"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.

"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.

“Dirty, Gifted and Welsh” / “Gone Girl”

Due to my on-going facilitator training, I arrived late at “Dirty, Gifted and Welsh”, the day-long writer-centred collaboration between Dirty Protest and National Theatre Wales, held at the Angel Hotel in central Cardiff. I was in time to catch a session on the writing process led by Louise Osborne, a vaguely theatre-oriented pub-style quiz, and an intriguing monologue by Miranda Roszkowski. Things seemed to have quietened down a bit by the time of the evening performances of the Rapid Response plays, one of which, “Effete” was my short comedy about gay marriage. It seemed to go down well, though – plenty of laughs, almost all of them intended. The general impression was of a fulfilling day for all concerned.

I went to see David Fincher’s “Gone Girl”, having read Gillian Flynn’s best-selling novel a few months ago and completely forgotten at least one vitally important plot point; this only served to enhance my enjoyment, however. The screenplay is by Flynn herself, thus the source material’s cynical take on lies and manipulation within relationships remains intact. Ben Affleck, as the man accused of his missing wife’s murder dials down his trademark shiftiness in order to appear genuinely perplexed; and Rosamund Pike is a revelation as the multi-faceted Amy. The film does slightly outstay its welcome once the more sensational elements of the plot have played out, but the performances remain cherishable. 

"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.

"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.

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.

"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.

"Sue: The Second Coming" / "A Queer Christmas"

I’ve been to see, and review, two festive shows aimed at mature audiences this week.

First up was Dafydd James’ and Ben Lewis’ “Sue: The Second Coming” at Chapter – the sort-of sequel to a previous musical offering featuring their very popular creation Sue Timms. Very relieved to have found it highly entertaining, despite not having seen the original. Also relieved that when I bumped into Dafydd whilst I was en route for my next assignment, he didn’t want to stab me, despite having read my review.

The second entertainment was “A Queer Christmas”, from theatre company Mess Up The Mess, put together by Bethan Marlow. This took place in several locations along Swansea High Street; the company kindly provided transport from Cardiff. Ambitious in terms of form and content, and obviously a logistical nightmare, but very rewarding.

In other news, I paid another visit to the Poetry Storehouse, and made another short mashup film based on a piece I found there, entitled “Dirty Old Man?” by David Sullivan. My attention was also drawn to an interview with poet Peg Duthie, on the Moving Poems website, in which she was quite kind about the film I made of her piece.

"Dirty Old Man?" by David Sullivan from OTHNIEL SMITH on Vimeo
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"Say It" / Moving Poems

"Say It", the short film I wrote for the It's My Shout scheme, kicked off the Made In Wales series this week on BBC2 Wales, and is currently available to view on the iPlayer. I rather enjoyed it - excellent work from all involved.

I've also got some work featured on Dave Bonta's fascinating Moving Poems website. Which is also lovely.

Festivals

I’ve finally managed to get two films into festivals which are happening over the next few weeks, after several years of half-hearted attempts. It helps that they’re poetry films, which is quite a niche area, and that the festivals are both new ventures. Thus, my oblique take on Jo Bell’s poem “The Shipwright’s Love Song”, will be screened during the Liberated Words Poetry Film Festival, which is part of the 2013 Bristol Poetry Festival – my response to a challenge to put images to one of four poems. And I’ve just learned that my visualisation of Wallace Stevens’ modernist piece “Lulu Gay”, has been shortlisted for the Ó Bhéal International Poetry-Film Competition at the Indie Cork Festival of Independent Cinema 2013. Which is very lovely. Both free to enter, as well, which is a bonus – a lesson one learns the hard way.

The only other excitement in my life has been the over-reaction of a playwright to my review of his play. This took the form of a number of immoderate posts on Twitter. It wasn’t even a bad review; it simply suggested that his play was “solid” rather than a work of life-changing genius, as other reviewers have argued. All the more peculiar given that this particular author has been brutally critical of his fellow theatricals in the past.

"The Shipwright's Love Song" by Jo Bell

Successful submission to the Four by Four competition for the Liberated Words Poetry Film Festival; part of the Bristol Poetry Festival 2013. Narrated by the poet.

"The Nightvision Experiment" - online drama

For my most recent review assignment for the British Theatre Guide, I didn’t even have to leave my room – it was The NightVision Experiment, a sci-fi horror piece delivered to my computer via tweets and video footage. Technically accomplished, and effective in its creepiness, if a little generic in terms of narrative. The makers suggest that one watch in the dark, with one’s headphones plugged in; obviously, I was too much of a coward to go down that route.

In other news, here is my latest very short film, based on a poem by Sir Henry Wotton, and featuring an appearance from Sammy Davis Jr.:  

"I Still Have That Other Girl" (Elvis Costello & Burt Bacharach)

"I Still Have That Other Girl" - by Elvis Costello and Burt Bacharach from OTHNIEL SMITH on Vimeo.

"The Letter"

The Letter from OTHNIEL SMITH on Vimeo.

New short film - "The Want Of Intimacy"

The Want Of Intimacy from OTHNIEL SMITH on Vimeo.