After teaming up with Wales’ international visual arts prize Artes Mundi, seven writers have been challenged to write short plays based on the entrants. The writers, a mix of established and up and coming Welsh talent, were each given a different artist and were allowed to use anything in the artist’s room to inspire a new play. Audiences will be able to see a selection of the plays at a special lunchtime performance at Cardiff Museum before the evening performance at Porters Bar, on Thursday January 10. Writers including last year’s Wales Drama Award winner Katherine Chandler have all been given a few weeks to write a 3-10 minute play inspired by their own artist. Katherine, who is currently under commission for National Theatre Wales and developing a script with the BBC said, “My artist is Miriam Backstrom. And when I saw her work I saw people, mirrors, glass, Blondie's 'Heart of Glass' in my head. Writer Meredydd Barker, who will this year be directing a film version of Macbeth to be set amongst the derelict Cold War installations of Pembrokeshire, has avoiding reading what artist Phil Collins has said about his photographs and started writing the piece at the museum. He said, “Calve is simply an attempt at creating a backstory to some of the photographs. The first draft was written while viewing the installation. It has subsequently taken on a life of its own.” Audiences will also see new plays from Tom Wentworth who has the artist Sheela Gowda, Michael Waters was inspired by the artist Darius Miksys, Lotty Talbutt’s artist was Teresa Margolles, Andy Evans was given Tania Bruguera and Heledd Wyn had the artist Apolonija Sustersic. The plays will then be performed by professional actors and directed by Catherine Paskell and Matthew Bulgo at Porters’ cinema room and the National Museum lobby. Director Matthew Bulgo said, “This is a great chance for the writers to be inspired by art and be challenged to write something different. When Artes Mundi asked us to put together an afternoon performance for their lunchtime sessions we were really excited to gather together some of Wales’ best and up-and-coming writing talent. “We asked the writers not to focus too much on the artist’s background and biographies but to focus on the exhibits to see what inspires them to create a great short play.” Last year was a successful one for the Cardiff theatre company Dirty Protest. The not-for-profit collective which has dedicated itself to producing new work from Welsh writers, celebrated its fifth year with a number of key events. The company staged the Welsh premiere of Dennis Kelly’s play After the End at Sherman Cymru directed by Mared Swain and starring Kezia Burrows and Gruffudd Glyn, it also joined with Clwyd Theatr Cymru at the end of the year to produce its first full-length production by a Welsh writer, with Matthew Bulgo’s Last Christmas starring Sion Pritchard and directed by Kate Wasserberg. The company also continued to bring its short nights of new theatre to pubs and unusual venues throughout Cardiff. The night of new writing which challenged Valleys’ writers to respond to MTV’s reality show The Valleys was a sell out success and made headlines across Wales. 2013 will be a packed year for Dirty Protest Theatre with some highly exciting projects to be announced but the company is keen to kick off the new year with its latest shorts night *Dirty Protest Presents...Artes Mundi Lunchtime Performance, Cardiff Museum, Thursday January, 10 Full evening performances @ Porters Bar, Cardiff, Thursday January 10. 7.30pm AND 9pm Tickets £5 to buy in advance email info@dirtyprotesttheatre.co.uk About the writers Katherine Chandler Katherine is a Welsh playwright who has had plays produced by Sherman Cymru, Bristol Old Vic, Theatr Nan’Og and Spectacle Theatre. In 2011, Katherine’s play ‘Shoot Doris Day’, was selected by Pentabus Theatre as their ‘We Are Here’ winning script. In 2012 Katherine’s play ‘Before it Rains’ was produced by Bristol Old Vic and Sherman Cymru and she was delighted to win the BBC and National Theatre Wales inaugural Wales Drama Award with her new play ‘Parallel Lines’. Katherine is currently bursting with pride to be under commission to National Theatre Wales and is developing a script with the BBC. She is also looking forward to spending time in 2013 at the Royal National Theatre, England on a studio attachment. Meredydd Barker In the early nineteen nineties Meredydd Barker studied fine art at Central St Martins. Whilst there he showed Alexander McQueen how to mix plaster of Paris and tried to chat up Stella McCartney. She was very kind. McQueen bought him a ham roll. This year Meredydd will be writing and directing the junior show at the Urdd Eisteddfod, Europe's largest youth festival, in Boncath. He will also be directing a film