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GAGGLEBABBLE, NATIONAL THEATRE WALES & WALES MILLENNIUM CENTRE WILL BRING ROALD DAHL HOME TO CARDIFF THIS SEPTEMBER |
WONDERMAN, PERFORMED AT THE TRAMSHED 13-18 SEPT, WILL FUSE SOME OF DAHL’S TWISTED TALES FOR ADULTS WITH GAGGLEBABBLE’S REPUTATION FOR TRAIL-BLAZING GIG-THEATREGagglebabble, National Theatre Wales and Wales Millennium Centre will bring Wonderman - their unique gig-theatre take on Roald Dahl’s short stories for adults – for a week-long run of performances at Cardiff’s Tramshed this September, fresh from a three-week run at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe. The production will open at the Tramshed on what would have been Roald Dahl’s 100th birthday - 13 Sept 2016 - and celebrates some of the Cardiff-born writer’s darker, adult stories. Tickets will go on sale at 10am, Wednesday 27 July. Wonderman combines a sizzling hot score of original live music, macabre characters, soaring imaginings and thrilling twists and turns, all injected with a wicked sense of dark humour, and tells the story of a WWII RAF pilot who finds himself in a hospital bed, badly injured. He slips in and out of a world of dreams, hallucinations and nightmares, down the strange and unexpected corridors and rabbit holes of Dahl's mind. Gagglebabble are renowned in Wales for making roof-raising shows that combine finger-snapping live music, unforgettable original songs and a gleeful love of all things wicked and unexpected. Lucy Rivers & Hannah McPake of Gagglebabble said: “We are very excited to be working on Dahl’s brilliant short stories, and feel that they’re a perfect match for our own anarchic, dark and playful style of theatre. It’s also great to be collaborating with National Theatre Wales on this show during his centenary year.” Kully Thiarai, Artistic Director of National Theatre Wales, said: “We are delighted to be collaborating on this new work with Gagglebabble. It promises to be great fun, witty and anarchic and with a spirit of adventure that both companies are renowned for.” Artists’ Biographies Daf James is an award-winning writer, composer and performer, working in theatre, radio and television in both English and Welsh. His work has been performed across the UK and internationally in Australia, Canada, Hong Kong, New Zealand, Sweden, Taiwan and the USA. He trained in the Lecoq pedagogy at the London International School of Performing Arts (LISPA) and has a PhD in Theatre Studies from Warwick University. Credits include: All That I Am (RWCM&D/Sherman Cymru/The Gate); Crackanory (Tiger Aspect/Dave); Psychobitches (Tiger Aspect/Sky Arts, winner of Rose D’or Award); Mother Courage & Her Children (National Theatre Wales); Terrace (BBC Radio 3); Gwaith/Cartref (10 Episodes For Fiction Factory, Celtic Media Award); Heritage (National Theatre Connections); The Village Social (National Theatre Wales/National Theatre Studio); Llwyth (Theatr Genedlaethol Cymru/Sherman Cymru, Wales Theatre Critics Award); My Name Is Sue (Total Theatre Award) & Sue: The Second Coming (Dafydd James & Company). He currently has work in development with Fiction Factory, Scott Free Productions, Sherman Cymru, BBC Radio 4, and WMC/Cape Town Opera. Amy Leach is an award-winning director. She trained on the National Theatre Directors Course and is an Associate Artist of The Egg in Bath, The Dukes Theatre, Lancaster and Shakespeare Schools Festival. Her directing credits include Kes, The Night Before Christmas and Little Sure Shot for the West Yorkshire Playhouse; The Caucasian Chalk Circle for the Unicorn, London; Wanted! Robin Hood and Arabian Nights for the Library Theatre at The Lowry (winner of Best Ensemble at the Manchester Theatre Awards 2012); The Life and Times of Mitchell and Kenyon, The Rise and Fall of Little Voice, Peter Pan, My Mother Said I Never Should and Sabbat for The Dukes; Dracula, Peter Pan, Wilde Tales, Oliver