Welsh Fargo Stage Company |
| On the Edge , Chapter Arts Centre Cardiff , February 18, 2012 |
More than 20 years after playing one of the title roles, Michael Kelligan has formed his own band of strolling players to perform Tom Stoppard’s Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead.He then goes on to present a second play in this the eighth year of his On the Edge season, written by the actor who took the other title role, Ian Rowlands. The script-held performance of Tom Stoppard’s hilarious play opens at Cardiff’s Chapter on Tuesday before the troupe ply their craft in Swansea and Newport. Stoppard’s earliest play, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead burst on to the stage at the Edinburgh Fringe in 1966, taking one of William Shakespeare’s best known plays, Hamlet and stands it on its head - elevating two of the bard’s minor characters to take the leading roles and become the subject of Stoppard’s keen and witty observation. A band of strolling players creates a vital turning point in the plot of Hamlet and brings it to its tragic end. Here the players meet up with Rosencrantz and Guildenstern long before they reach the castle of the Danish King. The second play of the season introduces the work of young talented Cardiff based writer Kit Lambert. His very topical play The Custom House finds two men, hiding in a disused Custom House dreaming of crossing the border in the hope of fulfilling their dreams. Winner of the inaugural Script Slam competition at the Sherman Theatre in 2005, it was subsequently shortlisted for the Kings Cross New Writing Award. Lambert has written episodes for BBC’s Doctors, Belonging and Crash and is currently under option for a new ITV drama series Lifers and a new sitcom with Limelight. Two more plays are presented after Easter, both penned by two of Wales’ best known contemporary playwrights Ian Rowlands and Mark Jenkins. Kelligan said, “I have had a very creative long standing relationship with these two theatre artists. Interestingly, just over 20years ago Ian Rowlands and I played the two leading parts in Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead at the Sherman Theatre. Now I am presenting that play and one of Ian’s early plays.” Ian Rowlands most recent play Desire Lines, produced by Sherman Cymru has recently been seen at The Lark Theatre in New York. This revival of one of his early plays Love In Plastic sees Harold, a simple man, become obsessed with an image of an actress; to find her he has to journey into the evils of society. Mark Jenkins’ best known work Playing Burton has played and continues to be performed in almost every country in the world. At its first production the play that Kelligan is presenting, Down Town Paradise, was described as “a measured and provoking drama, confident in its craftsmanship...A powerhouse of emotion.” Rachel is determined to fight oppression but will the world inside California’s Santerno prison be a match for her firebrand tenaciousness? Venues Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead Chapter, Cardiff Tuesday, February 14, 8pm The Dylan Thomas Centre, Swansea Wednesday, February 15, 7.30pm The Riverfront, Newport Thursday, February 16, 7.45pm The Custom House Chapter, Cardiff Tuesday March 13, 13 8pm The Dylan Thomas Centre, Swansea Wednesday, March 14, 7.30pm The Riverfront, Newport Thursday, March 15, 7.45pm Love in Plastic Chapter, Cardiff Tuesday, April 10, 8pm The Dylan Thomas Centre, Swansea Wednesday, April 11, 7.30pm The Riverfront, Newport Thursday, April 12, 7.45pm Down Town Paradise Chapter, Cardiff Tuesday, May 29, 8pm The Dylan Thomas Centre, Swansea, Wednesday, May, 30 7.30pm The Riverfront, Newport Thursday, May 31, 7.45pm |
Reviewed by: Mike Smith |
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