Elvis Costello / "Macbeth" / "Good Time Girl" / "The Wolf Tattoo"

I was delighted to get a late call to review the gig by Elvis Costello and the Imposters, which was the final show of the Festival of Voice at the Wales Millennium Centre, having been a fan for many years, but unable to afford a ticket. In the event, the show was a triumph – both epic and intimate, with Elvis on excellent form, and well aware of the esteem in which he is held. A rousing and emotional start to my birthday week.

This culminated in a trip to London to catch the final matinee performance of “Macbeth” at the National Theatre, on a Travelex deal. Due to bus troubles, I only made it to the South Bank with half an hour to spare, but managed to relax in time to take in Rufus Norris’ spectacle, featuring powerful performances from Rory Kinnear and Anne-Marie Duff. The tone was frenzied, and the look grimy, but the universality of the narrative shone through, and the large, diverse cast delivered the poetry with naturalistic potency.

Other theatrical experiences of the past few weeks were Georgia Coles-Riley’s “Good Time Girl”, part of the Cardiff Fringe Theatre Festival, a very involving one-woman play themed around Body Dysmorphic Disorder; and Lucy Gough’s “The Wolf Tattoo” from Company of Sirens at Chapter, a surreal and intriguing piece using lycanthropy myths to explore the journey into responsible adulthood.

The Wolf Tattoo (pic: J. H. Andersen)

"The Beaux' Stratagem" / Young Artists Festival

My birthday treat this year was a trip to London’s Royal National Theatre to see a production of George Farquhar’s “The Beaux Stratagem” (on a £15 Travelex deal). My first Restoration Comedy, and I was expecting an educative experience rather than an entertaining one, but as it turned out, it was a great deal of fun.

The story involves two impoverished gentlemen from London, coming to Lichfield in order to find wealthy wives. Along the way, via the involvement of some thieves, they prove themselves to be worthy and capable of actual love. Written in 1707, while Farquhar was on his death-bed, it is a late entry in the genre.

Director Simon Godwin, in conjunction with dramaturg Patrick Marber, seem to have hit on the perfect formula for making a piece like this work for the popular audience – ensure that as much of the comedy as possible is physical (drunkenness, falling over, swordplay etc) and focus on the off-colour jokes. Any contemporary relevance will then emerge from the text: in this case, the theme is the inequality between men and women when it comes to marriage.

The cast, as one might expect, is excellent, a mix of the familiar and the unfamiliar, all seeming to enjoy themselves. The live band was occasionally integrated into the action, to humorous effect. There are even Welsh connections, with Royal Welsh College graduate Amy Morgan playing the feisty barmaid, and the climactic comedy fight scene, choreographed by Kev McCurdy, earning a round of applause. They didn’t quite solve the problem of the comedy Irishman, though.

Actually very funny, and well worth the trip.

Pearce Quigley & Geoffrey Streatfeild in "The Beaux' Stratagem" (photo by Manuel Harlan)

A few days earlier, I was lucky enough to attend the final night of the Young Artists’ Festival, run by The Other Room at Porters’ in Cardiff city centre. This featured five new short plays by Tracy Harris, Kelly Jones, Tim Price, Neil Bebber and Matt Hartley, all featuring young performers, most with a social media theme. As I suggested in my report for the British Theatre Guide, Price’s “I Feel Sexy All The Time” was the most immediate success in terms of audience appreciation, but they all provided much food for thought, and the event as a whole suggests that Wales won’t be running out of actors any time soon.

"The Curious Incident Of The Dog In The Night-Time"

It’s always good for those of whose experience of theatre is generally of the “two blokes in the back room of a pub” variety to catch some lavish West End-style spectacle every now and again. So, when it was announced that the Royal National Theatre’s UK tour of Simon Stephens’ adaptation of Mark Haddon’s hugely successful novel “The Curious Incident Of The Dog In The Night-Time” was visiting the Wales Millennium Centre, I booked uncharacteristically early.

It’s the story of Christopher, a 15 year-old with an Aspergers-style disorder and very poor social skills, who, embarking upon a Holmesian investigation of the murder of a neighbour’s pet, ends up discovering that the world of grown-up relationships is infinitely more illogical than the maths equations in which he finds solace. The narrative is a simple one; and the lead actors -  Joshua Jenkins as Christopher, Stuart Laing as his exasperated father, Geraldine Alexander as his devoted teacher, Gina Isaac as his unhappy mother – are gifted with sympathetic roles.

It is the production itself which is truly breath-taking. The set is an open black cube with spectacular video and lighting effects giving some sort of insight into Christopher’s disordered, numbers-oriented thinking. In addition, director Marianne Elliot, working with Frantic Assembly, also uses a lot of organic, physical theatre techniques, such that the ensemble simulates all manner of concepts and inanimate objects; providing the human contact from which the central protagonist shrinks in the real world. Even from the rear of the circle the visuals were startlingly beautiful.

And yes, the piece is shamelessly emotionally manipulative (watch out for the puppy!), and there is the danger of glamorising an autistic-spectrum disorder. It is made clear, though, how difficult life with Christopher is; and during the interval, I saw some fellow audience-members, an older couple, consoling one another, suggesting that the piece was accurate enough to stir up painful memories.

I suspect that even without the Hollywood-style production values, “The Curious Incident…” would succeed as a funny, moving, resonant piece of work. It is the spectacle, though, which transforms a not entirely unfamiliar tale into a remarkable experience.

(Photo of London Cast)

Over the weekend, in my capacity as a trainee facilitator, I was fortunate enough to attend the first Youth Arts Network Cymru Conference in Aberystwyth. Some pleasant networking, a useful workshop from playwright Bethan Marlow in conjunction with artist Shaun Featherstone; and an entertaining introduction to the work of video-artists Foxy and Husk.

Ramalama (Bang Bang) - Foxy and Husk from Foxy and Husk on Vimeo.