BLUE SKY

Last night the audience for Blue Sky, a political thriller by Clare Bayley in Theatre 2 at the Sherman was very small but very appreciative. The play produced by Pentabus Theatre, a Shropshire based community theatre company was first performed at Hampstead Theatre Downstairs in London last month. 'Blue Sky' investigates what might be happenening in the English countryside at the dead of night. Isolated airports,secret landings...' it asks the questions, How much do we really know about what our governments are involved in? And do we want to know-or is it easier to turn a blind eye?'
      The play follows the story being researched by an investigative journalist who uses her old friend and others to help her gain information for her scoop which involves the alleged kidnapping of an innocent British man in Pakistan by the CIA, who is taken to Jordan, interrogated by American and a British agent, and possibly tortured. We discover the journalist's own demons and morals that motivate her but leave her emotionally detached. Woven into her story is that of her friend,an old flame, and now a staid plane spotter with a history of radical politics and his relationship with his daughter, studying media at university, who is on a mission to learn more about her dead mother from El Salvador.
        The play is gripping, well performed, totally convincing, except for the couple getting it on towards the end-I saw no chemistry or tension building there. The simple set works well and the sound track adds to the action.
       Please go and support Pentabus. They have been so disapppointed with the small aaudiences.Tonight is the last night. It starts at 8pm.  See www.shermancymru.co.uk 029 2064 6900.
    

ON BECOMING A FISH

On Saturday we attended the successful launch of  Emily Hinchelwood's new book of poems, entitled 'On Becoming a Fish' in the theatre of Pontardawe Arts Centre. The book, published by Seren, a leading Welsh publisher, was inspired by a series of walks around the 186 mile Pembrokeshire coastal path in West Wales over a period of seven years. The result is a lively collection of witty, amusing and moving moments that cover history, myth, legend, the environment, climate change, personal experiences of walking, skinny dipping and discovering a Las Vegas of glow worms. The title poem won the Envoi International Open Poetry Competition.
        Emily read her poems to an audience of over 100 enthusiastic supporters, accompanied by Delyth Jenkins on the harp and with a back drop of Emily's own animations and photographs.
       It was a wonderful evening. Emily is a modest person of many talents and strengths, well liked  and respected by everyone who knows her, always encouraging others to be creative. Emily is also a playwright. She has a play in the finals of Pontardawes' scriptslam to be held on November 28th 2012.  She is an environmental activist working with her partner,Dan McCallum in a community energy project, Awel Aman Tawe, and is committed to raising awareness about climate change. She has recently walked the length of the Heart of Wales railway line gathering people's opinions on the subject.
      I wholeheartedly recommend her poetry collection to you.  To order copies of 'On Becoming a Fish', priced at £8.99, see www.serenbooks.com

MEDEA

Last week The Sherman  welcomed Headlong Theatre to its main stage to perform a new version of Euripides' Medea, written by Mike Bartlett.  Set on a new build estate in middle England, Medea is having a nervous breakdown. It is the eve of her ex's wedding to the 19 year old daughter of her landlord.  Her neighbour is helping out-taking her son to school and picking him up. A colleague from work calls. The young boy,Tom, sits or lies on his bed, disturbingly silent throughout, playing his computer games while drama unfold around him. A workman hangs around menacingly,saying almost nothing. Medea is behind with the rent and has been given notice to quit.  She belittles all help. She rants about her ex,Jason, to whoever will listen, and to him, accusing him of replacing her with a newer model and tighter sex, but he replies that Kate, his fiance, is kinder, more caring, just nicer than Medea. We witness Medea descend into psychological turmoil. We see her need to feel something, to overcome her mental numbness as she plunges her hand into boiling vegetable water, and later seduces Jason to spend his last night as a single man with her. Tension mounts and she secretly plots her revenge on him and Kate at their wedding party, and her own getaway.
       Until this point I was totally enthralled by her, but her leap from woman scorned to child murderer didn't work for me.  She doesn't want Jason to have Tom. It seems that she doesn't want Tom or does she? Does she love Tom? I felt affection but not maternal love. She's certainly incapable of looking after him. I needed to see and feel more internal conflict before she commits that ultimate act. She uses a kitchen knife and her Dad's axe. She tell us it's the only thing of his she has left, that he travelled away alot and when he came home he liked to chop animals into bits-for fun. She tells us until that morning she believed in God but now she knows there is nothing. At the end she gives God a last chance. The light breaks through the cloud and we hear police sirens.
       It's a powerful adaptation, well performed, and makes me want to go back and read the original. In this version is the writer suggesting that Medea's a witch with supernatural powers personifying evil? Was that what Euripides thought? If so, that takes away some of the play's impact for me.  Today, sadly, there have been several cases reported in the press of distraught fathers who can't stand the thought of their ex -wives with new partners, and who are deeply grieving for the loss of their family, seek revenge, kill their children and then commit suicide. This seems to be Medea's motivation. Her life time punishment may be worse.
       It did also make me wonder about the vulnerability of Tom, the actor, the little boy. Seeing him later sitting on his dad's lap in the foyer, he looked pale. I hope he's not traumatised.
      
