"The Cherry Orchard" / "Little Wolf" / "Of Mice And Men" / "P.A.R.A.D.E."

It’s been a busy couple of weeks, theatre-going-wise; headlined by three notable adaptations of extant pieces.

Simon Harris and his Lucid Theatre Company presented “Little Wolf” at Chapter, his take on Ibsen’s “Little Eyolf” – as stylish as a tale of parental loss can be. Also there was August 012’s minimalist version of Steinbeck’s “Of Mice And Men” – typically oddball and adventurous from director Mathilde Lopez.

"Of Mice And Men" (photo: Jorge Lizalde)

"Little Wolf" (photo: Jorge Lizalde)

The highlight, though has to be Gary Owen’s updating of Chekhov’s “The Cherry Orchard”, set in Pembrokeshire on the brink of the Thatcher “revolution”. Playing in the main auditorium at the Sherman Theatre, and having extended its run even before it opened, it’s slickly done, and both funny and moving.

"The Cherry Orchard" (photo: Mark Douet)

And then there was “My Name Is Rachel Corrie”, from Graphic at The Other Room – a very well acted revival of Alan Rickman and Katharine Viner’s love letter to a martyred student activist.

"My Name Is Rachel Corrie" (photo: Kieran Cudlip)

Not to mention the most high-profile and large scale event of all – “P.A.R.A.D.E.” from the National Dance Company of Wales at the Wales Millennium Centre – conformity-themed dance pieces by Caroline Finn and Marcos Morau preceded by a spectacular revolution-oriented outdoor event featuring a robot walking down the side of the building. Impressive, if ultimately unclear in its intentions.

"P.A.R.A.D.E." (photo: Mark Douet)

There was also the local Made In Roath festival, where, as well as seeing a rehearsed reading of “Little N”, a tender tale of aunt-hood from Kelly Jones, I presented something of my own – a video installation comprising my film “In Limbo”, the aria I wrote with Carlijn Metselaar, and a new film of Edwin Markham’s poem “Brotherhood”.

I also had a couple of short plays performed last week. Firstly, I took part in the Scriptdawg event at the University of South Wales’ Atrium, where I wrote a short relationship comedy over a couple of days to be presented and appraised. Then, most recently, a piece I’d submitted to a “Seen” event at The Other Room was read, along with work by Catherine Lucie and Annie Thomas. This was “The Actress”, part of a mini-trilogy I’ve been working on, which was performed by Caroline Berry. There was enough positive audience reaction to give me confidence in a female-centred script which contains both comic and potentially difficult elements; and some pleasing post-show feedback.

Wales Theatre Awards 2017 / Video Portfolio

I attended the Wales Theatre Awards last weekend - held, for the first time, at the Taliesin Theatre on the campus of Swansea University - and wrote it up for the British Theatre Guide. As ever, it was a lively and well-attended event with a celebratory mood in the auditorium, and a wide range of work highlighted across all the genres. Personally, I was pleased to see Cardiff's The Other Room get four awards, and Hijinx win Best Ensemble for "Meet Fred". And the Special Achievement Award went to legendary Welsh tenor Dennis O'Neill, who seemed suitably surprised and delighted.

"Meet Fred" (Hijinx)

Prior to that, I took a useful Cult Cymru training workshop in the use of Wordpress, which enabled me to create a video portfolio page to showcase my short films. Jolly fun.

"The Martian" / Made In Roath 2015

During a scientific mission on Mars, astronaut Mark Watney is presumed dead after an explosion. Left behind by his crewmates, he faces a struggle, not only to survive, but also to alert his bosses on Earth as to his plight; and even if he were to succeed, any successful rescue would take years…

“The Martian” is Sir Ridley Scott’s most satisfying film in quite some time, possibly since “Gladiator”. Matt Damon’s irreverent, resourceful hero is supported by an excellent cast, including Jessica Chastain as his ship’s commander, Jeff Daniels as the careworn head of NASA, Kristen Wiig as a PR chief, Donald Glover and McKenzie Davis as minor but crucially important nerds, and a number of Brits – Chiwetel Ejiofor, Sean Bean, Benedict Wong - in pivotal roles. As might be expected from the director of “Blade Runner”, the visuals are breath-taking; but there is also much humour, the 1970s disco soundtrack underlining Watney’s determination to remain upbeat.

Written by Drew Goddard, based on a novel by Andrew Weir, and set only a little way into the future, the science is on a believably human level – no chatty computers, no magical food-generating machines, no instant transportation through wormholes, etc. This is a tale of human courage, ingenuity and co-operation. In fact, in a genre which thrives on dystopianism, “The Martian” is hearteningly positive and optimistic. I almost wish I’d paid the extra to see it in 3D.

