"Mermaid" / "Little Sure Shot" / Poetry Storehouse

Two British Theatre Guide reviewing assignment on consecutive nights this week; both shows aimed at young audiences.

Firstly, “Mermaid”, from Shared Experience at Sherman Cymru; Polly Teale’s contemporary take on Hans Christian Andersen’s “The Little Mermaid” – some dazzling aquatic-themed movement, but there were some issues with the intersecting narratives, and I found it slightly ironic that in a piece about female empowerment, the most interesting character was a man.

Next, at the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama, “Little Sure Shot”, Lucy Rivers’ musical take on the story of cowgirl superstar Annie Oakley; also with a vaguely feminist empowerment theme. Very well done, but shockingly poorly attended. The first televised Welsh election debate was taking place in the larger performance space in the same building – probably less edifying.

 Little Sure Shot (Farrows Creative)

This week, I notched up my 50^th video for verse taken from The Poetry Storehouse. It’s been a wild ride.

"The Noisy Person I Am" - by Christine Potter from OTHNIEL SMITH on Vimeo.

"Romeo and Juliet", National Theatre Wales, etc

An unusually busy week, which saw me spending a few days up in Bangor, North Wales, as part of my arts facilitator training, observing as National Theatre Wales put together an Assembly, in which a number of poets came up with a performance exploring the democratic process. Highly stimulating (further reading).

Then, back in Cardiff, two plays to review on successive evenings: “Romeo and Juliet”, Rachel O’Riordan’s debut as director at Sherman Cymru; and Lucy Gough’s adaptation of Dylan Thomas’ “Adventures in the Skin Trade” at Chapter; both innovative, and enjoyable for different reasons.

And this weekend, I have a short play entitled “Effete” on as part of “Dirty, Gifted and Welsh”, the joint venture between National Theatre Wales and Dirty Protest at the Angel Hotel in the middle of Cardiff. Should be a lark.

Not to mention the continuing adventures of my “Inside The Poetry Storehouse” film as part of Outcasting’s contribution to Cardiff Contemporary.

"Guardians Of The Galaxy" / O4W

I went to see “Guardians Of The Galaxy” largely out of curiosity. On first release the trailer looked unpromising, and I’m not entirely up to date on the Marvel Comics universe and those films inspired by it. But, it has been a huge success, so, I reasoned, there must be something in it.

And so there is. James Gunn’s direction is more coherent than it might have been, given the CGI-intensive sci-fi-action goings-on, and aided by a witty script, he maintains a tone which is irreverent without veering into charmlessness. The nostalgic pop soundtrack is also a clever touch.

Chris Pratt maybe lacks charisma as the central protagonist, but then his is the everyman character, and he’s likeable enough. The cast surrounding him is extremely strong – Zoe Saldhana as the love interest, Karen Gillan as her evil sister, Bradley Cooper (voice only) as a genetically engineered space-racoon, Michael Rooker playing it dark; as well as such luminaries as Glenn Close, John C. Reilly and Benicio Del Toro, not to mention familiar British character actors such as Peter Serafinowicz and Christoper Fairbanks.

The plot remains a mystery to me. Something about an orb, and bounty hunters, and the end of the universe. The importance of friendship is a key theme, and the character of Groot (Vin Diesel) seems to pay homage to the power of nature. The whole thing is slickly done, and an enjoyable enough ride, even if it doesn’t really leave a lasting impression.

The post-credits “joke”, however, really isn’t worth hanging around for.

(Marilyn Monroe in a still from "Inside The Poetry Storehouse")

Meanwhile, my film of pieces from The Poetry Storehouse is currently showing as part of Screening #1 of Outcasting’s contribution to the Cardiff Contemporary festival of moving image art; firstly at Porters’ Bar, then, next week, at the Panopticon, the event’s main city-centre venue, close to the bus-station. Exciting.