     

INCUBATOR

 'Incubator' is a Wales Millennium Centre initiative that encourages new theatre work with grants and opportunities to show work in progress to their audiences and get feedback. Last night two pieces of work were shared: 'The Gretel Files,' a reimagining of the classic Brothers Grimm tale,Hansel and Gretel', written by Mali Tudno Jones, and Mercury Theatre Wales' devised piece, written by Bethan Morgan and Lynn Hunter, which explores the rise of Welsh club culture in the 1990s, entitled 'Spangled'.
        Yesterday morning I received a text from M17. It said,
       ' For the next 24hours you are an elite member of mi7. Be vigilant,be procative. Briefing at 7pm. In the meantime www.mi7files.wordpress.com.' On the website  I was told that MI7 is the British branch of the Ministry of Intelligence that protects characters and locators of myths and legends.  In this show, 'The Gretel Files',  'the group have been working to combine traditional storytelling methods and new media platforms in order to deliver an exciting interactive storytelling experience.'  The show is intended for children and their families. We were designated special agents and were invited to follow the characters Gretel, the Witch, Narcissus and Echo around the WMC, looking for clues, asked to take photographs, receiving classified information via twitter and text on our mobile phones, moving the story on to find the recipe for the best gingerbread in the world.. It was the only show I've been to where you are invited to keep your mobile phone turned on and the volume up loud. I can imagine children would love to be special agents, getting coded messages, running riot in a building with secret passages, setting out to solve a mystery. But by the end of the small piece shared I'd forgotten what the mystery was but it was fun.
      'Spangled' invited us into a 1990s club. We had our hand stamped, a neon bracelet snapped on our wrist and our coats taken. We walked into a smoky room with flashing lights, pulsating garage music and a young woman dancing on a table. The action moved round the club and we were directed/hoarded towards the action as the characters developed and interacted: The girl who wanted to be a DJ, the boy who sold drugs, the boy who didn't want to take drugs, the DJ, the boy who was bullied at school, the stepfather with two lovers wanting to protect his anorexic step daughter. It all built to an ecstatic crescendo as actors and clubbers danced together; or clubbers looked embarressed as wild actors invaded their space.
         The problem was with so many 'clubbers' you couldn't always hear the conversations or see the action, and so missed some of the story unfolding fast and furious. I can see the show would appeal to a teenage audience. I came out with more insight into why it would have been so exciting to have taken ecstacy at a rave. If I hadn't already done zumba and pilates that day I might have joined in.
        For further info about 'Incubator' email simon.coates@wmc.org.uk.
       

BENN & BOND

 This week we've been to see the new James Bond film,'Skyfall' and to Pontardawe to hear Tony Benn talk about his life in politics. James Bond and Tony Benn may seem light years from each other, but ... Both are deemed national treasures. Both stand up for what is right although their tactics may be different. There's always a villain in a Bond movie. Tony Benn has often been villified by the media for standing up for the under dog, for his beliefs about democracy and accountability. They both admire the uses of technology. Bond uses it to overcome evil. Benn has always been an advocate for technology that improves our lives.  I'll come to who gets the girl later.
        Daniel Craig is of course wonderful to behold as Bond-a Greek God-like figure, who lives on the edge and  runs like Forest Gump. Tony left Government in 2001 to devote more time to politics. At 87 he may not hear very well but is still sharp, witty. His integirity shines through.
        'Skyfall' has a PG/12 certificate which affects the usual steamy sex scenes-there aren't any. Q is a young geek- a computer wizard but without the gadgetry of the old Q. There's more background to Bond's attachment issues- he was orphaned at 9.  'Skyfall' heralds Bond for an acquisitve younger generation with its computer games and merchandise. Benn is anti-capitalist  through and through.
         In Bond's world it's easy to identify the hero from the villain, good from evil. In Benn's world it's much more complicated but his principles can be simply summarized, 'Say what you mean and mean what you say'. In his recent book,'Letters to my Grandchildren: Thoughts on the Future,' he sets out his ideas on how we can change our world: Give votes to 16yr olds, cut the defence budget, abandon nuclear power, invest in the housing market, save the NHS, reinstate trade union rights, create social enterprises on the cooperative model, re-nationalise the railways and nationalise the banks, make politicians accountable-power to the people!
          Suppose you've guessed who gets the girl.