Twist, The Animated Tales of Shakespeare and The Grimm Brothers’ Circus for Theatre Royal Bath/the egg, and Dr Korczak’s Example for the Royal Exchange Theatre in Manchester (MEN Award Winner for Best Studio Production 2008). From 2003 to 2011, Amy co-founded and ran en masse theatre, with whom she created nine productions for young people which toured nationally and internationally, winning two Fringe Firsts at the EdFringe. Later in 2016, Amy will direct The Borrowers for Sherman Cymru at Christmas, and she has recently been developing work with the National Theatre Studio and National Theatre of Scotland. Lucy Rivers is a writer, composer, actor, and musician, and is co-founder of the multi-award-winning company Gagglebabble. Writing, performing and composing credits include; The Bloody Ballad (Edinburgh, Soho and UK tour) and The Forsythe Sisters for Gagglebabble; The Devil’s Violin for BBC Radio 4 and Little Sure Shot for the Egg, Bath And West Yorkshire Playhouse. Composer Credits; The Bear (Polka and The Albany), Father Christmas (Lyric Hammersmith and West Yorkshire Playhouse), Sleeping Beauties, The Happy Prince, The Selfish Giant and The Devoted Friend (Sherman Cymru), Y Storm (Theatr Genedlaethol Cymru), Grimm Tales (Theatr Iolo), Finding Mr Average (Channel 4), and eight large-scale puppet shows for RWCM&D. Other performing credits include; The Village Social (National Theatre Wales), My Name Is Sue by Dafydd James and Ben Lewis, Journey To The Riversea Unicorn, Grapes Of Wrath and A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Clwyd Theatre Cymru), Not I (Chapter), The Blood Of Others (Arcola Theatre), Missing (Theatr Iolo), The Borrowers, Babe, and James And The Giant Peach (Sherman Cymru). She is also one half of the Welsh folk duo Olion Byw. Lucy has just finished an international tour performing in Kneehigh’s acclaimed production of Dead Dog In A Suitcase (and Other Love Songs) and is currently developing a new show for Gagglebabble and The Other Room called The Sinners’ Club. Hannah McPake is an actor and theatre maker. She graduated from RWCM&D in 2003. Theatre includes: I Am Thomas (Told By An Idiot/NTS), Rapunzel (Citizens’ Theatre), The Tempest (Improbable/Northern Stage/Oxford Playhouse), The Gamblers (Greyscale/Dundee Rep/Northern Stage), The Knight Of The Burning Pestle and Romeo And Juliet (Shakespeare’s Globe), Silly Kings and Red Woman/Green Man (National Theatre Wales), The Ghosts Of Scrooge (Manchester Library Theatre), Maudie’s Rooms, Plum, And Me Will and Cinders (Sherman Cymru), The First Time I Saw Snow (The Belgrade Coventry), The Bloody Ballad and The Forsythe Sisters (Gagglebabble) and Don Quixote (Theatre Modo). Television credits include: Comedy Trollied (Sky 1) and Skins (E4). Radio credits include Modesty Blaise (BBC Radio 4. Film includes: Dead End Job (Cyfle/RWCM&D). Writing credits include: The Forsythe Sisters and Balloon Girl (Gagglebabble). Full listings information: WONDERMAN Gagglebabble & National Theatre Wales & Wales Millennium Centre A play with music adapted from Roald Dahl's Stories for adults Script and Lyrics by Daf James Music by Lucy Rivers Conceived by Daf James, Hannah McPake and Lucy Rivers Director: Amy Leach Designer: Hayley Grindle Lighting Designer: Joshua Carr Sound Designer: Dan Lawrence Cast: James Clarke, Peter Komor, Hannah McPake, Mark O’Connor, Adam Redmore & Lucy Rivers Venue: Tramshed, Clare Road, Cardiff CF11 6QP Dates & Times: Tues 13th-Sat 17th Sept, 8pm Sat 17th Sept, 2.30pm Sun 18th Sept, 5pm Box Office Online: nationaltheatrewales.org/wonderman-cdf By phone: 029 2037 1689 Recommended for ages 12+ Gagglebabble (Lucy Rivers and Hannah McPake) fuse live music and theatre. They like tales from the wrong side of the tracks, the stranger side of life, the skeletons in the closet. Their aim is to bring a vibrancy, immediacy and playful sense of dark humour and to create work that is