"Crazy Gary's Mobile Disco" / "Wendy Hoose"

I could have sworn I’d once attended a rehearsed reading of Gary Owen’s first play “Crazy Gary’s Mobile Disco”, but a few minutes into Waking Exploits’ revival of it at Chapter, the first in Wales, I realised that it was entirely unfamiliar to me. The vividness of the writing earned glowing critiques back in 2001, and the inventive direction and acute characterisations in this production, which I reviewed for the British Theatre Guide, ensured that it remains a powerful, disturbing piece about too-easily recognisable lives.

My other recent theatre-reviewing visit was to Sherman Cymru to see Scottish play “Wendy Hoose”. It was sold as a sex comedy “with a difference”, although the merest glance at the publicity material made it clear that a central theme was disability. Very funny, too, with engaging performances, although at least one person I’ve spoken to since has suggested that the writers were possibly trying too hard to be un-PC in their treatment of the issue.

In other news, my training to become a community arts facilitator has continued; and my film of Bill Yarrow’s poem “Florid Psychosis” has been accepted into the Visible Verse Festival in Vancouver, Canada – something of an achievement when one assesses the pedigree of the other pieces.

"Florid Psychosis" by Bill Yarrow from OTHNIEL SMITH on Vimeo.

"Two Faint Lines In The Violet" - by Lissa Kiernan

I was delighted to discover recently that American poet Lissa Kiernan had used the short mashup film I'd made of her poem "Census" - as discovered in The Poetry Storehouse - as part of the on-line publicity campaign for her book "Two Faint Lines In The Violet" (the full story is outlined on the Moving Poems website).


"Census" - by Lissa Kiernan from OTHNIEL SMITH on Vimeo.

One hopes that others will follow her lead.

Colony 14 / O4W / YOCA

I was delighted to learn that my short film, “The Want Of Intimacy” is being included in a proper, grown-up art exhibition, as part of Colony 14, in Cardigan, West Wales in late August.

Meanwhile, more details of Outcasting’s Fourth Wall (O4W) exhibition of artists’ films, which will include some of my Poetry Storehouse videos, have been announced: they will be showing at various venues in Cardiff starting late in September.

Added to this, I recently learned that a script of mine, entitled “Rump”, reached the final stage (the top 1%) in the most recent BBC Writersroom call-out, Script Room 5. Which means absolutely nothing in terms of it ever getting produced, but it a little validation is always welcome.

Meanwhile, I’ve just started training as a participatory arts facilitator, with Youth Of Creative Arts (last week I attended a sobering but entertaining workshop on child protection issues in TV, film and theatre), and will be helping with Project Fio, assisting a group of young people in creating a new piece of work for public performance. One hopes it will only be moderately traumatic for all concerned.

"Love In The Age Of The EU" by Björn Kuhligk

"Love In The Age Of The EU" by Björn Kuhligk from OTHNIEL SMITH on Vimeo.

Tate Modern / Video Art etc

As usual, when I pay my biennial visits to the Tate Modern, works leap out which hadn't made an impression before. This time round, on my birthday outing, I was struck by the unearthly beauty of Meredith Frampton's 1928 portrait of professional model Marguerite Kelsey:

The colorful geometric imagery of Ellsworth Kelly, and the Pop Art portraiture of Alex Katz also made an impression; as did what I caught of Omer Fast's Middle-Eastern war-themed video installation "The Casting". Always a profoundly inspiring day out.


Re my own work, I was delighted to hear last week that my submission to Outcasting's "Fourth Wall" artists' moving image festival has been successful, and that some of my poetry films will be showcased in Cardiff later in the year.

The Poetry Storehouse continues to provide stimulating material to work with, and it was nice to see the poet Kathleen Kirk reference my video of her poem "Daughter Of Midas" on her blog:


"Daughter of Midas" - a poem by Kathleen Kirk from OTHNIEL SMITH on Vimeo.

Some of my work has also been included in a piece discussing filmmakers' varying approaches to the same text in a Connotation Press article by Erica Goss.

Tiny steps...