EDUARDO NIEBLA-' Brilliantissimo'

  Last night we experienced something absolutely stupendous and unforgettable- Eduardo Niebla and his band in concert at the RWCMD. Eduardo spent his childhood growing up with gypsies on the outskirts of Girona,Spain. He says that his work 'reflects the gypsy spirit; one of being in touch with life,of being in touch with the emotions and living for each day. It is improtant to me to be immediate and passionate in everything I do.'
     In a career spanning four decades,flamenco jazz guitar virtuoso and composer Eduardo Niebla has been acclaimed as one of the most potent forces in flamenco jazz fusion today. He combines gypsy roots with Indian,Arabic, classical and modern jazz to produce the most electrifying and poetic guitar playing. Brilliantissimo!
   For further information about his current tour and to buy CDs see www.eduardoniebla.com

VINCENT IN BRIXTON

 This drama by Nicholas Wright,  performed by Cwmni Richard Burton at the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama takes place in the kitchen of 87 Hackford Road,Brixton between 1873 and 1876. Vincent Van Gogh was 27 and had come to London to work as an art dealer for the international firm Goupil & Co. This part of his life is relatively unknown. There's speculation that he had feelings for his landlady, her daughter and for a family friend in Holland. The play focuses on his romantic and stormy  relationship with Ursula, his older landlady, her daughter and another lodger, a painter and decorator who is also an artist.
      I don't know if it was the direction or if there is archival evidence that the artist was a naeve simpleton, but in the first half this is the way he is portrayed. He is jealous of  the other lodger and sets out to try his own hand at drawing. Ursula encourages the lodger,Sam to apply for a scholarship to art school. He gets a place but he also gets Eugenie pregnant and because of his low income cannot take up his place.
         Vincent goes to Holland for a break and on his return tells Ursula how angry and frustrated he felt about his family's attitude to life. His father is a preacher. He shows her a pencil drawing of his father's church. She becomes apoplectic and throws a good porcelain plate at him for not expressing those feelings in his painting. She tells him about her black moods and he tells her that he sees himself in their reflection. Vincent's sister Anna arrives, sent by their parents to keep an eye on him. He's to be posted to Paris with the firm but after an argument he leaves without telling Ursula, not to return for two years. By this time he's been sacked and showing signs of being a bit of a religous zealot, he's passionate about God, life, nature, his painting. He thanks Ursula for giving him the gift of sorrow.
        The play is peppered with references to Vincent's paintings-we see vases of Irises, talk of starry nights in Paris, cherry blossom painted on the skirting board of the kitchen. The actors gave strong emotional performances, more so in the second half, and Vincent seems more the character we've read and know about. He starts painting at 27 and by 37  takes his own life, leaving a legacy of work expressing his passionate emotions. How revolutionary that must have been at the time.

'R'YN NI YMA O HYD' ( WE ARE STILL HERE)

 I guess I'm a Welsh activist by proxy of my husband, who stood up, was counted, went to court and was fined for his part in raising awareness of the Welsh language in the 1960s and 70s. He and his friends went around Wales underlining place names and road signs in English and writing 'Cymraeg?' It begged the question about the status and use of the Welsh language by the UK government, local authorities and organisations of the time.
      Rhys never thought in his lifetime he'd such a radical transformation of what was a second class language to Welsh as a language of equal status with English, enshrined in legislation in an elected Assembly that manages many of Wales' affairs. When he started teaching it was in the first and only Welsh medium Comprehensive school in South Wales. There are now many primary and secondary schools in Cardiff alone, with projected growth as a bi-lingual education becomes more essential if you want to work in Welsh government.  It's easy to forget the struggle that went on for decades to reach  this place.
       On Friday we attended a concert marking 50 years of protest by Welsh singer Dafydd Iwan. When I first came to Wales, I misheard Rhys talking about him and for many months I referred to him as 'Dafydd, the One!' But, there is only one Dafydd Iwan.  More than any other Welsh singer of his generation he represents the struggle of a small oppressed nation.  He stands tall with greats like Joan Baez, Bob Dylan and Woody Guthrie. Dafydd sang to a full auditorium in the Weston Studio of the Wales Millenium Centre, and in telling his story he made no compromise for any non-Welsh speakers in the audience. He's not a great guitar player and many of his songs have the same chords but the vigour and belief with which he sings is truly inspirational. His songs are irreverent, funny, witty, and will I'm sure stand the test of time.
      Accompanying him was his own band, Heather Jones who continues to sing like a Nightingale and a group of three women calling themselves, 'Grug'.  The audience sang with fervour, especially in what feels like a new national anthem - 'Ry'n ni yma o hyd.'
     