This past week saw Cardiff’s boutique Made In Roath Arts Festival, with artists’ open houses, pub theatre, music, photography etc.  I managed to contribute this year, with a purpose-made video inspired by “The Book Of American Negro Poetry” (ed. James Weldon Johnson, 1922), shown in the garden of vegetarian bar/restaurant Milgi.

The Aframerican Poet from OTHNIEL SMITH on Vimeo.

Oscar Wilde

Not a lot happening on the "going to see things" front. I spent much of last week involved in drama workshops, via Youth Of Creative Arts, in a secondary school and at a mental health drop-in centre. Interesting stuff, which may pay dividends later.

My most recent mash-up video is my trickiest yet - around two dozen Oscar Wilde epigrams with associated illustrative film clips. A lot of work, but jolly fun.




The Wisdom of Oscar Wilde from OTHNIEL SMITH on Vimeo.

"A Good Clean Heart" / "Punk Rock..."

My most recent theatre reviewing assignment was for the third play in the first season at The Other Room – “A Good Clean Heart”, the debut full-length play from actor Alun Saunders. A bilingual piece focussing on an eventful night in the lives of two long-separated half-brothers who meet up in London, it manages to have a positive take on familial love and sacrifice without being mawkish; an excellent pair of performances, too, from actors which whom I was previously unfamiliar.

A Good Clean Heart (Pallasca Photography)

Meanwhile, I discovered an archive of readings by the late American beat poet Allen Ginsberg, and couldn’t resist the temptation to make a mashup film of this short poem, in which, speaking in 1978, he suggests that the punk rock movement was insufficiently punk rock.

"Punk Rock, You're My Big Crybaby" by Allen Ginsberg from OTHNIEL SMITH on Vimeo.

"Grav"/ Aphex Twin

Been mostly writing. And rewriting.

I got to review a play for British Theatre Guide – “Grav”, a biography of rugby player Ray Gravell, at Sherman Cymru, featuring an excellent solo performance by Gareth John Bale.

And found the time to make a few more poetry films; as well as making use of some music offcuts from Soundcloud, possibly posted by Aphex Twin, and combining them with burlesque footage from the New York World’s Fair in 1939-40, taken from the Prelinger Internet Archive...

Dali Swimsuit from OTHNIEL SMITH on Vimeo.

"Reasons To Be Thankful"

Reasons To Be Thankful from OTHNIEL SMITH on Vimeo.

I took advantage of the Vimeo Weekend Challenge entitled "Thankful List" to make this minute-long tribute to... good things, generally.

Artes Mundi 2014

I paid my regular (i.e. every two years) visit to the 2014 Artes Mundi exhibit – or, at least, those elements of it which are currently housed at Cardiff’s excellent National Museum of Wales. As usual, it’s a disorienting experience.

On entering the space, one’s first experience is of Theaster Gates’ multimedia display, comprising a big-screen amateur gospel video and various iconic objects – notably a stuffed goat on a railroad track; it appears to be a celebration of marginalised aspects of African-American culture. Carlos Bunga’s piece consists largely of a set of large columns, defining a space throughout which other elements are dotted – most interestingly a hypnotic video showing a light-bulb being smashed and inexpertly reassembled. Renzo Marten’s room is dominated by confrontational self-portrait sculptures of Congolese plantation workers, rendered in chocolate (I overheard an attendant remarking on their propensity to melt). I hesitated to enter Renata Lucas’ exhibit, since it looked as though it was still under construction; what it is, though, is a room full of hinged wooden pallets, which one is free to walk through and rearrange – thus defining one’s own experience of the gallery space, I guess. And I’ve seen Omer Fast’s military-themed video-work before, at the Tate Modern – his piece here is a slick, surreal film about parents mourning their soldier son; from the fraction of the 40-minute piece which I caught it seemed to be full of striking moments.

Fascinating, as ever, and far more imposing and thought-provoking than any verbal description can convey. As is another current exhibition there, of worrisome official prints from World War One.

Meanwhile, this piece of video flash-fiction is entirely irrelevant to all that, other than in the obvious fact that experiencing stimulating art-works does inspire one to create.

Ideal - a short story from OTHNIEL SMITH on Vimeo.

"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...

