NTW17 A Provincial Life by National Theatre Wales

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NATIONAL THEATRE WALES

The nation of Wales is our stage: from forests to beaches, from aircraft hangers to postindustrial towns, from village halls to nightclubs. We bring together storytelling poets, visual visionaries and inventors of ideas. We collaborate with artists, audiences, communities and companies to create theatre in the English language, rooted in Wales, with an international reach. You’ll find us round the corner, across the mountain and in your digital backyard. “ One of the best things to happen to the stage in the past five years ” Susannah Clapp, The Obsever

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STAFF TEAM

BOARD OF TRUSTEES

KEEP IN TOUCH

Matt Ball / Creative Associate, @mattball_ntw Lucy Davies / Executive Producer, @lucy_ntw Devinda De Silva / TEAM Co-ordinator, @devinda_ntw David Evans / Head of Production, @david_ntw Stephen Grant / Finance Manager, @stephen_ntw Donna Jones / Finance Assistant, @donna_ntw Rhian Jones / Administrator, @rhian_ntw Matthew Lawton / Communications Director, @matt_ntw John McGrath / Artistic Director, @john_ntw Yusuf Mohamed / Community Engagement Associate, @yusuf_ntw (De Gabay) Gavin Porter / Creative Associate, @gavinporter (De Gabay) Catrin Rogers / Media Officer, @catrin_ntw Michael Salmon / Company Assistant, @michael_ntw Abdul Shayek / Creative Associate, @abdul_ntw Jen Thornton / Communications Assistant, @jen_ntw

Steve Blandford Phil George (Chair) Jon Gower Richard Hogger Deborah Martell Powell Gemma McAvoy Judi Richards Chris Ryde (Vice Chair) Peter Stead

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Sam Jones C.D.G. / Casting Director Lucy Taylor / Casting Assistant The Corner Shop PR / UK & International PR

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SHOP Visit shop.nationaltheatrewales.org to buy National Theatre Wales products including Owen Sheersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; The Gospel of Us (a series of books commissioned to accompany The Passion), as well as clothing and playtexts.

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THE PASSION HOW BIG IS YOUR TOWN?

Words by Lucy Davies

We are nearly one year on from that alchemical weekend, when everything seemed to collide and you knew, from within it, that you were part of something historic – for Port Talbot, for Wales, for theatre, for us as a young company. After two years of planning, we all flew through the intense non-stop 72 hour frenzy of the weekend (“72 hours of theatre heaven” for The Guardian) and then… it was done. Everyone scattered, the streets went quiet again, a small apple tree appeared where the crucifix had stood, and the rhythms of real life resumed. But everyone kept talking about it, couldn’t stop talking about it, sharing photos and movies, painting it, some even got tattoos… So at Easter this year, we’re going to all gather again and welcome everyone back to Aberavon Shopping Centre to tell stories and share memories – and for the world premiere of Dave McKean’s visionary feature film version of it. What happened? Why did such a powerful thing happen? Why was it so life-changing, so extraordinary, so special? Part-festival, part-carnival, part-pageant, part political demo, part ritual, part-gig, part-pure theatre – it was genre-defying and genre-defining.

“ (it) was like watching a town discovering its voice through a shared act of creation. Fact and fiction, myth and memory, rumour and reality, even the living and the dead stalk side by side. I’m prepared to bet that over the last three days, Port Talbot was one of the happiest places on Earth. ” Lyn Gardner, The Guardian

Port Talbot has a population of about 35,000 people, and I now know that this is the perfect size to make a lot of noise and leave a lot of legacy. You can take the town over geographically. By the law of averages, you can ensure everyone in the town knows about it. You will have enough groups to access and get involved (but not leave out), and if 12,000 people come – which they did – that’s a third of the town. It’s small enough to involve every voice and big enough to shout very loudly.

All the things you normally do as a producer to mitigate against risk were bypassed here. There were some key things which we knew would work, some key things which we hoped would work, but there were also things we never could have predicted or known, but which looking back made The Passion what it was. More often than not, it was where we let go and handed everything over to that brilliant town. Somewhere halfway through Saturday, I realized the town was the force behind it, not us, and by Sunday we were surfing an unstoppable event horizon. Ultimately, this fearless trust of being on a cocreated, co-owned journey with a whole town, a whole glorious overlooked community, is what made it so unique – so seat of the pants – and therefore so liberating and transcendent. The mass participation, the mass happening of it all, broke down all the barriers and norms of weekend life in a small town huddled under the M4, so that everyone opened up their hearts and minds and spirits and went into a third space: a semi-fictional version of themselves, their town, and their world. Lyn Gardner in The Guardian put it more beautifully than I from inside, could have dreamed: “(it) was like watching a town discovering its voice through a shared act of creation. Fact and fiction, myth and memory, rumour and reality, even the living and the dead stalk side by side. I’m prepared to bet that over the last three days, Port Talbot was one of the happiest places on Earth”. None of it, them, or us looked and felt quite the same afterwards. And for me, a show now feels small if I can’t cycle around it, and speak to the chief of police at the end of every scene.

@lucy_ntw find me at nationaltheatrewales.org/community

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2011

Friday 22nd April The Secret Beginning Photograph: Ian Kingsnorth

Friday 22nd April The Arrival Francine Morgan, Michael Sheen Photograph: Richard Hardcastle

Saturday 23rd April The Resistance Photograph: Ian Kingsnorth

Sunday 24th April The Procession, Michael Sheen Photgraph: Ian Kingsnorth

To see how this event unfolded, get online: port-talbot.com

THE GOSPEL OF US By Owen Sheers shop.nationaltheatrewales.org

NATIONAL THEATRE WALES

WE ARE HYPER– CONNECTED

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National Theatre Wales has its own online community – where theatre goers, theatre lovers and theatre professionals come together to network and share. The community has over 3000 members, and is a great place to share information about What’s On in theatre in Wales, projects in development, courses and opportunities. Some of the most active parts of the community are the groups, which are a place for specific networks to come together.

Join nationaltheatrewales.org/community to play your part.

T he future of playwriting in Wales

Each National Theatre Wales production also has its own group (e.g. NTW17 A Provincial Life). These groups are where any behind-the-scenes content is shared, and are updated during the production process.

hat kind of opportunities W would you like National Theatre Wales to offer you?

hat are your memories W of The Passion?

You can also create a group for any common interest, or real-life group such as a theatre company. Groups are a great way to debate and discuss shared interests, share projects, or network with people across the industry. You’ll find groups on the community as diverse as ‘1.168 Theatre’ and ‘Barmouth Road Trip Survivors’!

GROUPS There are also six official National Theatre Wales Groups. The focus of each group is on sharing specific group-related information, whether that’s a job advert or a smaller niche debate. You are welcome to join as many of these groups as you like, and start or continue debate and discussion at any time.

Jobs Community Conversation Collaboration

Among the debates and discussions taking place on the site now are...

NTW TEAM

WRITERS

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Curated by Devinda De Silva / TEAM Co-ordinator

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The place to find out what’s going on and get involved with National Theatre Wales. Being part of NTW TEAM is the best way to get more involved with the company.

