This December, actress Susan Kingman will take her semi-auto-biographical, one woman show I’ll Be There, Now… on tour to Cardiff, Merthyr and Swansea.
The piece explores a young woman’s attempt to escape from the supposed humdrum life of the valleys to the glamour of the world beyond, and examines our relationship with the place we call 'home' and what happens when we leave.
I'll Be There, Now… began life as an audition monologue for National Theatre Wales’ The Passion. Following encouragement from Michael Sheen, the piece was developed with a grant from the Arts Council of Wales, and now mixes live theatre with film installation to explore the choices we make and where happiness might really lie. Michael Sheen comments:
"I was really happy to encourage Susan to explore her ideas and am very excited to see how they have developed. It's great to see someone being brave enough to follow where their instincts and creativity can lead them."
I’ll Be There, Now… is written and performed by actress Susan Kingman, who grew up in the village Glyncorrwg in the Afan Valley. Susan comments:
“I couldn’t wait to get away from Glyncorrwg when I was younger, and became an air hostess to quite literally fly away from it all! I travelled the world, then settled in London for quite a long time, before eventually returning to Wales early last year.
Whilst the story is not my life exactly, it does trace my journey through university and eventually to moving to London and working as an air hostess. It explores the sort of 'identity crisis' that I went through; one that I think is fairly common for anyone who has left the place they are from and attempted to choose something different."
Parts of the piece are based on first hand testimonies from and interviews with members of the South Wales Valleys communities, including Dr Julian Tudor Hart, who established the country’s first medical research practice in Glyncorrwg, and members of Maesteg Male Voice Choir. Susan says:
“As part of the research process I met and talked with a number of people from the Valleys, most of whom were of my grandparents' generation. We were invited into people's homes, the local elderly residential home and even to the Male Voice Choir rehearsal in Maesteg. As the day went on, and people generously shared their stories with us, I felt a sort of reclamation process taking place as my attitude towards my home village changed and I began to appreciate the character and sense of community in the area. These stories now feature heavily in the piece. More recently, students from Merthyr College have also contributed towards the process, offering a younger generation's perspective on growing up in a Communites First area."
I’ll Be There, Now… opens at the Park Cons Club in Cardiff on the 9th and 10th Dec, before going to Redhouse Cymru in Merthyr on 11th & 12th Dec and finally tours to Volcano Theatre in Swansea on 13th Dec. For more information and to keep up to date with I’ll Be There, Now…, join the event on Facebook www.facebook.com/events/565947110206982 and follow Susan on Twitter @Susan_Kingman
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