   
   
   

GREEN CANTERBURY TALES

  On Friday October 5th 2012 members of the Glamorgan Seed Group met up to beach walk round Swansea Bay, telling and inventing stories, and later planning our route for next year's walk to Canterbury, part of a pilgrimage across Britain weaving new green tales for a sustainable world. Below is some background from the first meeting at Cae Mabon representing ten groups across Wales. Ours is a women's group of writers, poets, artists, and storytellers.

The pilgrimage is open to all.If you are interested in forming your own Seed Group look on www.greencanterburytales.org.uk for more information.


        "Each group will be unique depending on the individuals involved and the nature of the journey given their geography. It may be possible to build on pre-existing projects, organisations and contacts. This could lead to potential sources of funding. Some Seed Groups will want to attract young people who can be mentored as storytellers and pilgrims. Such groups will probably need to be aligned to pre-existing groups and to tick boxes regarding health and safety etc. Other groups may simply consist of a handful of self-responsible adults. If groups become larger walkers may need to be asked to sign disclaimers.

•Initially the Seed Group will need to cultivate their repertoire of stories, agree on a starting date and an itinerary. They may organise a public performance in this first stage. We’d like each seed group to give a minimum of 6 days or 3 weekends over the 5 months for their journeys, not including the 2 or 3 days in Canterbury. This does not mean every individual does the full six days, just that the group as a whole does so. We expect many story pilgrims will spend longer on their journeys. Some may want to walk or cycle the whole way.

•The Seed Groups will begin their story-journeys in a place of sacred, historic, ecological or political significance. En route they'll exchange with each other and with people they meet stories, songs and poems on a broadly green or land-based theme. Later they may meet up and walk with neighbouring seed groups. So participants will fine tune stories; perform to audiences encountered or organised on the way; listen to and gather stories from other seed-groups or from people met en route; and tell the tales of their journeys.

•The third phase of the journeys will be the approach to Canterbury. One group will come from Southwark following the route of Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales. The final weekend in Canterbury will be a mixture of festival and conference (Confest) where we explore the importance of storytelling on green themes, tell the stories of the journeys, re-tell some of the original Canterbury Tales with contemporary twists, tell some of the old and new stories gathered en route, and enjoy poetry and song."

La bohème

It's only in the last year that Rhys and I have become interested in opera.  I always saw it as an elitist hobby. In Wales, however, regardless of class or income, many people enjoy classical music and opera in particular.
           We live next door to two musicians who work for the Welsh National Opera(WNO) and one of them is Rhys's guitar tutor. My counselling room backs onto their music room where they rehearse. Sometimes my clients are privy to our very own secret concert of cello and violin, giving a melodramatic backdrop to the action in my room. All the musicians' children are also musical. Before their eldest son went to uni, we would often hear his beautiful piano pieces and singing as he practised for the entrance exams. More latterly their younger son has taken up the trumpet. We now get the theme tunes from, 'Eastenders', 'The Last of the Summer Wine,' and 'Wallace and Gromet.' At least the latter usually breaks the tension and gets a laugh. When a client's just lost their husband or is suffering from post-traumatic stress there aren't a lot of laughs.
           So having had all this for free for so long through our adjoining walls, we thought we'd like to see the performances that go with the music, and now we're rather hooked.  What helps is the sur-titles in English and Welsh.  It still seems to take an age to hear a performer singing that he enjoys a drink, fancies another man or is leaving his woman. At least now we know exactly what's happening. The other great thing for ignorant opera goers like us are the pre-show talks. On this occasion Dewi Savage, who I remembered as an actor in the days when I worked for Spectacle Theatre, did the honours in a self deprecating way that got laughs from the predominantly silver-surfer audience.  In these half hour talks you get to know a bit of the background of the life and times of the composer, in this case Puccini, and a synopsis of who loves who, who falls out of love with who, who gets jealous and who dies of consumption- and there's still time for a G&T before the show starts.
          This WNO production of La bohème is conducted by Simon Phillippo, directed by Annabel Arden with David Kempster as Marcello, Alex Vicens as Rodolpho, Giselle Allen as Mimi and Kate Valentine as Musetta. The opera is set in Paris's Latin Quarter at the end of the nineteenth century and as the title suggests is the story of a group of bohemian artists who fall in and out of love in a garret, get jealous, and sing over each other in magnificent voices as Mimi dies of consumption.
         We didn't go away humming a well known ditty as we did for Don Giovanni and The Marriage of Figaro. And we weren't quite convinced that the bohemians were in their early twenties-more like their forties, but we did enjoy the drama of the performances, the singing, the orchestra, and the atmospheric line-drawn set, pumping out smoke over the rooftops of Paris.
          WNO is on tour with this production until the 1st of December 2012. www.wno.org.uk