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TECHNICAL

CREATIVES

PRODUCERS

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Curated by Lucy Davies / Executive Producer

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2011

Waleslab Norman and Judith Photograph: Rachel Helena Walsh

Waleslab Norman and Judith Photograph: Racheal Helena Walsh

Waleslab Muncha Luncha Photograph: Alex Robertson

Over the next five years, WalesLab will use the nation as a landscape for developing new theatre projects. Twice a year, open calls will be published inviting theatre makers and artists from other disciplines to apply for short residencies to develop an idea or piece of work. This is all thanks to significant investment from the Esmée Fairbairn Foundation. The initiative is split into three strands:

There are currently seven ongoing WalesLab projects. These include projects about Mexican wrestling ballet dancers, the definitive answer to “Is there life after death?”, a ditch near Aberystwyth for throwing bodies into, replacing the performers with text-to-speech software, an exploration of the Denbigh Asylum, and Internet dating scams. Projects are taking place throughout Wales, from Denbigh to Castle Martin, Cardiff Airport to Cilgerran, physical space to cyber space; the only limitations are the artists’ imaginations.

Pollinate: A summer camp for up to 20 theatre makers and artists of varied experience to share ideas, learn The first WalesLab residency took place last from each other and stimulate new November in a former post office in Castlemartin, collaborations and projects. where Rachel Helena Walsh and Owain Roach holed themselves up for a week to begin Fertilise: development on Norman & Judith, a chance For around a week, small groups will work on discovery in a charity shop of 90 unopened the development of a project they have proposed. Royal Mail First Day Covers sent from Norman There will be up to eight Fertilise projects a to Judith from the 1960s-80s. year, some of which may have an international element. During their week’s residency, the pair delved into the material, piecing together Norman & Germinate: Judith’s life and working out how they wanted to Three times a year small groups of artists tell this story. You can find out more about their will be offered an opportunity to spend around project, and what happened to it after WalesLab, two weeks somewhere in Wales developing an through their group on the NTW community idea or project which they have already begun (http://bit.ly/waleslab01). working on, and will share their work with a local audience. There will be three Germinate Have an idea you’ve always wanted to explore? projects a year, one of which will have an Been inspired by reading this? Think you could international element. do better? The next round of applications will take place in March, and will be for individuals who want to take part in our first annual Pollinate summer camp. To find out more about how to apply, deadlines and to be kept up to date, join the WalesLab group on the NTW community

WL01 – Rachel Helena Walsh Norman & Judith – Castlemartin, October 2011 WL02 – Bridget Keehan Day to Go – Barry, November 2011 WL03 – Good cop bad cop Text to Speech, Cardiff & cyberspace December 2011 & March 2012 WL04 – Bambo Soyinka Dial 419 for Love, Cardiff Airport, January & March 2012 WL05 – Bethan Marlow Denbigh, May 2012 WL06 – LIVEARTSHOW Life after death, Haunted Houses, March 2012 WL07 – Angharad Evans Walking in the Shadows of Tom Mathias, Cilgerran, April 2012 WL08 – Kylie Ann Smith Mucha Lucha, A wrestling Ring, May 2012 WL09 – Catherine Paskell The Brautigan Project, TBC WL10 – Rebecca Smith Williams As We Drown – Nant-y-moch, TBC

http://bitly.com/waleslab

@mattball_ntw join me at nationaltheatrewales.org/community

Waleslab QR Code Scan with your smart-phone.

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National Theatre Wales has transformed its innovative Assembly programme into bespoke, democratically-elected creative arts projects, which will take place across Wales. Eight creative projects will be made in total over 18 months, in four areas – south, mid, north and west Wales. Organisations and individuals will be invited to submit proposals, of which three will be shortlisted at each regional submissions stage. The general public will be asked to vote for their preferred project online, and the project with the most votes will be given the green light. National Theatre Wales’ Assembly programme runs alongside its main productions, and offers participants an opportunity to experience theatre as a space for exploration and discussion. In the company’s first year, Assemblies were held in pubs, empty shops, disused banks, marquees, bus stations and ice-cream parlours, and led to the creation of a radio station in Barmouth, and a filmmakers’ club in Prestatyn. First Round: Winning Project

ASSEMBLY FAQ

HOW TO APPLY

Q: What if I live on the border of two areas (e.g. north Wales and west Wales)? Can I choose which one I’m in? A: Yes, you can choose.

The process requires local people, organisations and groups to suggest creative project ideas, from which three will be shortlisted. The shortlisted ideas will then go through a two-week online public voting period, and the idea which receives the most votes will be the event that is delivered.

Q: Do I need to pay or do I get paid to take part? A: No, there are no financial requirements, and the project is to be delivered for the community. The person proposing should be doing so to make a difference to their community. Q: What if I have an idea but no venue or anywhere to put on an event? A: That is fine, the more unusual the location the better. The Assembly team will help to find solutions to any problems with location or other issues. Q: How will the development week work? Does my group need to be available all week? A: The week will be an intensive period of work. The group doesn’t necessarily need to be available for the whole period, but this will depend on how much involvement you would like in the final event.

The application questions will give you a chance to think through the project and also who could possibly get involved. To apply, get in touch with: Abdul Shayek join me at: nationaltheatrewales.org/community

The winning project of the first round of Assembly Q: Can I speak to someone before applying, to get is Adamsdown & Splott – the project will be a some more information? performance debate event with which local young people would like to start a conversation around A: Yes, it is highly recommended that you speak with someone before sending through an idea. Please a local park and the contentious issues that have contact Abdul Shayek, Creative Associate at National arisen there. The young people want perceptions Theatre Wales about them to change, and would like to be recognised as being part of the community who can provide a solution. We are currently accepting proposals for Assembly 2, which will take place in west Wales, so if you live in Carmarthenshire, Ceredigion, Pembrokeshire or Swansea and have an idea, why not put in a proposal?

Keith Murrell Singer/Performer

Angharad Evans Actor/Choreographer

Laura Jeffs Actor/Choreographer

Sarah Mumford Movement practitioner

Owain Roach Actor/Clown

Claire Hathway Performer/Facilitator

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ARCHIVE

View our full gallery on Flickr and share your own memories: flickr.com/photos/nationaltheatrewales

2011

#NTW05 The Beach, Prestatyn Photograph: Dan Wilton

#NTW04 For Mountain, Sand & Sea, Barmouth Photograph: Warren Orchard

#NTW10 Soul Exchange, Butetown Photograph: Dan Green

#NTW05 The Beach, Prestatyn Photograph: Dan Wilton

#NTW08 The Dark Philosophers, Newport Photograph: Toby Farrow

#NTW13 The Passion, Port Talbot Photograph: Ian Kingsnorth

#NTW11 Outdoors, Aberystwyth Photograph: Gareth Phillips

#NTW03 The Devil Inside Him, Cardiff Photograph: Toby Farrow

#NTW06 The Persians, Sennybridge Military Range Photograph: Toby Farrow

#NTW02 Shelf Life, Swansea Photograph: Kirsten McTernan

#NTW09 The Weather Factory, Penygroes Photograph: Jorge Lizalde

#NTW04 For Mountain, Sand & Sea, Barmouth Photograph: Warren Orchard

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A PROVINCIAL LIFE By Peter Gill From a story by Anton Chekhov 1-17 March PULL OUT Programme #ntw17 NATIONALTHEATREWALES.ORG

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A PROVINCIAL LIFE

Behind the scenes

A PROVINCIAL LIFE

#NTW17

Photographs

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Helen Maybanks / National Theatre Wales

@ntwtweets

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A PROVINCIAL LIFE

Peter Gill Gill has directed over 100 productions in the UK, Europe and North America, bringing extraordinary life, through his intricately detailed and impressionistically beautiful aesthetic, to both the modern and classical repertoires, including acclaimed productions of plays by Buchner, Congreve, Otway, Shakespeare, Hampton, Orton, Osborne, Pinter, McCafferty and Wright.

