"Ar Waith Ar Daith" / The Good Earth

Along with hundreds of others, I went down to Cardiff Bay on a cool, but mercifully rain-free Saturday night to witness “Ar Waith Ar Daith”, the huge open-air performance piece marking the 10^th anniversary of the Wales Millennium Centre. Produced by Walk The Plank, it was a celebration of the creative spirit of Wales, taking in movement, music (by John Rea) and poetry – even containing nods to sport and farming. Its centrepiece was opera singer Shan Cothi, playing Ceridwen, the enchantress, being ferried around on a huge, tree-like structure; and the massive cast included a choir of schoolchildren, a team of rowers, dancers, acrobats, and fluorescent animal puppets. Good use was made of the large spaces in front of the Centre, and the action was broadcast on big screens – just as well, since the large columns which are a feature of the Roald Dahl Plass inevitably obscured the view of proceedings at times. Various animations were projected onto the building itself, including a depiction of the birth of the bard Taliesin; and the 90-minute spectacular culminated in an impressive fireworks display. I can’t claim to have been on top of the narrative at all times, but the large crowd seemed engaged throughout, and its ambition could not be faulted.

Earlier in the week I went to Chapter to review “The Good Earth” – the first piece from Motherlode. About a tiny South Wales community being pressured to relocate, for fear of a mountain landslide, it was very well done, but I found it a tad manipulative – only presenting one side of the issue, harm coming to children etc. Excellent central performances, though. 

Fio - The Launch / Breakin' The Bay

I’ve spent much of the last year training as a workshop facilitator with Cardiff- and London-based Youth Of Creative Arts (YOCA), which works largely to promote participation in the performing arts amongst youth and ethnic minority groups. This last weekend saw its formal relaunch as Fio, as it aims to broaden its reach. The relaunch took the form of an Open Day at the Butetown History and Arts Centre in Cardiff Bay, the centrepiece of which was a set of performances led by the company’s freelancers. 

My contribution was two-fold: firstly, in collaboration with fellow facilitator Teklom Fisher, I’ve been working with a group from the Four Winds drop-in centre in the Grangetown area of the city for people with mental health problems, aiming to help them create an artistic response to the experiences of people from another drop-in centre – Oasis, in Splott, which caters for asylum-seekers. The resultant piece, “One Eye Open” was performed on the day, and was well-received.

In addition, during a week-long series of workshops at Fitzalan High School, aimed at provoking discussion of the concept of Britishness in an era of Islamist terrorism, I wrote a very short play which was performed at the launch, under the inventive direction of Mathilde Lopez. For a hurriedly cobbled-together first draft, it went down pretty well, even getting laughs in the right places.

A number of fellow trainees also contributed sterling work, and the mood on the day was a highly positive and optimistic one, amongst both participants and attendees.

Taking place simultaneously, a short distance away, was Breakin’ The Bay, a celebration of hip-hop MC-ing and DJ-ing, breakdancing, graffiti etc., based around the Wales Millennium Centre. I paid a brief visit on day 2 of this event, and was impressed both by some of the dancing on display, but also the continued commitment of long-standing devotees to the B-boy culture. Not my kind of thing, musically, but some emotional moments.