubled relationship, set entirely in a bathroom, presented by OtherLife, a company working out of the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama, at The Other Room – traumatic and compelling.

 

"Mydidae" (photo: Jack Willingham)

Being only a lukewarm follower of the “Star Wars” franchise, I went to see “Solo – A Star Wars Story” as a fan of sci-fi cinema generally. It’s the relatively straightforward tale of how Alden Ehrenreich’s young Han Solo develops from low-level thief to a slightly-higher-grade space pirate, picking up a surname, a furry friend, and some romantic cynicism along the way. Director Ron Howard (who replaced the “Lego Movie” team of Lord and Miller) reliably provides high-tech action and humour, and the story benefits from the absence of the mysticism and mythology of the series proper, although the shadow of The Empire is ever-present. As ever, the inevitable shoot-em-up sequences test the attention-span; but the film as a whole is more than entertaining enough.

ScriptDawg / "The Effect" / "The Play That Goes Wrong" / Finch & Keita

My big event of the past few weeks was my short play, “Nerd”, being presented by the good people of ScriptDawg at AJ’s Coffee Bar in Cardiff, alongside the amusing and aptly named “Chitterlings” by Leah Byrne, as part of “An Evening With Pigs”. My play, a monologue inspired by the on-going sexual abuse/exploitation scandal which has hit Hollywood and elsewhere and inspired the #metoo movement, was given a pitch-perfect performance by Chris Pegler-Lambert, as a British film producer reflecting on his own behaviour. One hopes the story will continue.

The director, Allan Neve, is also working as assistant director on “The Effect” at The Other Room, Lucy Prebble’s play set in a lab where anti-depression medication is being tested, and two subjects struggle to ascertain whether their mutual attraction is natural or chemically induced; a powerful production of a piece which manages to both ridiculously clever and emotionally involving. Also very clever, but largely in terms of stage mechanics, was another review assignment - the touring production of worldwide success “The Play That Goes Wrong” at the New Theatre; taking the form of a disastrous amateur theatre production of a 1920s murder mystery, it’s very funny - a masterpiece of comic timing and set design.

"The Effect" (photo: Kieran Cudlip)

Most recently, there was my brother’s gift of a rare visit to St David’s Hall, to see the inspired pairing of legendary Welsh harpist Catrin Finch and Senegalese kora-player Seckou Keita. The melding of two apparently disparate folk traditions was almost seamless, although, stylistically, it largely seemed to favour the Celtic side of the equation, although with more rhythmic colour. Their take on Bach’s Goldberg Variations was particularly breath-taking. Finch, wearing an extravagantly punky black wig, since she is currently undergoing medical treatment, seemed in high spirits and her playing was flawless, as was Keita’s – his brief lesson in kora technique was fascinating. They were briefly joined by another huge name in roots music circles – support act Gwyneth Glyn, whose more traditional take on folk (her own band including veteran musician and producer Dylan Fowler) was also very affecting. And it was a pleasure to be reminded once more of the marvellous acoustics in that venue. A magical couple of hours.