Words

Photographs

Barney Norris

Helen Maybanks / National Theatre Wales

Peter Gill was born in Cardiff in 1939, and began his professional career as an actor. After several years on stage, he began to write and direct while working at the Royal Court, where he was responsible for introducing the plays of D.H.Lawrence to the theatre, and pioneered ideas of postmodernist staging with his production of The Duchess of Malfi. His first play, The Sleepers’ Den, was staged at the theatre in 1965, and he has continued to present work at the Royal Court throughout his career. He was the founding director of Riverside Studios, which was for a period one of Europe’s leading arts centres, mixing a programme of home grown drama with an extraordinary roster of international artists from Samuel Beckett to Tadeusz Kantor, and of the National Theatre Studio, which quickly became one of the most important centres for the development of new work in Britain.

#NTW17 Share your views and join the conversation about the show on twitter @ntwtweets

He has engaged with Chekhov as a writer and director throughout his life, in productions at the Royal Court, Riverside Studios, the Royal Shakespeare Company and the Royal National Theatre. The only Welsh writer besides Dylan Thomas whose work has been staged by the Royal National Theatre, his plays include The Sleepers’ Den (Royal Court 1965), Over Gardens Out (Royal Court 1968), Small Change (Royal Court 1976), Kick for Touch (Royal National Theatre 1983), Cardiff East (Royal National Theatre 1997), Certain Young Men (Almeida 1999), The York Realist (English Touring Theatre 2001), Original Sin (The Crucible Theatre, Sheffield, 2002) and Another Door Closed (Theatre Royal Bath, 2009). His work has repeatedly examined the Cardiff of his past as a ‘lost domain’ that can be imagined but never revisited, and his return to direct A Provincial Life (originally presented at the Royal Court in 1966) marks his first collaboration with National Theatre Wales.

A PROVINCIAL LIFE

SPRING 2012

PRODUCTIONS & PLAYS 1960s

1970s

1980s

1990s

2000s

Tunde Ikoli/Riverside Studios

William Congreve/Lyric Hammersmith

Julius Caesar

Royal Shakespeare Company; Swan Theatre

Assistant Director at Royal Court Theatre 65

A Collier’s Friday Night D.H. Lawrence/Royal Court Theatre

Associate Director at Royal Court Theatre Landscape and Silence

Harold Pinter/Lincoln Center, New York

Hedda Gabler

Scrape Off the Black

William Shakespeare/ Riverside Studios

The Way of the World

New England

Daved Mamet/ New Ambassador Theatre

Luther

Associate Director of Royal National Theatre

A Month in the Country

Anton Chekhov/Field Day Theatre Company

Heathcote Williams/Royal Court Theatre; Traverse Theatre

William Shakespeare/Stratford Festival, Canada

Ivan Turgenev trans Isaiah Berlin/ Royal National Theatre

A Patriot for Me

O’Flaherty VC

The Duchess of Malfi

Don Juan

John Osborne/Royal Shakespeare Company; Barbican

John Webster/Royal Court Theatre

Molière trans John Fowles/ Royal National Theatre

The Cherry Orchard*

The Dwarfs Harold Pinter/Traverse Theatre

The Local Stigmatic

George Bernard Shaw/Vancouver Festival; Mermaid Theatre

A Provincial Life* Royal Court Theatre 67

The Soldier’s Fortune

Thomas Otway/Royal Court Theatre

The Daughter-in-Law

D.H. Lawrence/Royal Court Theatre

Macbeth

Crete and Sergeant Pepper John Antrobus/Royal Court Theatre

The Daughter in Law D.H. Lawrence, Schauspielhaus Bochum 73

The Merry-Go-Round D.H. Lawrence/Royal Court Theatre

Much Ado About Nothing

Shakespeare/Royal National Theatre 82

Danton’s Death

Speed-the-Plow

Richard Nelson/ Royal Shakespeare Company

Henrik Ibsen/Stratford Festival, Canada

The Seagull*

Uncle Vanya

John Osborne/Royal National Theatre

The York Realist* English Touring Company

The Look Across The Eyes/ Lovely Evening* BBC Radio 4

Swan Theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon

Crucible Theatre, Sheffield

Cardiff East* Royal National Theatre

Georg Büchner/Royal National Theatre

Tongue of a Bird

Major Barbara

Ellen McLaughlin/Almeida Theatre

George Bernard Shaw/ Royal National Theatre

Certain Young Men*

Original Sin* 03

Scenes from the Big Picture Owen McCafferty/ Royal National Theatre 04

Romeo and Juliet

Crimes of Passion

Joe Orton/Royal Court Theatre

Twelfth Night

Almeida Theatre

William Shakespeare/ Royal Shakespeare Company

William Shakespeare/ Stratford-upon-Avon

Royal National Theatre

Friendly Fire*

D.H. Lawrence/Royal Court Theatre

The Widowing of Mrs Holroyd 69

Fishing

Kick for Touch* Small Change*

Royal National Theatre

Michael Weller/New York Shakespeare Festival

Tales from Hollywood

Jeremy Seabrook and Michael O’Neil/ Royal Court Theatre

As You Like It

Christopher Hampton/ Royal National Theatre

Much Ado About Nothing

Shakespeare/Nottingham Playhouse; Edinburgh Festival

William Shakespeare/ The American Shakespeare Festival

The Fool

Life Price

Over Gardens Out*

Edward Bond/Royal Court Theatre

Royal Court Theatre

The Sleepers’ Den*

Royal Court Theatre

Small Change* Founder Director of Riverside Studios 78

The Cherry Orchard Anton Chekhov/Riverside Studios

The Changeling Thomas Middleton and William Rowley/Riverside Studios 79

Measure for Measure William Shakespeare/ Riverside Studios

Founder Director of National Theatre Studio Antigone

Co-directed, Sophocles trans C.A. Trypanis/Royal National Theatre

Venice Preserv’d Thomas Otway/Royal National Theatre

Fool for Love Sam Shepard/Royal National Theatre; Royal Court Theatre 87

Mean Tears* Royal National Theatre

Bow Down, Down by the Greenwood Side Harrison Birtwistle/ Queen Elizabeth Hall

The Marriage of Figaro W A Mozart/Leeds Grand Theatre

JP Miller/Donmar Warehouse

Epitaph for George Dillon John Osborne and Anthony Creighton/ Comedy Theatre 06

The Voysey Inheritance Harley Granville-Barker/ Royal National Theatre

Look Back in Anger John Osborne/Theatre Royal Bath 07

Gaslight Patrick Hamilton/Old Vic Theatre 08

The Importance of Being Earnest Oscar Wilde/Theatre Royal Bath; Vaudeville Theatre

Small Change* Donmar Warehouse 09

Semper Dowland/The Corridor Harrison Birtwistle/ Britten Studio, Snape

Another Door Closed* Theatre Royal Bath 10

Nicholas Wright/ Royal National Theatre

Alia Bano/Riverside Studios

Juno and the Paycock Sean O’Casey/Lyric Hammersmith

* Written by Peter Gill

Days of Wine and Roses

Mrs Klein

Key

BT National Connections Season

Hens The Aliens Annie Barker/The Bush Theatre 11

The Breath of Life David Hare/Lyceum Theatre, Sheffield 12

A Provincial Life* National Theatre Wales

Making Noise Quietly Robert Holman/Donmar Warehouse

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A PROVINCIAL LIFE

The COMPANY Cast

Other Parts Played By

Anyuta Ivanova Blagovo

John Atkinson Luke Bridgeman Abigail Fitzgerald Heledd Gwynn Kristian Jenkins Jan Jones Ryan Nolan Clare Parry Jones Ian Phillips John Redpath Liane Walters John Williams

Kezia Burrows

Maria Victorovna Dolzhikova

Alex Clatworthy Prokofy

Richard Corgan Madame Azhogina

Helen Griffin

Boris Ivanov Blagovo

Lee Haven-Jones Victor Ivanov Dolzhikov

Mark Lewis

Cleopatra Alexandrovna Poloznev

Sara Lloyd-Gregory Ivan Mikhailovich Cheprakov

John-Paul Macleod

Workman

Liam Mansfield 10

Alexandr Pavlovich Poloznev

Clive Merrison

Old man/ Governor of the Province

Kenneth Price

Shopkeeper/Berlichev

Ieuan Rhys

Misail Alexandrovich Poloznev

Nicholas Shaw Andrey Ivanov

William Thomas Karpovna/Madame Mufke

Menna Trussler

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Photographs

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Helen Maybanks / National Theatre Wales

@ntwtweets

A PROVINCIAL LIFE

SPRING 2012

Kezia Burrows

Alex Clatworthy

Richard Corgan

Helen Griffin

Lee Haven-Jones

Trained at RADA.

