| Actor to Watch |
NT Connections |
| Take Part Youth Theatre- Blackout , Aberystwyth Arts Centre , May 11, 2016 |
The second evening of Aberystwyth’s NT Connections weekend kicks off with a hammer-blow of a half-hour from this new company. Davey Anderson’s script also deals with teenager, parent and a difficult world. It differs in two ways from the productions to follow. The cast is smaller in number- five as against a dozen- and slightly older in age. There is no programme background for the company but it is an apparent spin-out from Trinity Carmarthen, the training ground for Gwydion Rhys. Director Rachel Boulton has a background with Joan Littlewood’s E15 Acting School, followed by experience with the RSC, Song of the Goat, Complicite and National Theatre of Wales. Her work on “Blackout” is terrific, endowing a harsh tale with a rounded sharpness and tautness. “Blackout” is the route to violence by a fifteen year old, who meets a surprise mercy at the hands of the justice system. It dates back to 2008, performed at the then Cottesloe as part of NT Connections. Writer Davey Anderson: “Blackout” is based on a true story. It was told to me by a young man called Peter over several cups of tea. When I spoke to him, Peter was serving a probation sentence for attempted murder. He committed the crime when he was fifteen years old and was lucky not to be in jail. I didn't really know what to expect before I met him, but Peter wasn't at all what I expected.” “He was funny, articulate, thoughtful, passionate, a bit cheeky. More than anything he had this burning desire to communicate. So I took his words and turned them into a short monologue. Then I gave him a copy to take home. He said he was going to read it carefully and come back to me with corrections. Next time I saw him, he told me he'd read the text out loud to his mum and that she'd cried.” Take Part’s design for “Blackout” has a scaffold frame for its five actors. The physical theatre is at times audacious. Olivia Edwards, Gabrielle Williams, Caitlin Griffiths and Tamara Brabon form a chorus to James’ teenage odyssey from school Goth- “Do you shag dead animals?-“ to his night of mayhem fuelled by an ecstasy-valium cocktail. The vocalisation and movement of the four women are sharp and timed under Rachel Boulton’s direction. “Blackout” offers its lead actor a lot and it asks a lot too. Callum Scott Howells delivers a performance of ferocious impact. |
Reviewed by: Adam Somerset |
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