Carlos Acosta / Spring Fringe / The Beauty Parade / Tylwyth

Well, obviously, coronavirus panic has called a halt to all theatrical activity for the time being (including a rudimentary project I was working on); but at least I managed to see and review some interesting stuff before the shut-down.

Acosta Danza (photo: Johan Persson)

The most high-profile was legendary Cuban ballet dancer Carlos Acosta’s company delivering a beautifully diverse programme entitled “Acosta Danza Evolution” at the Wales Millennium Centre, culminating in Christopher Bruce’s amusing Rolling Stones-soundtracked “Rooster”. Also celebratory, although in a more sombre fashion was Kaite O’Reilly’s “The Beauty Parade”, in the W.M.C.’s Weston Studio - an aesthetically ambitious, multi-media tribute to female undercover operatives during World War 2.

 

Sophie Stone in "The Beauty Parade" (photo: Jorge Lizalde)

I also caught two shows in the now-truncated Spring Fringe season at The Other Room: the likeably ramshackle “Back To Berlin”, about the beginning of the end of the Cold War; and Katie Greenall’s “Fatty Fat Fat”, a brave but funny look at body image. There was, in addition, a trip to Newport’s Riverfront to see Operasonic’s enchanting “Vehicles”, a small-scale opera for young people, with a science-fiction twist.

 

"Back To Berlin" (photo: Dali Mia Poulsom)

The big hit of the year, however, was shaping up to be “Tylwyth” at the Sherman, Daf James follow-up to “Llwyth”, his pioneering look at the lives of gay men within a Welsh-speaking environment. I was delighted to note that a familiarity with the first play was unnecessary, and while I didn’t get all of the cultural references, sur-titles meant that most of the wit and darkness came across. Sadly, however, like most cultural life in the U.K. and beyond, the Welsh tour has been postponed.

 

"Tylwyth"

Pepperland / Young Artists Festival / Dirty Protest

Last week I got the opportunity to experience, for the first time, the work of legendary American choreographer Mark Morris, as “Pepperland”, his and composer Ethan Iverson's tribute to the Beatles' "Sgt Pepper" album played at the Wales Millennium Centre as part of his group's U.K. tour. Wonderful stuff - very colourful and witty, and a much-needed reminder of late 1960s idealism and optimism.

 

"Pepperland" (photo: Mat Hayward)

Last week also saw the 5th annual Young Artists Festival at The Other Room. I got to see the final night of three, on which short plays by Isley Lynn, Brad Birch, Roger Williams, Lisa Parry, Nerida Bradley and Owen Thomas were performed by a cohort of young actors. As always, a selection of pieces which ran the gamut from darkly experimental to broadly comic; as always, an impressive set of performances.

There were more short plays the following evening. I managed to get to a hastily arranged evening of Dirty Protest pieces at local vegetarian cafe Milgi which was where the project started, in 2007, and which was due to close its doors for the final time. The yurt out back has hosted work by dozens of writers (myself included), and been graced by the presence of some remarkable actors (including, on one memorable occasion, a pre-fame Arthur Darvill and Phoebe Waller-Bridge). This celebratory event saw some of DP's greatest hits, from Kit Lambert, Tracy Harris, Alan Harris, Rhiannon Boyle and Roger Williams (again) performed by Siwan Morris (who took part in the very first Dirty Protest), Matthew Bulgo, Gareth Pierce and Rhian Blythe. All very jolly, and this time, I managed to get a seat.

Roberto Devereux / Awakening / Peeling / The Full Monty / Shrew etc

There’s nothing like a spot of variety. On successive evenings at the end of February I watched a one-man play recreating a fictional kids TV show, a traditional 19^th century opera given a steam-punk visual flourish, and a trilogy of contemporary dance pieces, one involving spectacular mirror-based illusionism.

Justin Teddy Cliffe’s “Tigerface” – a piece about the importance of not letting go of your childhood dreams - was part of the Spring Fringe season at The Other Room, in which the very clever “Bummer And Lazarus”, a kind of canine take on “Waiting For Godot”, also featured.

Joyce El-Khoury (photo: Bill Cooper)

The opera was Donizetti’s “Roberto Devereux” from Welsh National Opera; a piece with which I was previously unfamiliar. This is his take on the story of Queen Elizabeth 1^st and the Earl of Essex, and featured a remarkably intense lead performance from Joyce El-Khoury as the vengeful monarch. In contrast, a couple of weeks later, again in the Wales Millennium Centre, came the touring version of “The Full Monty”, which was probably a closer adaptation of the angry “steelworkers turned male strippers” film than the largely female audience was expecting.

