"Jamais Vu" / "R.A.T.S." / "Flowers" / "The Tempest"

A remarkably mixed bag of theatrical experiences in the last couple of weeks.

Up first was the frankly, barking mad, but promising “Jamais Vu (Brexit Means Brexit)”, an angry, experimental music theatre piece from Weeping Tudor, performed in front of a very small audience in a function room at the Wales Millennium Centre. I returned to that venue a few days laters (on Champions League Final night) to see a showing of Kyle Legall’s long-gestating “RATS – Rose Against The System” in the roof-space; a lively, colourful metaphorical reflection on the tension between old and new Cardiff Bay.

A few days later, at Chapter, young company Big Loop presented “Flowers”, ostensibly featuring two immature young men messing around in a florist’s, but developing into something more profound – a suitably multi-layered diversion for Election Night. And, most recently, the latest outdoor Shakespeare production from inclusive company Taking Flight – “The Tempest” in Thompson’s Park; highly accomplished and accessible (in at least two senses of the word).

 

Steph Back in "The Tempest" (photo: Jorge Lizalde)

"Real Human Being" / "Parallel Lines"

I’ve had a couple of contrasting but equally intriguing theatrical experiences over the past couple of days.

First up was “Real Human Being”, from Taking Flight Theatre Company which specialises in inclusive theatre. Written by Matthew Bulgo, this is a play intended to raise awareness of disability hate crime. Designed to be presented as part of a day-long programme of workshops etc. in secondary schools, it was but shown in concentrated form to interested parties at Cardiff’s Llanover Hall Arts Centre. Cleverly done and, frankly, quite stressful.

"Parallel Lines" (photo by Kirsten McTernan)

The following evening saw a revival of the award-winning “Parallel Lines” from Dirty Protest at Chapter. I was initially reluctant to review it again, having seen it on its initial run two years ago, but it turns out to have been radically reconceptualised by director Catherine Paskell and writer Katherine Chandler, for a Welsh tour. Centring on an accusation of sexual misconduct made by a bright female pupil against a male teacher, it is more of a lament about adult failings in general than a “torn from the headlines” drama. The new, stripped down aesthetic is bold, with the witty script and powerful performances combining to mitigate the play’s pessimism. 

"Miramar" / "The Winter's Tale" / Pitch Radio

My most recent assignment for the British Theatre Guide was Taking Flight Theatre’s annual outdoor touring Shakespeare production, in Thompson’s Park, Cardiff. This was of “The Winter’s Tale” (and yes, I had to do research beforehand), and they certainly embraced the piece’s absurd plot elements (“Exit, pursued by a bear” and all).

"The Winter's Tale" - Taking Flight Theatre

Prior to that, was the first production from Triongl, a company comprising three actresses: – “Miramar”, a tragi-comedy about home and the threat of homelessness, starring Valmai Jones as an elderly widow who finds herself in deep trouble following the death of her husband. Funny and worrisome.

In other news, the short play I wrote for Radio Cardiff's Pitch Slot, inspired by the legend of the C.I.A.s attempt to co-opt abstract expressionism into the Cold War, and produced by local performance art luminaries Good Cop Bad Cop is now available to hear online.

Pitch 3 Radio commissions - untitled no 76 by Othniel Smith from richard huw morgan on Vimeo.