A Hero of the People at the Sherman Theatre This month Sherman Theatre stages its latest Made at Sherman production. A Hero of the People is acclaimed Welsh playwright Brad Birch’s bold new reimagining of Henrik Ibsen’s classic play An Enemy of the People. The gripping contemporary drama pits the personal against the political and facts against emotion as it follows MP Mick Powell, who is optimistic about his plan to introduce fracking to his South Wales town. He’s sure that everything is going to be fine, better than fine, in fact there’s nothing that can’t be achieved if everyone just believes a little. The naysayers just need to pipe down. But there’s a problem. His sister, Dr Rhiannon Powell, has discovered that the project appears to be polluting the town’s water supply. Mick sold the town a story about the future, but what will happen when reality looks to tear that story apart? What will the cost be for himself, his family and his town? Is he in too deep? A Hero of the People will be performed by an exceptional Welsh and Wales-based cast. Oliver Ryan will play Mick Powell, and is joined by Suzanne Packer who will play Mick’s sister Dr Rhiannon Powell. Mared Jarman joins the cast as Mick’s daughter Hannah Powell-Morris alongside Catrin Stewart as journalist Elin Tate and Pal Aron playing landowner Patrick. The play will be directed by Sherman Theatre Artistic Director Joe Murphy, whose recent production of A Christmas Carol delighted audiences in December. He said “I am absolutely thrilled to be working with such an exciting cast and brilliant creative team for A Hero of the People. This talented team will bring something unique to this gripping play.” In his reimagining of Ibsen’s classic, Brad Birch asks: hero or enemy, who can tell the difference? Joe said “Brad is writing a taut, moving and thought-provoking script that I think will fire up both the hearts and minds of our audiences. It has been so inspiring to watch him tackle this play head on and bring it crashing in to 21st Century Wales.” Brad added: “I’m delighted to be reunited with Joe for this show back home at the brilliant Sherman Theatre. The world feels strange and fragile and unpredictable at the moment and we are using this retelling of one of our great modern myths to try and make sense of it.” A Hero of the People is at Sherman Theatre in Cardiff from 13 – 28 May. Tickets are £20, with tickets for under 25s half price. Audio Described, BSL, Captioned and Socially Distanced performances are available. For more information and tickets visit shermantheatre.co.uk
CARDIFF TIMES 37