Trained at the Guildhall School of Music & Drama, where she won the 2011 Michael Bryant Award.

Trained at Bristol Old Vic Theatre School.

Theatre credits include:

Clwyd Theatre Cymru Associate.

Theatre credits include:

Venice Preserved (Arcola), A Man For All Seasons, Kind Hearts & Coronets, To Kill A Mockingbird (PFT), The Merchant of Venice (Creation), The Misanthrope, The Bald Prima Donna (London Rd), Much Ado About Nothing (YSC), Measure for Measure (Sherman).

TV credits include:

CRASH, Casualty (BBC), Phoneshop (E4).

Film credits include:

Capgras Tide (Upstart), The Way of the Monkeys Claw (Nowhere Fast), With These Hands (Room 16).

Theatre credits include:

Henry IV Parts One & Two directed by Sir Richard Eyre (BBC), The Bench and Want 2TLK Science? (BBC Wales), Treflan (Alfresco), Pawb At Y Bwrdd and Hotel Eddie (Apollo).

Flowers From Tunisia (Torch), Taming Of The Shrew (Globe), Frozen (Sherman), It’s About Me (Hampstead), Money, Science, Me (Everyman), Romeo & Juliet (Lord Chamberlain’s Men), Ballad Of Blood & Darling (Rose Theatre), The Long, The Short & The Tall (Pleasance), La Fanciulla Del West (Royal Opera House), Macbeth, The Changeling (Barbican), Phoenix & The Carpet (Bristol Old Vic).

Radio credits include:

Television credits include:

Theatre credits include: Sleeping Beauty (Birmingham Rep).

Television credits include:

Evacuees and Meddwl (BBC Wales).

Radio credits include:

Baker Boys, Doctors, Casualty, Caught In The Web, The B Word (BBC).

The Devil Inside Him (National Theatre Wales), Small Change, Shadow Of A Boy, acclaimed one-woman show Caitlin (Sherman Cymru), Cymbeline (Ludlow Festival).

TV credits include: Coronation Street; Getting On; Criminal Justice Two; Vivian Vyle Show; Con Passionata; Dr Who ‘The Age Of Steel’, Casualty, The Bill.

Film credits include: Little White Lies (Bafta Cymru Best Actress 2007), Risen, Human Traffic. Her one-woman show, Who’s Afraid Of Rachel Roberts, tours Wales in May, (Torch Theatre).

Mary Stuart, Festen and Arcadia (Theatr Clwyd), Memory and Night Must Fall (Theatr Clwyd/59E59 Theatre, NYC), The Pull of Negative Gravity (Traverse Theatre), Romeo a Juliet (Theatr Genedlaethol Cymru), and The Bacchai (National Theatre).

Television credits include:

Gwaith Cartref (Fiction Factory), Caerdydd (S4C) and Love in a Cold Climate (BBC).

Film credits include: The Prince and Perfect Day.

Television directing credits include:

Film credits include:

The Anarchist in the Basement.

Theatre credits include:

Magpie, Colin, Hindsight. Radio includes: Blue Remembered Hills.

Indian Doctor (BBC) and Alys (S4C).

Mark Lewis

Sara Lloyd-Gregory

John-Paul Macleod

Liam Mansfield

Clive Merrison

Trained at the Central School of Speech and Drama and for many years was associated with the Citizens Theatre, Glasgow. He has worked at the National Theatre, The Royal Exchange, The Riverside, The Donmar, The Arcola, among others and worked with writer/directors such as Howard Barker and Steven Berkoff. He has appeared in TV series, Films and Radio.

Trained at the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama.

Trained at RADA.

Theatre credits include:

Spies (Theatre Alibi), King Lear (Headlong/Liverpool Everyman) directed by Rupert Goold, Passion (NTW) directed by Michael Sheen, All Night I dream about being good (The Yard Hackney).

Trained at Mountview Academy of Theatre Arts and graduated in June 2011.

Up ‘n’ Under (Black Rat), Romeo and Juliet (Wales Theatre Co), The American Pilot and A Midsummer Night’s Dream (RWCMD).

Television credits include: Alys, Con Passionate, Y Pris (S4C), Thorne: Sleepyhead (Sky 1), Tess of the D’Urbervilles, Torchwood, Belonging (BBC), Sleep With Me and Affinity (ITV).

Film credits include: Little White Lies (Red & Black Films), A Way of Life (AWOL Films). Radio credits include: Last Tango in Aberystwyth (BBC Radio 4).

Theatre credits include:

Television credits include: Casualty (BBC), Doctors (BBC), My Boy Jack (ITV)

Theatre credits include:

The History Boys (NT and Broadway), Credible Witness (Royal Court), The Cocktail Party (Lyceum), The Madness of George 111 (NT and Broadway).

Under Milk Wood (Farnham Rep), Fameless (Sotto Voce), 24 Hour Plays: Old Vic New Voices (Old Vic Theatre), A Christmas Carol (Maxim Theatre, Stockholm)

TV credits include:

Film credits include:

Ushers (Jukka Productions).

Film credits include: Small Miracles (Snake River), To Kill a King (Fairfax Films), Calendar Girls (Buena Vista)

Peep Show, Monday Monday, Egypt, Foyles War, Julius Caesar. Clive will appear in Bert and Dickie for the BBC in 2012. History Boys, Saving Grace, The English Patient and Heavenly Creatures.

Kenneth Price

Ieuan Rhys

Nicholas Shaw

William Thomas

Menna Trussler

Trained at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School and his extensive theatre work includes seasons at Scarborough, Manchester Royal Exchange, Bristol Old Vic, Keswick, Salisbury and the West End. His film credits include, John and Yoko, Fierce Creatures and Diana and Me, whilst his numerous television appearances include Emmerdale, The Atomic Inferno, Casualty, The Chief, A Touch of Spice and The Bill.

Trained at Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama.

Trained at Drama Centre London.

Theatre credits include:

Phaedra’s Love (Arcola, London), Hamlet (Northern Broadsides), Tis Pity She’s A Whore and Anthology (Liverpool Everyman/Slung Low), The Fairy Queen (Glyndebourne/Opera Comique/BAM), Romeo and Juliet and A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Open Air Theatre, Regent’s Park), Merchant of Venice and Holding Fire! (Shakespeare’s Globe), and Easter (Oxford Stage Company), for which he received an Ian Charleson Award commendation.

Work spans four decades, and he received a nomination for Best Actor at the BAFTA Cymru Awards (2007) for his portrayal of Glyn in the award winning Con Passionate.