version of Macbeth which will feature youth performers and be set amongst the derelict Cold War installations of Pembrokeshire. He is artistic director of Narberth Youth Theatre and an associate at Theatr Clwyd. Lotty Talbutt Lotty is a trained actor who worked in theatre, television and radio before making the move into writing. She studied Enlish Lit. and Creative Writing at Newport University. In her final year the university chose Lotty’s play Host to be produced at The Riverfront Theatre. Her play The Ordinary Three was produced as part of the Welsh Fargo Stage Company’s ‘On the Edge’ season of plays in 2010 and was shown in Chapter Arts Centre and Trinity College, Carmarthen. In November 2011 her short play Shadows was shown at The Little Black Box Theatre, Bristol as part of Corner Theatre’s four star rated ‘Headlines’ show and in September 2011 Lotty completed an M Phil in Playwriting Studies at the University of Birmingham. Most recently Lotty was part of the Sherman Cymru’s Advanced Writers Programme. Heledd Wyn Heledd completed her first degree in Theatre, Music and Media before deciding that she preferred writing for the stage rather than actually treading those boards. She completed a Masters Degree in Creative Writing, concentrating on short plays for theatre and radio. After shelving her Uni books Heledd started working for the BBC in Cardiff, as a Broadcast Assistant in Radio Cymru, before moving to the factual Television department working as a Production Co-ordinator on a variety of factual programmes. In 2010 she moved to the music department, returning to the factual development team in July 2012 working with the Head of in house Documentaries as a researcher / Co-ordinator. Heledd has written inserts for various magazines and newspapers, competing in the Sherman's Script Slam sessions, winning the Welsh version in 2008, and competing again last year. She has translated musical theatre songs for the National eisteddfod of Wales, and have written a pre school play session for the Urdd eisteddfod's opening ceremony. Michael Waters Michael’s recent writing commissions include a play for Dyfed Powys Police and being named the Made in Wales Best Screenplay 2011 for his film Tentboy. Michael is also artistic director of Antic and has directed plays like Gary Owen’s Crazy Gary’s Mobile Disco and was the associate director for Grand Slam Theatre Productions’ Cappuccino Girls. Tom Wentworth Tom has been a member of the Sherman Cymru's Advanced Writer's programme; have contributed poetry to a book on Shropshire Butterflies and am developing a situation comedy for Radio 4 with an independent production company and have a piece being presented by Scriptography Productions as part of their Playpen showcase. He comes from England but has felt truly welcomed in Wales over the last 4 years. Andy Evans Until July 2012 Andy was a teacher of Law. When redundancy came knocking, he decided to seize the opportunity to pursue his dream of becoming a full- time writer. Having worked previously with Hull Truck Theatre for whom Andy is also a script reader, and having plays published in the UK and the USA, Andy's decision to go full-time was not a difficult one. Since September Andy has had four new plays performed including an all women musical about pirates, a play about the Suffragette Movement and short plays performed in Cardiff at the Made in Roath Festival, in London by Oryx Productions and in Hull by his own company Breakwater Theatre Company. He is currently writing two new plays, one for radio about Guy Gibson of the Dam Buster and one which will be a jukebox musical in conjunction with Hull Truck Theatre Company. He is also developing a major community play to commemorate the outbreak of WW1 in 2014. About Dirty Protest Dirty Protest is Cardiff’s leading fringe theatre company. Launched in 2007 the company has worked with over a 100 Welsh writers, staging new sell-out plays in alternative venues, from pubs and clubs, to kebab shops, hairdressers and a forest! Ever since it has been drawing attention to itself, shaking up the arts world along the way. If you don’t believe us The Guardian called Dirty Protest “cracking” and The Big Issue “spellbinding”. We put on established and wannabe writers on the same platform creating new work and new writing We are Tim Price, Mared Swain, Claire Hill, Ellie Carter, Matthew Bulgo, Catherine Paskell In 2012, Dirty Protest has produced 32 plays - 2 full length, and 30 shorts and had a run of sell out shows at Sherman Cyrmu with the Welsh premiere of Dennis Kelly’s After the End and also staged its first production by a Welsh writer with Matthew Bulgo’s Last Christmas. |
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Wednesday, January 2, 2013 |
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