"Afterimage" (photo: Rhys Cozens)

The dance show was “Awakening” from National Dance Company Wales, comprising their now-classic “Tundra”, alongside the magical “Afterimage”, and Caroline Finn’s pagan-ritual-influenced “Reveller’s Mass”. This was in the Newport Riverfront, where the following week I saw Taking Flight’s revival of Kaite O’Reilly’s “Peeling”, about three actresses with disabilities reflecting on tokenism and much else.

"The Taming Of The Shrew" (photo: Mark Douet)

In addition to this was the Sherman’s “The Taming Of The Shrew”, which was free-wheeling fun featuring a strong largely female cast, although Jo Clifford’s gender-swapping Shakespeare rewrite didn’t really solve the problems of the play’s inherent sexism; and Meltem Arikan’s “Y Brain/Kargalar”, a lyrical two-hander in Welsh and Turkish about memory, exile and reinvention.

Then there was the Creative Conversation, hosted by National Theatre Wales, a day-long “Devoted and Disgruntled” discussion event, which was meant to be about the future of Welsh theatre in general rather than criticisms of the company; although a few inevitably surfaced. Still, it was good to be in a room with lots of people who love the art form.

"The Last Five Years" / "Saturday Night Fever" / "Cheer" / "Frankenstein"

The big cultural news at the moment, locally, is the cancellation, through a bizarre set of circumstances, of the Wales Theatre Awards, about which it would be unwise to pontificate in public. This, added to continuing criticism of National Theatre Wales (I was lucky enough to be one of a group of writers who met with the Arts Council of Wales to discuss this very issue a few weeks ago), seems to paint a picture of a toxic atmosphere. There does seem, however, to be a great deal of solidarity amongst artists, which can only be a good sign in terms of future developments.

In terms of actual theatre-going, I’ve seen two musicals set in New York at the Wales Millennium Centre in the past few weeks: firstly, Leeway Productions’ bold reinvention of Jason Robert Brown’s off-Broadway doomed-relationship drama “The Last Five Years” as a piece inclusive of deaf performers (and audiences), exploiting the theme of mis-communication; and a lavish touring version of “Saturday Night Fever”, with all the grit of the original film, but the Bee Gees music intact.

"Saturday Night Fever" (photo: Pamela Raith)

My first festive show of the season was “Cheer”, from Big Loop at The Other Room – a clever, Orwellian take on Christmas. Then came Cascade Dance Theatre’s “Frankenstein” at Chapter – an exploration of the themes of Mary Shelley’s original, boasting some startling imagery and an excellent, largely electronic score played live.

"Cheers" (photo: Tess Seymour)

"Terra Firma" / "A Number" / "Woman Of Flowers" / "The Commuter" / "The Shape Of Water"

My first reviewing assignment of the year was National Dance Theatre Wales three-part “Terra Firma” at the Sherman – a welcome chance to see two pieces I’ve seen before – “Folk” and the beautiful “Tundra”, alongside the recently-developed “Atalay”. Obviously, I’m no expert in dance, but there’s plenty there, in terms of grace and skill to delight the non-aficionado.

My second was the first in the new season at The Other Room – Caryl Churchill’s “A Number”, in which a father encounters cloned versions of his adult son. A very clever and involving two-hander, handled with great assurance.

And most recently, there was Theatr Pena’s “Woman of Flowers” at the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama – Sion Eirian’s take on Saunders Lewis’ adaptation of the story of Blodeuwedd, from the Mabinogion – a rare chance to see some pleasingly weird classical Welsh theatre in English.

Sara Gregory in "Woman Of Flowers" (photo: Holly McCarthy)

I wouldn’t normally have gone to see a Liam Neeson action feature in the cinema, but “The Commuter” is notable for featuring my niece, Ella-Rae Smith, in what turns out (spoiler alert) to be an important role. The story of a recently unemployed salesman (and former cop) who is bribed/blackmailed by criminals to track down an associate on a commuter train, it’s very slickly directed by Jaume Collet-Serra; and Neeson is more charming than he’s allowed to be in his “Taken” guise. And, of course, Ella is excellent.

 “The Shape of Water”, Guillermo del Toro’s latest film is a fable of connection and outsiderdom, featuring a magical lead performance from Sally Hawkins. She plays Elisa, a mute cleaner, in a U.S. government facility in 1960s Baltimore, who becomes entranced by a new acquisition – a sea-creature captured in South America, the study of whose biology would impact on Man’s ability to breathe in space. The period detail is impeccable, as are the performances – Michael Shannon as the saturnine bad guy, Richard Jenkins as Elisa’s gentle, gay neighbour, and Octavia Spencer as her feisty friend and work-colleague.  It doesn’t break any new ground thematically, but it tells an age-old story with great style and sensitivity, and is well deserving of all the awards and nominations which are coming its way.