The Winter’s Tale, The Merchant of Venice (Ludlow Festival), Amdani (Sgript Cymru), Hamlet, Amazing Grace, Romeo and Juliet, The Thorn Birds, Contender (Wales Theatre Company), Fiddler on the Roof, My Fair Lady (Aberystwyth Arts Centre), The Hired Man (The Torch Theatre), Sawl yn Syrthio (3D Theatre Company), Bred in Heaven (Frapetsus Productions).

Television credits include:

Stella, Ar y Tracs (Tidy Productions), Doctor Who, Rocket Man, High Hopes (BBC Television), Tracy Beaker (BBC), Pobol y Cwm (BBC Wales), Y Pris (Fiction Factory)

Film credits include:

The Englishman Who Went Up A Hill But Came Down A Mountian (MIRAMAX),Masterpiece (Burn Hand Film Production Ltd)

Theatre credits include:

Television credits include: Land Girls, The Rotters’ Club, The Romantics (BBC); Foyle’s War, Afterlife (ITV); Goldplated (Channel 4).

Other television credits include: Doctor Who, Midsomer Murders, Alys, Gavin & Stacey, Belonging (10 Series), Grass, Fun at the Funeral Parlour and We Are Seven. William also plays Geraint Cooper in the BBC & US Series, Torchwood. Film credits includes Mr Nice (Kodak Award Winner); Longitude (2001 BAFTA Winner for Best Drama Serial); Solomon & Gaenor; and Twin Town.

Swansea Girls, Cabaret, Side by Side by Sondheim, Midsummer Night’s Dream and Cinderella (Swansea Grand), Bedside Manners, Green Favours, Loose Ends and A Kiss on the Bottom (Sherman Theatre), Tartuffe (Clwyd Theatr Cymru), Family Planning (Grass Roots).

Television credits include: Stella (Sky), Come Fly With Me, Crash, Jam and Jerusalem (3 series), Torchwood II, Casualty, Doctors, Little Britain (3 series), The Bench and Thicker Than Water (BBC), Alys, Y Pris, Os Byw Ac Iach, Bydd Yn Wrol, Pam Fi Duw?, Pobol Y Cwm (S4C), In the Company of Strangers and We Are Seven (HTV), Liquorice Alsorts (Daffodil Productions).

Film credits include: Family Ties (Beryl Productions), Plotz with a View (CFI Films), Human Traffic (Fruit Salad Films), August (Granada Films).

Radio credits include: Writing the Century 14 (BBC Radio 4), Ceri Elen (BBC Radio Cymru).

NATIONAL THEATRE WALES

A PROVINCIAL LIFE

Ensemble 01

John Atkinson

Luke Bridgeman 03

Abigail Fitzgerald 04

Heledd Gwynn 05

Kristian Jenkins

Jan Jones 07

Ryan Nolan 08

Clare Parry Jones 09

Ian Phillips 10

John Redpath 11

Liane Walters

John Williams

#NTW17 Share your views and join the conversation about the show on twitter @ntwtweets

A PROVINCIAL LIFE

SPRING 2012

The Creative team Designer

Lighting Designer

Alison Chitty

Paul Pyant

See Alison’s profile on pages 09-10

Paul is a graduate of the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, and works in opera, ballet, musicals and theatre worldwide. He has a long-established association with Glyndebourne Opera, English National Opera, The Royal Opera, Covent Garden, National Theatre, English National Ballet, The Donmar Warehouse, The Almeida Theatre and Northern Ballet Theatre. Recent productions include: Grief (National Theatre), Richard III (The Old Vic), Aspects of Love (Menier Chocolate Factory), House of Games (Almeida), Betrothal in a Monastery (Theatre du Capitol and Opera Comique), The Heretic (Royal Court), and Hobson‘s Choice (Crucible Theatre, Sheffield).

Stage Sound Services Sound Designer

Mike Beer Mike started his career at the Sherman Theatre Cardiff in 1986. Since then he has toured Theatre and Corporate events world wide over the last 20 years with companies including DV8 Physical Theatre, Theatre Royal Bath, Bristol Old Vic, Diversions Dance, West Yorkshire Playhouse, Birmingham Stage, Theatr Clwyd, Act Productions, Fiery Angel, Theatr Gwynedd, Imagination, Sony and Ford Motor Car Company. Mike’s designs include: Coasting and Treasure Island for Bristol Old Vic, The Passion, Love Steals Us From Loneliness and The Persians for National Theatre Wales, Deffro’r Gwanwyn for Theatr Genedlaethol Cymru, BFG for Fiery Angel, Great Expectations for Aberystwyth Art Centres, Desire Lines, The Borrowers and Merlin for The Sherman Theatre Company, The Firework Maker’s Daughter and Danny the Champion of the World for Birmingham Stage Company, Single Spies, Legal Fictions and The Importance of Being Earnest for The Theatre Royal Bath, Don Quixote for West Yorkshire Playhouse. Mike now works as full time Sound Designer and Production Consultant for Stage Sound Services.

Thank you Props Supervisor

Jane Slattery Costume Supervisor

Carrie Bayliss

With thanks to National Theatre Hire, Angels and Cosprop

Wigs Supervisor

Wigs

Joyce Beagarie Assistant Director (part of National Theatre Wales’ Emerging Director Scheme)

Julia Thomas Assistant Designer

Louie Whitemore Production Manager

David Evans

Company Stage Manager

Matthew North

Deputy Stage Manager

Rachel Burgess Assistant Stage Manager

Ryan Tate Fiona Curtis

Head of Wardrobe

Jo Reynolds Production Electrician

Ceri James

Production Sound

Rhodri Hunt Assistant Designer

Composer

Terry Davies

Louie Whitemore Observer Assistant Designer

Kitty Callister Terry has written for many theatre productions at the National Theatre, RSC, West End, around the UK and elsewhere. His productions with Peter Gill include The Aliens (Bush), Look Back in Anger (Theatre Royal, Bath), The Voysey Inheritance (Royal National Theatre), Romeo and Juliet (Royal Shakespeare Company), Original Sin (Sheffield) and The York Realist (English Touring Theatre/Royal Court). He is an artistic associate of choreographer Matthew Bourne, composing for his Lord of the Flies, Dorian Gray, Edward Scissorhands, The Car Man and Play Without Words for which he received an Olivier Award. He has conducted the music for nearly 50 films including W.E., The King’s Speech, The Illusionist, Another Year and Brideshead Revisited.

