| 40 Years of Theatre Celebrated With Pride & Humour |
Theatr na n'Og |
| Neath Company Telling National Stories , Theatre of Wales , December 5, 2024 |
Theatr na n'Og, once named West Glamorgan Theatre, celebrated 40 years this year. Geinor Styles was interviewed on Radio Cymru Wales' Arts Show on 1st November. The interview may not be heard on the iPlayer. 3985 episodes of “Front Row”, the London-made arts show, may be listened to. Radio Cymru Wales maintains a public archive of its arts show of 3 episodes. Interviewer Gary Raymond recalled the company was the first to perform after the pandemic while as he put it “other companies were holding zoom meetings on what to do next.” Geinor Styles evoked the audience rapture caused by “We need bees” on its performance in Brecon. The company carries little in the way of theory with it. A theatre company exists in the public domain for its audience. That is it. Gary Raymond asked whether, with no English-language national theatre, the company might be interested. “Absolutely not” was the response with not a breath of hesitation. The grounds were straightforward. The company is rooted in Neath, albeit while projecting national stories. The real strength of the performance culture of Wales is the variegation, the brimful of talent all over. Raymond: “You've been looking at the archive. What stands out? Styles: “There are some really bad haircuts.” “Eye of the Storm” was, however, picked out with a memory from an audience member of just how deep a piece of theatre may go * * * * Autumn for the company was energetic. “The Fight” opened in Carmarthen and told the story of Cuthbert Taylor. ‘The Fight’ focuses on how a Welshman, now acknowledged as one of the best boxers of his generation, should have had the opportunity to fight for a British title, but was denied this chance because of the colour of his skin. “In the deprived valleys of the 1930s, boxing was more than just a sport, it was a way out of poverty and Cuthbert was determined to fight with everything he had. “Between 1911 and 1948 the British Boxing Board of Control (BBBofC) operated a colour bar which prevented non-white boxers from competing for British titles. “As his father was black, Taylor was deemed ‘not white enough to be British’ and was denied the opportunity to challenge for any professional national belts, despite being the first black boxer to represent Great Britain at the Olympics. “In total Taylor fought 247 professional bouts, with 151 wins, 69 losses and 22 draws. In all his fights he was knocked out only once, by Tommy Hyams at Selhurst Park in 1932. None of Taylor’s fights were conducted outside Britain. Including amateur fights he recorded over 250 victories.” “The Fight” was performed to 5379 audience members at the Dylan Thomas theatre in Swansea, Theatr Brycheiniog and 88 schools. The 80 performances incorporated 560 on-stage fights. * * * * A guide to the productions of the company can be seen in the first link below. “Eye of the Storm” is reviewed below 28 October 2019. |
Reviewed by: Adam Somerset |
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