Stalin Paddington Lehrer Dance Maiden Tiger Glass

Armando Iannucci’s “The Death Of Stalin” is even more brutally funny than one might expect from a famed political satirist, since it is based in verifiable fact. It depicts the jockeying for political position following the protracted passing of the post-Revolutionary Soviet leader, with Simon Russell Beale brilliantly loathsome as security chief Beria, and Steve Buscemi on excellent form as Kruschev, the voice of reason. The casting is flawless as a whole, with Jeffrey Tambor, Andrea Riseborough and Jason Isaacs also especially effective. Furthermore, it avoids the trap of being about a lot of men shouting in darkened rooms via some witty camerawork, not to mention all the shootings. Perhaps the most shocking element, however, is the depiction of Stalin’s popularity amongst his people – which may or may not impact on the film’s chances of ever being shown in Russia.

There were more reflections on dictatorship in Fio’s production of Ariel Dorfman’s “Death And The Maiden” at The Other Room, in which a former political prisoner confronts the man she suspects of being one of her torturers; very tense and nightmarish.

Lisa Zahra in "Death And The Maiden" (photo: Kieran Cudlip")

A tad more light-hearted was Adam Kay’s “The Remains of Tom Lehrer”, in the sophisticated surroundings of the Ffresh Restaurant at the Wales Millennium Centre – an excellent show, in tribute to the work of one of the cleverest – and darkest - musical satirists of the 1950s and 1960s.

There have been several other notable events at that venue in the past couple of weeks. The ambitious, large-scale musical “Tiger Bay”, set in multi-cultural Cardiff in the early part of the 20^th century, boasted an impressive cast and score (and a slightly puzzling sub-plot), and seems to have been a hit with local audiences.

"Tiger Bay" (photo: Polly Thomas"

Most recently, there was the visit of the Clod Ensemble with “Under Glass”, in which we are put in the role of scientists, observing the lives of several individuals in glass cases, as though they were specimens. Very clever, if occasionally obscure.

There was also “Roots”, at the Dance House, round the back of the Centre – in which the National Dance Company of Wales offered four short, diverse, and very satisfying pieces, as part of Cardiff Dance Festival 2017.

Also part of the Festival, but at Chapter, was a double-bill comprising Liz Roche’s “Wrongheaded” – a piece rooted in the politicisation of women’s bodies, particularly in Ireland, but, obviously universally applicable – and Laïla Diallo’s “In This Moment”, a solo rumination of the concept of our experience of time. Also striking was a piece which contained only a modicum of actual dance – “Hardy Animal” by Laura Dannequin, in which she reflected on her experience of chronic back pain and its effect on her career and self-perception.

"Hardy Animal"

The latest “A Play A Pie and A Pint” production at the Sherman was “The Burton Taylor Affair”, which was a well acted but disappointingly shallow take on the lives of two great actors. Somewhat more inspiring was an evening of playlets and music put on at the nearby AJ’s Coffee House by Gareth Ford-Elliot’s Eno Theatre.

Perhaps the highlight of the month, if not the year, was “Paddington 2” – a beautifully cinematic and warm-hearted return to a universe in which a small, well-meaning bear can wander about spreading light wherever he goes. Excellent performances from Hugh Grant, as the pantomime villain, and Brendan Gleeson, too. Jolly fun, with a lightly handled theme of positivity and inclusiveness.

"Arrival", "Blink", "Love, Lies & Taxidermy", "Cascade Dance Theatre", "Word, Image, Digital"

Recent reviewing assignments have included Phil Porter’s charmingly messy romantic comedy “Blink” at The Other Room; a diverse trilogy of small-scale contemporary dance pieces from Cascade Dance Theatre at Swansea’s Taliesin Theatre and, most recently, at The Sherman, Alan Harris’s “Love, Lies & Taxidermy”, a fast-moving teen-romantic comedy set in Merthyr.

"Blink" (photo: Aenne Pallasca)

 I also went to see Denis Villeneuve’s “Arrival”, in which Amy Adams plays a linguist who is called in to attempt to facilitate communication when a number of huge obelisks from elsewhere in the universe arrive on Earth (or rather, hovering over a number of locations on it), since their intentions are unclear. It is a thoughtful take on Cold War-inflected alien invasion movies of the 1950s, with the military primed to attack and more scientifically-minded voices advising caution. Adams is the humanistic focus, receiving able support from Jeremy Renner as a wise-cracking physicist, Forest Whittaker as the buttoned-down military man under pressure, and Michael Stuhlbarg as the more gung-ho government agent. It’s not exactly action-packed, and the cerebral take on the representation of the alien language (rather like smoke-signals) means that developments are as hard for the audience to decode as the characters. A clever narrative twist towards the end, however, plunges us into deep emotional waters, forcing us to face impossibly profound issues. Powerful work, which lingers in the mind.