Costumes

Observer Assistant Designer

Holly Pigott

Student Stage Management Placement

Rhodri Hunt Promoter

Anna Poole @annaloupoole

With thanks to National Theatre Hire and Wig Specialities Cardiff Theatrical Services Stage Sound Services Bristol Old Vic Jacob Gough and Thomas Reilly Chris Ricketts and all at the Sherman

NATIONAL THEATRE WALES

A PROVINCIAL LIFE

Alison Chitty

Photographs Helen Maybanks / National Theatre Wales

Alison has had a distinguished international career in theatre, opera and film. Her theatre credits include eight years as resident designer at the National Theatre where she designed many productions, including Venice Preserv’d, Antony and Cleopatra, Bacchae, The Voysey Inheritance and Mike Leigh’s Two Thousand Years. She has just designed Mike Leigh’s new play, Grief. She has worked in opera houses throughout the world, including Chicago, Seattle, Munich and Paris. Recently she designed the highly acclaimed world premiere of Harrison Birtwistle’s The Minotaur at the Royal Opera House Covent Garden, and Rigoletto for La Fenice, Venice. Film credits include: Aria, Turn of the Screw, and several Mike Leigh films including Life is Sweet, Naked and Secrets and Lies. In recognition of her particular approach to teaching, and commitment to developing the talent of young theatre designers and practitioners, Alison was awarded The Misha Black Award in 2006, The Young Vic Award in 2008 and a Fellowship of Birkbeck, London University in 2011. #NTW17 Share your views and join the conversation about the show on twitter @ntwtweets

Alison’s Studio

Research Material

A PROVINCIAL LIFE

SPRING 2012

Productions 1960s

1970s

1980s

1990s

2000s

Trained at St Martins and Central Schools of Art

Modest Mussorgsky/ English National Opera

Royal National Theatre

Assistant Designer at Victoria Theatre, Stoke on Trent 74

Head of Design at Victoria Theatre, Stoke on Trent 79

Measure for Measure* William Shakespeare/ Riverside Studios

Julius Caesar* William Shakespeare/ Riverside Studios 81

Much Ado About Nothing* William Shakespeare/ Royal National Theatre 84

Fool for Love*

Sam Shepard/Royal National Theatre

British Drama Award: Best Designer for Venice Preservâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;d* 87

Mean Tears*

Peter Gill/Royal National Theatre

Khovanshchina Olivier Award: Best Production

Billy Budd Benjamin Britten/Grand Theatre Geneva 96

The Mask of Orpheus

Olivier Award: Best Costume Design for Remembrance of Things Past 02

Bacchae Euripides/Royal National Theatre 04

Harrison Birtwistle/Royal Festival Hall

Received OBE

Peter Gill/Royal National Theatre

Mike Leigh/Royal National Theatre

Cardiff East*

Tristan and Isolde Richard Wagner/Seattle Opera

The Bartered Bride BedrË&#x2021;ich Smetana/Covent Garden

Two Thousand Years

Misha Black Award for Innovation in Design Education 07

Olivier Award: Best Costume Design for The Voysey Inheritance* Royal National Theatre 08

The Young Vic Award 09

Royal Designer for Industry 11

Grief Mike Leigh/Royal National Theatre

Awarded Fellowship of Birbeck, London University

Key * Directed by Peter Gill

Costume Palette

NATIONAL THEATRE WALES

A PROVINCIAL LIFE

Dr Chekhov and the NEEDY human heart In 1875, when he was 15, his father fled from town hidden under a mat at the bottom of a cart after his grocery business failed. A year later the rest of the family’s humiliation was complete when a former lodger bought their house and turned them out. Staying on in Taganrog until he was 19, Chekhov was also displaced in another sense. His grandfather had been a serf, part of Russia’s vast underclass literally owned by the country’s landowners until Tsar Alexander II freed them in 1861 and created a workforce for the huge network of railways he planned. They were routinely characterised as lazy, sly, drunk, ignorant and suspicious. Words Paul Allen

Ever felt that a more exciting, more fulfilling life was going on somewhere else? That if only you got the breaks, had the education, met the right people you could make everything better? Or that if you moved to London, Paris or New York the unique flame of your talent would be recognised at last? If so, Chekhov writes for you, and about you. He writes about what it feels like to be provincial with the intimate understanding of someone who was born 700 miles from the capital in a small port on Russia’s southern coast.

But Chekhov was educated, sober and industrious. He enrolled as a medical student in Moscow and began writing humorous pieces for small magazines. Working his way up the market and the ladder of literary ambition, he turned out hundreds of stories before writing his four great plays: The Seagull, Uncle Vanya, Three Sisters and The Cherry Orchard.

But his subject is the human comedy of people (like his protagonist) who dream of changing their own lives and the world but generally find the best they can manage is to get on with the drudgery they were born to; and people (like his protagonist’s father) who can’t see why anything should change in their comfortable universe. Narrowness of horizons is what defines provincialism. ‘Scenes from Provincial Life’ was the subtitle for his funny, heart-breaking Uncle Vanya, and the title was later used by the great South African writer J M Coetzee for his thinly veiled autobiography. Chekhov (with Ibsen) was setting the agenda for modern western drama; Beckett, Pinter and Ayckbourn are all in his debt. Chekhov doesn’t sneer at us, as perhaps a metropolitan writer might for easy laughs. But he doesn’t indulge or sentimentalise us either. He is the outsider who can show us the funny, heart-breaking truth.

The long story My Life out of which Peter Gill made his play A Provincial Life came just as Chekhov was blossoming as a dramatist towards the end of his life. In all of them you’ll find many a reference to medicine (which he regarded as his ‘wife’, with literature his ‘mistress’), to education (he built three schools) and even to railways. You’ll also find pre-echoes of the Russian Revolution and astonishingly topical references to the environment or to the impossibility of justice and Mammon living together.

A Provincial Life

Now Available #NTW17 Share your views and join the conversation about the show on twitter @ntwtweets

By Peter Gill

Featuring the full text of the play alongside details of this new production, this is a great souvenir to take home and keep forever. Purchase your copy in the foyer now, or online at shop.nationaltheatrewales.org

SPRING ISSUE

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BRENT MORGAN Scratch That Itch

CREATIVE PROFILE

Describe Brent Morgan in three words.. Impulsive, honest, real. What gets you up in the morning? My alarm clock. What has been the most amazing piece of theatre you have ever seen ? Most amazing is a hard one but most influential would be ‘In your rooms/ Uprising’ by Hofesh Shechter. It really captured my imagination and had a lasting effect on the kind of work that I wanted to make. How did you start getting involved with the NTW TEAM project? I first got involved with TEAM after being involved with Swansea Assembly. I had been wanting to set up a scratch theatre night for a while, and had started a group on the online community to gauge interest. I was approached by NTW who said that TEAM would like to support the events which was really helpful as people started paying more attention to the events, as they had NTW backing. Since being part of TEAM, I have had loads of opportunity to do things I just wouldn’t got to have otherwise. A particular high point of this was going up to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival last summer. I got to see some amazing shows and meet some really cool and interesting people. I would recommend TEAM to anyone who wants to be involved in the theatre scene here in Wales. You would be joining a group of very friendly, very giving people.

What is the Swansea arts scene like at the moment? What should we be checking out and where should we be going? The Swansea arts scene is a bit all over, it is there but you do have to look closely and hard to see everything that is going on. We have a lot of new arts spaces popping up at the moment, as well as seeing more companies emerging and creating work. It’s an exciting time to be in Swansea. I would say to keep your eyes peeled on Swansea High Street, as it now has the Evening Post Theatre and Volcano’s 229 space. The regeneration of Swansea High Street also shows promise of more exciting things opening up soon.

Tell us about what we can expect from a Scratch That Itch night. Scratch That Itch night offers you a look at original pieces that people are developing at the moment. The nights are relaxed with an open door policy, so if something is not to your taste, you can pop to the bar and grab a drink before coming back to see the next performer. It is a great way to meet other people in the theatre scene in Wales and finding out what everyone is getting up. It is a very friendly, forgiving environment of people who are there to support each other and help things develop. Overall, it is just a good night out with friends that gives you an opportunity to see some brand new theatre. I hope to see you at the next one.