"Mercury Fur" / Harry Holland vs Sally Bliumis-Dunn

My most recent reviewing assignment for the British Theatre Guide was Philip Ridley’s controversial “Mercury Fur”, from Company Of Sirens at Chapter; all about grim doings amongst hoodie-clad youth and City types in a post-apocalyptic London. Mercifully, most of the violence takes place off-screen, but it’s all suitably disturbing. Google searches suggest that it’s quite popular amongst drama students, providing, as it does, a variety of meaty roles for young men (and one older woman).

For my latest Poetry Storehouse video experiment, I summoned up the courage to e-mail locally based painter Harry Holland to ask if I could use some of his paintings to accompany a poem by Sally Bliumis-Dunn. Luckily, he was kind enough to allow it…

"Woman As Bird, Woman As Song" - poem by Sally Bliumis-Dunn (with paintings by Harry Holland) from OTHNIEL SMITH on Vimeo.

Wales Blog Awards 2014

I don’t get invited to many prize-giving ceremonies, especially not those in which I’m nominated. So it was lovely to get the opportunity to attend the Wales Blog Awards 2014, where my Blakeson Mashup project was up for Best Multimedia Blog. It didn’t win, obviously – that honour went to the somewhat more aesthetically pleasing Drowning Dogs – but it was a pleasant evening nonetheless, partially due to the free wine provided by the sponsors (Warwick Emmanuel PR, Wales Online etc).

The ceremony, at Chapter, was mercifully brief, all done and dusted in just over an hour, and smoothly hosted by HTV Wales’ Adrian Masters. Highlights included the Best Community Blog Award going to my neighbourhood bloggers Roath Cardiff, and the People’s Choice Award (the result of a public vote) being awarded to Alice Roythorne’s online journal detailing her journey through chemotherapy.

The event certainly helped to highlight much of the valuable work being done by citizen journalists in a number of areas – politics, health, food & drink, sport. Obviously, though, the “dead tree media” (as Masters referred to it) with all its professionalism and access to corporate resources, will remain vitally important, as long it evolves in a healthy, inclusive, and socially and intellectually responsible manner.

Bare Fiction / Wales Blog Awards

I received the news last week that my ever-growing collection of short bootleg films – The Blakeson Mashup – has been nominated in the Best Multimedia category at the 2014 Wales Blog Awards. Very pleasing, obviously, but up against some worthy competition. Frankly, it’s just nice to be noticed.

One of the films featured on the blog is an adaptation of Byron's poem "When We Two Parted", which was in competition at the recent Reversed Poetry Film Competition held in Amsterdam.

In other news, this weekend I received an advance copy of the second edition of the excellent literary magazine Bare Fiction, which includes a piece of mine:– “The Naked Major” (note the subtle Goya reference), a brief two-hander, which was given a reading by Dirty Protest in 2008. Again, one finds oneself in very good company.

"Contractions" / Moving Poems Interview

I went to see the Welsh premiere of Mike Bartlett’s brutal corporate satire “Contractions” at Chapter, reviewing it for the British Theatre Guide. Another small company successfully getting bums on seats by importing a play by a trendy writer from elsewhere in the UK, but one can’t complain about the quality of the production.

The website Moving Poems has published an e-mail interview which I gave to Nic Sebastian, of the website The Poetry Storehouse, whose contents, contemporary poems made available for creative remix, I’ve used in my filmmaking. Jolly fun.

"Littoral"

My latest short film, based on a piece from The Poetry Storehouse; written and narrated by Kristin LaTour. As always, the images are taken from the public domain Internet Archive; the vintage glamour model is Adele Dolman.



"Littoral" by Kristin LaTour from OTHNIEL SMITH on Vimeo.

"Blue/Orange" / "Mundane Dreams"

Several years ago, I went to see Joe Penhall’s mental health themed play “Blue/Orange” on one of my birthday West End Theatre trips. The cast was to die for – Bill Nighy, Andrew Lincoln, and Chiwetel Ejiofor – and it was an entertaining and thought-provoking experience but I don’t think I quite got it. Last night I saw it again, for the British Theatre Guide, produced by the newly formed Canoe Theatre at Sherman Cymru, and it all seemed much clearer. Excellent work all round.

I’ve made another short mashup film, based on an amusing piece from The Poetry Storehouse, by Jessy Randall and Daniel Shapiro. Jolly fun.

"Mundane Dreams" by Jessy Randall and Daniel Shapiro from OTHNIEL SMITH on Vimeo.

"Ethics Of The Mothers"

"Ethics Of The Mothers" by Rachel Barenblat from OTHNIEL SMITH on Vimeo.

My latest short mash-up film - this one based on a poem by contemporary American poet (and rabbi) Rachel Barenblat, made available by The Poetry Storehouse. Features a guest appearance from Betty Boop.