"Arrival"

I couldn’t make it to the inaugural New York Jazz Film Festival, but at least my film of Carl Sandburg’s poem “Jazz Fantasia” was there, and picked up a prize in the “mixed genre” category, which was nice.

I also gave a rare academic presentation, speaking at a symposium entitled “Word, Image, Digital”- a return to Cardiff University where I did my first degree. My contribution was about films made by myself and others of poems posted to the no-longer-extant Poetry Storehouse website, and it seemed to go down quite well.

"Mandela Trilogy" / "Block"

There has been little theatre-reviewing action in the past few weeks, since everyone in South Wales has been raving it up at the Edinburgh Festival. I was lucky enough, though,  to get to see “Mandela Trilogy” from Cape Town Opera at the Wales Millennium Centre, which was a treat, if (inevitably) stylistically uneven, since it treated the life of the saviour of South Africa in three distinct musical styles, with three different Nelsons.

 

"Block" 

And on Bank Holiday Monday, outside the same venue, I unexpectedly caught the spectacular open-air performance of “Block” from NoFit State Circus and Motionhouse – a kind of depiction of the complexity of urban life, featuring highly talented dancer/acrobats. Remarkable stuff.

"The Last Mermaid" / Dance Roads 2016

Aside from the glorious evening at “Make An Aria”, my only experience of the inaugural Cardiff Festival of Voice was the assignment to review local luminary Charlotte Church’s  first foray into music theatre: “The Last Mermaid” at the Wales Millennium Centre  Taking the lead role in this ecologically themed interpretation of the Little Mermaid story, she was in excellent voice, the visuals were remarkable, and the melodies very strong. A little more narrative clarity might have helped, but I can envisage it having a life beyond its short Cardiff run.

 

The Last Mermaid

Earlier that week I was invited to attend Dance Roads, an international evening of “challenging” modern dance from across Europe at Chapter. Part of the package was the opportunity to meet with some of the performers in the middle of the two-day showing, in order to discuss the role of the critic when it comes to dance; especially when most of us, especially in Wales, have no background in the form. It was a frank bur civilised session, which I attempted to write up for the British Theatre Guide; I think I managed not to betray my betray my excitement at having been in the presence of naked people (during the performance, rather than the discussion).

Cristina Lilienfeld (Dance Roads 2016)

Meanwhile, work has begun in earnest on the migration-themed project which I’m working on with Project Fio; actors have been cast and a venue secured. All very exciting.

"Mr & Mrs Laughton" / "Cosy" / British Dance Edition

The “A Play, A Pie and A Pint” programme, from Glasgow’s Òran Mór, paid its third visit to Cardiff’s Sherman Cymru last week, with “Mr and Mrs Laughton”, Michael-Alan Read’s play about the marriage of legendary actors Charles Laughton and Elsa Lanchester; a relationship which was somewhat complicated by his homosexuality, not to mention his egotism. Obviously, at less than 40 minutes, there were many areas that weren’t addressed (mostly to do with their work) but the performances were powerful, and it was very entertaining. Sadly, however, the inclusive drink option (the “Pint” element of the deal) didn’t include cider (although the cheese pie was tasty).

Less fun, but probably more momentous was “Cosy”, the latest from Kaite O’Reilly, in the  Weston Studio at the Wales Millennium Centre. A family drama, this focusses on Sharon Morgan’s elderly Rose who brings together her bickering daughters in order to inform them that she wishes to take her own life before ill health robs her of the ability to make the choice. The fact that the central character is painted as a not especially caring mother makes it quite hard to empathise, but it was all very well done, with Sara Beer shining as her sarcastic, disabled friend who is less well disposed to euthanasia.

Candoco (photo - Hugo Glendinning) 

Most recently was another event at the W.M.C., this time in the main arena, as the British Dance Edition, an international trade show for the contemporary dance industry hit town. Mostly consisting of invite-only showcases for producers and promoters, there were a couple of public performances, including the one I attended – a triple bill featuring National Contemporary Dance Wales (with “Tuplet”, a piece I saw a few weeks ago at the Sherman), Candoco, a company which integrates disabled and non-disabled performers, and the internationally renowned Hofesh Shechter Company. All quite fascinating, and only occasionally baffling. There was another treat beforehand, in the foyer area – a piece by Reckless Sleepers, which consisted of five women destroying the chairs they were sitting on using saws, which seemed to be an unlikely crowd-pleaser.