You run an event called Scratch That Itch. Tell us about how that started, your aspirations for the future and where we can catch the next performances. NTW TEAM members are at the centre of everything Scratch That Itch started out as a group on the we do. It’s for anyone who is interested in being NTW community as I was trying to see if there part of NTW, getting involved in theatre, or meeting was interest in having a scratch night in south new people. Wales. The inspiration to hold the nights came Everywhere we go, we recruit and work alongside after seeing a Dirty Protest event. After getting a team of local ambassadors. These are the backing from NTW TEAM, we started putting on people at the heart of our shows, who let their events offering people an opportunity to show communities know about our productions, who visit rehearsals to give feedback and who help us plan ideas in the early stages of development. The for the future. night gives performers the opportunity to receive feedback from the audience that can help you develop the piece in the future. We have held events in Swansea, Cardiff and at Watusi Festival. Hopefully in the future we will be able to hold events all over Wales, creating a safe place for the community to come together and support each other and find out what everyone is getting up to. At the moment, Scratch That Itch events are held every other month, but if you want an event held in your city or you just @dextartuk want to hurry the next one along, please email letmescratchthatitch@gmail.com join me at nationaltheatrewales.org/community

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2012

Scratch That Itch Monkey Bar, Swansea Photograph: Jorge Lizalde

Scratch That Itch Brent Morgan Photograph: Jorge Lizalde

Scratch That Itch Natalie Paisey Photograph: Jorge Lizalde

Scratch That Itch Kelly Jones Photograph: Jorge Lizalde

NATIONAL THEATRE WALES

ANNA POOLE Word 4 Word

CREATIVE PROFILE

Describe Anna Poole in three words. Creative. Ambitious. Smiley What gets you up in the morning? The main thing that gets me up in the morning, if it’s not an aggressive alarm and an obscene amount of coffee, would be the wanting to know more about anything and everything. I know I want to be involved in theatre as my career, but I just don’t know what aspect, so I get up to learn more and gain experience. What has been the most amazing piece of theatre you have ever seen? It is really hard to narrow it down to just one specific piece of theatre. I have seen so much over the years, some I have enjoyed, some loved, some hated but I think the most amazing piece of theatre has to be something that changed my perception of what theatre could be. When I was young I had only ever seen traditional theatre, musicals or the pantomime at Christmas. During my GCSEs we were taken to the Birmingham Rep to see Hysteria by Terry Johnson, and it totally blew my mind. I sat in amazement as I watched clocks slide off the walls onto the floor and the back of the set open up to find a steam train heading right for us. I never new this kind of thing was possible, and I just wanted to see more.

and my friend Natalie Stone and I jumped at the chance. We have received so much support from Devinda, not only within NTW but also with developing our skills for our own theatre company. My advice to anybody that wanted to get involved would be to e-mail Devinda, let him know you’re interested and he will always find the time to get to know you and tell you about any opportunities. Otherwise, just join the TEAM group on the community, you get to meet other TEAM members and find out what everyone is up to all over Wales and how you can get involved.

You are working as the Promoter on A Provincial Life. Tell us a little about what that involves so far, and what you know about the show and its content. I was so excited to have been given the opportunity to work on such an amazing production. Promoting NTW17 involves aspects I have never had the opportunity to do before. My duties include spreading the word of the show, meeting and creating relationships with people and organisations, alerting others of opportunities within the community and to create a buzz about the show around Cardiff. Not only does the show bring back the hugely respected Peter Gill to his home town, but will have an impressive 17-night run in the brand new Sherman Cymru. With a 15 strong cast plus 12 TEAM ensemble members, magnificent 19th How did you start getting involved with the NTW century costumes, and a beautiful and thoughtTEAM project? And what would you say to others provoking script, the night is guaranteed to who may be thinking of getting involved? wholly take you into 1890s Russia and is a I actually got involved with NTW TEAM through piece that should not be missed. a friend who had helped out a lot during the shows in year 1. I wasn’t sure what I could do with NTW TEAM, but I knew I just wanted to get involved in whatever I could. The opportunity to contribute to the Word4Word event came up

You have a put together a TEAM marketing crew for this show. What kind of marketing ideas have they come up with? They have come up with so many ideas, from the basics of who to target and how, to then getting to people on the streets and spreading the word. They have come up with an exciting competition, ideas for a pop-up shop, flash mobs, happenings and the list goes on. I feel so lucky to have such a great TEAM behind me. You run an event called Word 4 Word. Tell us about how that started, your aspirations for the future and where we can catch the next performance. Word4Word began initially as a National Theatre Wales event. Opening it up to TEAM welcomed fresh ideas and the chance for us to get involved in an exciting, evolving event. Since taking it over in September, we have gone from strength to strength, being able to offer prizes, change venues, create themes and build our own skills within promotion and event organising. Word4Word offers the chance for poets, spoken word artists and actor/writers who are either just starting out or emerging to share their work in an inviting friendly space. In terms of aspirations for the future, we just want to spread the word and get more people involved who have possibly never performed before. The next event will be at Gwdihw ˆ on 24th April. Keep your eyes peeled for more information.

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You’re charged with running the NTW Social at the Sherman on 2nd March – what can we expect on the evening? The National Theatre Wales Social is a chance to meet up with fellow members of the NTW community and chat with key members of the staff and creative team. For those social networking whizzers, there will be a row of tweet seats. Whilst socialising after the show, there will be performances from six lucky winners of the Word4Word event and also Scratch That Itch in response to the poignant theme from A Provincial Life’s ideals. This will be followed by music from guest DJs and a busy, lively bar. It will most certainly be a night to remember, and I suggest if you can, grab a ticket.

NTW TEAM members are at the centre of everything we do. It’s for anyone who is interested in being part of NTW, getting involved in theatre, or meeting new people. Everywhere we go, we recruit and work alongside a team of local ambassadors. These are the people at the heart of our shows, who let their communities know about our productions, who visit rehearsals to give feedback and who help us plan for the future.

@annaloupoole join me at nationaltheatrewales.org/community

2012

Word 4 Word 10 Feet Tall, Cardiff Photograph: Jorge Lizalde

Word 4 Word Emma McNab Photograph: Jorge Lizalde

Word 4 Word Christopher Cale Photograph: Jorge Lizalde

Word 4 Word Audience Vote Photograph: Jorge Lizalde

Word 4 Word Steven Kenward Photograph: Jorge Lizalde

NATIONAL THEATRE WALES

DE GABAY In development

Photograph: Gareth Phillips

SPRING ISSUE

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2012

De Gabay Poet Ahmed Ibrahim Photograph: Gareth Phillips

De Gabay Poets Daud Farah, Ali Goolyad Bashir Deria, Ahmed Ibrahim, Mahamood Farah Photograph: Gareth Phillips

De Gabay Poets Bashir Deria, Daud Farah Photograph: Gareth Phillips

De Gabay Poet Daud Farah Photograph: Gareth Phillips

De Gabay Poets Ahmed Ibrahim, Ali Goolyad Photograph: Gareth Phillips

SPRING ISSUE

WHAT IS DE GABAY?

