Theatre in Wales

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"Y Tad"- Why Florian Zeller is the Most Seen Dramatist of Dementia

Theatr Genedlaethol Cymru

Theatr Genedlaethol Cymru- Y Tad , Pontio & Touring , March 1, 2018
Theatr Genedlaethol Cymru by Theatr Genedlaethol Cymru- Y Tad Geraint Lovgreen's translation is an award-winner. The production comes with pedigree names behind it. Arwel Gruffydd directs. Design is by Erin Maddocks, lighting by Ceri James, sound by Dan Lawrence. The cast includes Dafydd Emyr, Mirain Fflur, Catrin Mara, Fflur Medi Owen, Dyfan Roberts and Rhodri Sion.

Jafar Iqbal was there to see the production February 23rd for “The Stage.” “Y Tad” evokes the failing faculties of an elderly man as dementia begins to take hold of him.  As his memory worsens, the play, like his life, becomes increasingly disturbing and nightmarish. It’s left to his daughter to make hard choices about her father’s wellbeing.

“Of the two Welsh-language productions about dementia currently touring – the other being Wy, Chips a Nain – this is the tougher watch. The matter-of-fact presentation of dementia and decline is sobering and, at times, uncomfortably realistic. At the heart of Arwel Gruffydd’s production is an exceptional performance from Dyfan Roberts, in a physically demanding and emotionally exhausting role. Catrin Mara also impresses as daughter Ann, caught between her duty to her father and the desire to be free.

“Gruffydd uses design to symbolise the loss that comes with dementia. Erin Maddocks’ busy set is completely empty by the end, while the repetition of certain musical cues by sound designer Dan Lawrence echoes the failings and flickerings of memory. Rather than detract from the text, these ambiguities underline the piece’s theatricality and stop it from feeling unrelenting.

“Watching Zeller’s play, solidly translated by Geraint Lovgreen, is an emotional experience. The final scene is perhaps its most tragic, and the final blackout comes as welcome relief. Another painful example of art imitating life.

Florian Zeller's play, originally in French, is the most-seen of a crop of productions on the theme. The review above indicates why. It portrays the condition as purgatorial for the sufferer and draining for those around. This is truth, albeit bitter. My own review, below, for the tour in England, rambled but homed in on the qualities that can only be theatre. It is better craft, the reason why a playwright of France has travelled and the plays of Wales have not.

Picture: Dyfan Roberts credit Warren Orchard

Reviewed by: Adam Somerset

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