Theatr Iolo |
| Ffynnon/Theatr Iolo- The Unique Me , Chapter , November 21, 2015 |
The trees in a small wood were made of paper, paper chains like we used to make at school for Christmas decoration. They weren’t brightly coloured, they were all made of white paper with branches stretching up to the ceiling. The trees were deciduous, occasionally dropping their white leaves onto the ground. Some of the leaves had messages written on them. Six people hovered in the wood. Eventually one of them entered ‘the bureau of distinct possibilities’, Ollie. The actors all retained their own names, though they were playing characters, maybe extensions of their real selves. The ‘bureau’ consisted of six distinct places; rustic tables and chairs and some old suitcases. There was a touch of magic in the air. Ollie we learned from Alastair Sill’s delightful audio description was the caretaker. He peered at a large old book with a very large magnifying glass, and he started to clean things up with a small feather duster and then sat quietly. Theatr Ffynnon is a company that works with adults and young people with learning disabilities, physical disabilities and mental health issues involving them as creators, performers & educators. In this production everyone in the cast fitted this description. Their concentration and commitment to the play was utterly complete and totally engaged the audience. Sarah Jayne Lapin has a fascination for Elvis Presley and had a hippy shake to match. Much of the play was silent like the discovery of a suitcase full of sand. Two of the girls Sophie Watson and Lucy Harris made rough sand sculptures in the sand. Another mature gentleman, Mark Sibley, sat at his desk letting the sand pour through his fingers, eventually spreading it over his book, Lady Chatterley’s Lover, that he had ben reading avidly. Karen Godfrey had a love of opera, at one point she gave us a brave and endearing rendering of Carmen’s Habanera. She also provided some great laughs as she interrogated members of the audience about their first love experiences The whole cast formed a chorus line and did a robust dance holding their battered suitcases. They took us through many nostalgic vignettes, a defiant daughter who poured a can of lager over her father’s head during a typical teenage/parent argument. The fall of the Berlin wall, boy friend trouble. All articulated with clarity, enthusiasm and conviction. The dialogue was signed by Julie Doyle who like Alastair’s Sill audio describer was an integral and lively part of the show much appreciated by the performers. This was an adult cast of all special-needs actors who all related well together, enjoying and appreciating each other’s performances. The joy they shared presenting the play, sensitively directed by Theatr Iolo’s Kevin Lewis was equal to the joy we shared being with them. |
Reviewed by: Michael Kelligan |
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