De Gabay will feature a site-specific exploration of the Butetown/Cardiff Bay area, with a focus on the young lives and dreams that flow through it. Music and poetry will be central to the performance. Audiences will encounter intimate moments of performance and spectacular larger-scale events as the streets are brought to life by the kinds of young men that many people try to avoid. For example, a moment where each audience member is exploring the contents of a thousand ‘messages in bottles’ that seem to have washed up on the Cardiff Bay shore, might give way to another moment where hundreds of people burst into the same song on dozens of street corners, as a huge image of the sea is projected onto Butetown’s largest tower block. Overall, the piece will be a poetic re-creation of a much misunderstood urban area, and an insight into the hidden lives, hopes and fears of young Somali men.

nationaltheatrewales.org

POEM HASSAN PANERO

Usually, I’m left pushed towards the darkest dustier part of the house, amongst forgotten cloths and unattended boxes. Fully packed with a history of adventures intact, zipped up with an elastic armband ‘Please Contact’ Equipped with wheels to roll loyalty to my family, similar to the shoes and the owner, precise size, Their congealer whilst they travel through the long windy nights, Departed long before jet engines started, travelled in-between camels, stars and traffic lights, Red sand to waves of colourful oceans into concrete confusing, brown to blue eyes studied my internal. Razor sharp fingers continue to tickle me, centuries later the laughter still appear, Thought it was a welcome gesture at the time. Illiterate experts as life taught my owner body language and hard work ethics, First handle witness to the many encounters the Seaman’s faced, religion buried deep within their roots Sandals to boots, ultimate sacrifice for their family, Heroes from both World Wars disguised in HIS-STORY paralyzed, Proud to experience their offspring graduate to achieve, reinvented generation ready to teach, Allergic to dust, I’m still in use, insecure as if I was out of fashion rolling through the terminal. My owner kneeled down and said we going home, that’s when we got highlighted, when a man pointed a finger towards us yelling out Terrorist.

NATIONAL THEATRE WALES

“ the piece will be a poetic re-creation of a much misunderstood urban area, and an insight into the hidden lives, hopes and fears of young Somali men. ”

De Gabay Poet Bashir Deria Photograph: Gareth Phillips

SPRING ISSUE

GAVIN PORTER De Gabay

CREATIVE PROFILE

@gavinp0rter join me at nationaltheatrewales.org/community

nationaltheatrewales.org

Describe Gavin Porter in three words. …I am me What gets you up in the morning? A love for life, a love for my family. What’s your creative background? I studied Film and Television at International Film School Wales. I was lucky enough to pay for my way through university by applying for small grants to deliver Participatory Arts projects to young people. After graduating I attempted to enter the television industry, but became despondent and decided that I would go back to university. I then studied Design for Interactive Media at UWIC. After graduating for the second time, three others and I set up a Social Enterprise called Community Helps Itself which was an Arts and Media based organisation which delivered Participatory Arts projects.

You are working as Creative Associate on De Gabay. Tell us a little about what that has involved so far. I have been very fortunate to be employed as Creative Associate on a project that I would have volunteered to work on – De Gabay. My role has been to help develop the skills of the five poets who are at the core of the project, both as writers and performers. We have also been thinking about what careers the the poets would like to develop as a result of being involved in De Gabay.

You run an event called IdeasExchange. Tell us about how that started, your aspirations for the future and where we can catch the next performance. IdeasExchange came when Keith Murrell and I were involved in The Soul Exchange and attending the NTW Assembly event that coincided with it. We were impressed with the format and what was achieved on the night. So we decided to approach NTW and see if they would How did you start getting involved with the NTW support us in developing a series of AssemblyTEAM project? And what would you say to others style events. IdeasExchange offers the creative who may be thinking of getting involved? community of Butetown and surrounding areas I heard that NTW were holding some introductory the opportunity to be involved in a professional workshops in Butetown and although, at the event, developing skills in performance, writing, time, I had no real interest in Theatre, I decided production and event management as well as that I’d go along to see what was happening. exploring relevant community issues. I had a good feeling about the project that was happening, NTW10 – The Soul Exchange, and @ideas_exchange I was lucky enough to get involved. NTW talk Facebook.com/IdeasExchange about developing a legacy with Butetown and the creative community so myself and Keith Murrell approached NTW with an idea that we wanted to develop, based on the Assembly format developed by NTW. I would urge anyone who has an interest, not only in theatre, but any form of creativity to get involved in TEAM as the opportunities are endless.

NATIONAL THEATRE WALES

On Sale Now

NTW18 The Radicalisation of Bradley Manning By Tim Price Directed by John E McGrath A political fantasy for the networked world Bradley Manning is the 24-year-old US soldier accused of releasing 250,000 secret embassy cables and military logs from the Iraq and Afghan wars. After nearly two years in prison without charge, Manning now faces a court martial, accused of crimes that could mean life in prison. But just a few years ago, he was a teenager in west Wales. How did this happen? And who is responsible for his radicalisation? 12th-14th April Tasker Milward VC School, Portfield Avenue, Portfield, Haverfordwest, Pembs, SA61 1EQ Box Office: 01646 695 267 17th-21st April Cardiff High School Llandennis Road, Cyncoed Cardiff, CF23 6WG Box Office: 029 2063 6464 25th-28th April Connah’s Quay High School, Golftyn Lane, Connah’s Quay, Deeside, Flintshire CH5 4BH Box Office: 0845 330 3565 Tickets: £15 / Concessions Available Hyper-connected theatre nationaltheatrewales.org/ bradleymanning

NTW19 LITTLE DOGS In partnership with Frantic Assembly. Inspired by Dylan Thomas Across the city, hearts are beating and the mating ritual has begun. In the nightclubs, the bus shelters, the back streets and the sand dunes, daring girls and reckless boys engage in a desperate dance while the less fortunate observe and pretend it doesn’t hurt. Created by Frantic Assembly, and staged in Swansea’s richly atmospheric Patti Pavilion, this production is inspired by the Dylan Thomas story ‘Just Like Little Dogs’ and the furtive hours so many of us have spent searching for kindness and warmth in the shadows of the city. 10th–18th May Preview 9th May, 8pm The Patti Pavilion, Swansea Box Office: Taliesin Arts Centre 01792 60 20 60 Tickets: £15 (£10/£5 conc) Age guidance: 15+ Contains sexual content and strong language

COMING THIS SUMMER

NTW20 IN WATER I’M WEIGHTLESS

NTW21 Coriolan/Us:

An Unlimited commission for the London 2012 Cultural Olympiad By Kaite O’Reilly Directed by John E McGrath

9 – 18 August

IN WATER I’M WEIGHTLESS takes a provocative look at the human body, performed by a cast of six leading deaf and disabled performers. In a dynamic staging combining movement and live projections, Kaite O’Reilly’s poetic, poignant and at times explosively funny texts are inspired by the imagination, experiences and attitudes of disabled people across the UK. With movement direction by Nigel Charnock, this groundbreaking production from NTW celebrates the athleticism, diversity and skill of the company, whilst exploring the endless possibilities of human difference. 26th July–4th August Preview 9th May, 8pm Weston Studio, Wales Millennium Centre, Bute Place, CF10 5AL Box Office: 029 2063 6464 wmc.org.uk/stiwdioweston Tickets: £8-£12 31st August, 6.30pm 1st September, 1pm and 8pm The Purcell Room Southbank Centre, London southbankcentre.co.uk

Secret Location in South Wales

NTW22 Branches In the forests of North Wales 5 – 15 September

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Join Us #NTW18 nationaltheatrewales.org/bradleymanning 12–14 April Tasker Milward VC School Portfield Avenue, Portfield Haverfordwest, Pembs SA61 1EQ 01646 695 267

17–21 April Cardiff High School Llandennis Road, Cyncoed Cardiff CF23 6WG

25–28 April Connah’s Quay High School Golftyn Lane Connah’s Quay Deeside, Flintshire CH5 4BH

029 2063 6464

0845 330 3565 Tickets

£15 / Concessions Available

12–14 Ebrill Ysgol Tasker Milward Portfield Avenue, Portfield Hwlffordd, Sir Benfro SA61 1EQ 01646 695 267

17–21 Ebrill Ysgol Uwchradd Caerdydd Ffordd Llandennis, Cyncoed Caerdydd CF23 6WG

25–28 Ebrill Ysgol Uwchradd Cei Connah Lôn Golftyn, Cei Connah Sir y Fflint CH5 4BH

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