Fio - The Launch / Breakin' The Bay

I’ve spent much of the last year training as a workshop facilitator with Cardiff- and London-based Youth Of Creative Arts (YOCA), which works largely to promote participation in the performing arts amongst youth and ethnic minority groups. This last weekend saw its formal relaunch as Fio, as it aims to broaden its reach. The relaunch took the form of an Open Day at the Butetown History and Arts Centre in Cardiff Bay, the centrepiece of which was a set of performances led by the company’s freelancers. 

My contribution was two-fold: firstly, in collaboration with fellow facilitator Teklom Fisher, I’ve been working with a group from the Four Winds drop-in centre in the Grangetown area of the city for people with mental health problems, aiming to help them create an artistic response to the experiences of people from another drop-in centre – Oasis, in Splott, which caters for asylum-seekers. The resultant piece, “One Eye Open” was performed on the day, and was well-received.

In addition, during a week-long series of workshops at Fitzalan High School, aimed at provoking discussion of the concept of Britishness in an era of Islamist terrorism, I wrote a very short play which was performed at the launch, under the inventive direction of Mathilde Lopez. For a hurriedly cobbled-together first draft, it went down pretty well, even getting laughs in the right places.

A number of fellow trainees also contributed sterling work, and the mood on the day was a highly positive and optimistic one, amongst both participants and attendees.

Taking place simultaneously, a short distance away, was Breakin’ The Bay, a celebration of hip-hop MC-ing and DJ-ing, breakdancing, graffiti etc., based around the Wales Millennium Centre. I paid a brief visit on day 2 of this event, and was impressed both by some of the dancing on display, but also the continued commitment of long-standing devotees to the B-boy culture. Not my kind of thing, musically, but some emotional moments.

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.

"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.

"Mr Turner" / Project Fio

It’s not often that I’m the youngest person in a cinema, but if the audience for the screening of Mike Leigh’s latest offering was anything to go by (lunchtime on a Cineworld Bargain Tuesday), “Mr Turner” looks like being a big hit with the third-ager audience. I’ve reviewed the film more fully elsewhere, but suffice to say that Timothy Spall gives the performance of a lifetime in this grittily picturesque depiction of the last 25 years or so in the life of painter J. M. W. Turner, arguably the principal progenitor of Impressionism. Earthy both tonally and visually, this is a major achievement which really needs to be experienced on the big screen.

Sunday evening saw the culmination of the 2014 incarnation of Project Fio, the youth theatre project on which I did some work experience during the summer; a multi-cultural group of young Cardiff residents putting together a piece under the leadership of Abdul Shayek of Youth Of Creative Arts. Performed in the Weston Studio at the Wales Millennium Centre, and entitled “Life Support”, its aim was to dramatise our use of social media via vignettes, movement and poetry, exploring the question of whether our addiction to mobile technology enhances or impedes connection with the real world. There were inevitable technical issues given the time constraints involved in putting it together, but the show was cleverly conceived, and very confidently performed. 

Project Fio / "Sin City 2"

I’ve just spent a week, as part of my training to become a community arts facilitator, working with some young people taking part in the Project Fio Summer School, run by Youth Of Creative Arts, and based at the Wales Millennium Centre. Aimed at 13-19 year-olds from backgrounds where taking part in theatre might not be traditionally seen as an option, the scheme has attracted a good mix of participants, exhibiting varying degrees of charm and hyperactivity. I didn’t contribute a great deal, mostly observing experienced facilitators Abdul and Laura, but found the whole experience rather enjoyable and vaguely reassuring. The ultimate aim is a public performance in November – precise theme and format to be decided over the next couple of months.

Part of the subsequent decompression process involved going to see “Sin City – A Dame To Kill For”, Robert Rodriguez and Frank Miller’s sequel/prequel to their comic-book noir original. The film is ridiculously violent, and not entirely flawless, what with the sexism (all hail Eva Green) and the narrative incoherence, but it’s royally entertaining – full review here. 

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.