innovative, immersive and vibrant and crosses boundaries between theatre and other genres. Original theatre that will leave you gagging for more! Gaggebabble are Associate Companies of Theatr Iolo and The Other Room. National Theatre Wales has been making English-language productions in locations all over Wales, the UK, internationally and online since March 2010. It operates from a small base in Cardiff’s city centre, but works all over the country and beyond, using Wales’ rich and diverse landscape, its towns, cities and villages, its incredible stories and rich talent as its inspiration. The Welsh Government and the Arts Council of Wales are supporting National Theatre Wales. nationaltheatrewales.org Wales Millennium Centre is a landmark arts venue and a cultural destination, opened by Her Majesty the Queen on November 28 2004. Its founding mission was to bring the best of the world to Wales and to showcase the best of Wales to the world. Annually the Centre receives over 1.5 million visitors making it Wales’ number one visitor attraction. The Centre provides one of the largest free performance programmes in the UK and engages with nearly 90,000 young people annually through its Creative Learning and Community Engagement programme. The Centre is supported by the Arts Council of Wales. Wales Millennium Centre is a registered charity, number 1060458. www.wmc.org.uk / www.wmc10.org.uk ABOUT ROALD DAHL AND HIS LEGACY: Roald Dahl was a spy, ace fighter-pilot, chocolate historian and medical inventor. He was also the author of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Matilda, The BFG and many more brilliant stories. He remains the World’s No.1 storyteller. Born in Cardiff of Norwegian descent, Roald Dahl (1916–1990) joined the RAF at the age of 23 and began writing, initially for adults, after being injured in a plane crash during WW2. Sitting in a hut at the bottom of his garden, surrounded by odd bits and pieces such as a suitcase (used as a footrest), his own hipbone (which he’d had replaced) and a heavy ball of metal foil (made from years’ worth of chocolate wrappers), he went on to write some of the world’s best-loved children’s stories. His first children’s story, James and the Giant Peach, was published in 1961, was a hit and every subsequent book became a best-seller. Today, his stories are available in 58 languages and, by a conservative estimate, he has sold more than 200 million books. Many of these stories have also been adapted for stage and screen, including the 1971 film classic Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, Wes Anderson’s acclaimed Fantastic Mr Fox, and the multi-award winning Matilda The Musical from the RSC with music by Tim Minchin. The next Roald Dahl story to hit the big screen will be Steven Spielberg’s adaptation of The BFG, which is set for release in July 2016. 2016 marks Roald Dahl’s centenary. Entitled Roald Dahl 100, 2016 marks 100 years since the birth of Roald Dahl – the world’s number one storyteller. There will be celebrations for Roald Dahl 100 throughout 2016, delivering a year packed with gloriumptious treats and surprises for everyone. Roald Dahl said, “If you have good thoughts they will shine out of your face like sunbeams and you will always look lovely.” We believe in doing good things. That’s why ten percent of all Roald Dahl income* goes to our charity partners. We have supported causes including: specialist children’s nurses, grants for families in need, and educational outreach programmes. Find out more at roalddahl.com. The Roald Dahl Charitable Trust is a registered UK charity (no. 1119330). * All author payments and royalty income net of third party commissions. www.roalddahl.com |
| National Theatre Wales web site: https://www.nationaltheatrewales.org.uk |
| Catrin Rogers e-mail: rhianlewis@nationaltheatrewales.org |
Wednesday, July 27, 2016 |
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