| “Held Back by Crucial Lack of Content, Context, Substance” |
At National Theatre Wales |
| De Gabay- National Theatre Wales , Butetown Cardiff , March 5, 2013 |
“De Gabay” had a single performance. The day chosen was a cold Sunday at the beginning of March. A leading arts writer was invited to come in and observe the rehearsals. He was surprised to find two of the company in the outdoors sharing a spliff. This was, he concluded, a theatre production if its own kind. Wales Arts Review was there: “A crowd of spectators holding red and green lanterns bids farewell to a giant, illuminated puppet as it enters the chilly waters of Cardiff Bay. This loping figure represents the spirit of De Gabay – the epic poem performed by the Welsh-Somali community of Butetown over the course of an intensely cold Sunday in March. From the steps of the Senedd, the poets work hard to persuade their audience to chant ‘De Gabay’ as the spectacle unfolds. Yet in spite of the power of this image, and the rising noise – and despite the keen anticipation I had brought with me earlier that day – I feel only a crushing sense of disappointment. “De Gabay was a laudable attempt to restore theatre to its historical civic function – that of a public forum around which the community gathers, debates its urgent political controversies and reconciles its differences. The failure of the production in this aim is not attributable to its writers or performers, who made their protests with humour and vigour, but to the director Jonathan Holmes and his production team. “The programme of the event sprawled out over seven hours – with several long breaks in between – in an intermittent pattern of participatory activities that engaged each of the senses but little of the mind. Crucially, some unifying narrative that might have provided some helpful context for audience members was lacking throughout. The multi-layered, multi-ethnic history of Butetown, and the complexities of family life following migration, was indicated, even sloganised, rather than explored at any great depth. “The indignation of Cardiff’s Somali community (the largest in Europe) could be heard in lines such as: “Our voices go unheard by those in positions above us,” and, “Street corners seem attractive when you live in subsidised housing,” but the fractured and unfocused nature of the production meant that such sentiments did not coalesce into a traceable political argument or coherent social critique. “The day began with hour-long visits made by small parties of ticket-holders to residential homes and community landmarks. I went to Mr. G’s Soul Kitchen, where I prepared plantains and made Caribbean-style dumplings under the instruction of a Romanian cook named Dorin. The point was to introduce audiences to the work-life of new immigrants, who are typically first employed in restaurants and fast-food outlets. Slicing and dicing in a hot kitchen – work for which I was wholly untrained – to the strains of Lou Bega’s ‘Mambo Number Five’, succeeded in conveying, if only for a brief moment, the sense of displacement and drudgery endured by foreign workers. Others were not so fortunate in their home visit experiences, as Elin Williams explains. “A rotation through several other house visits (we were allowed only one) might have provided contextual background of community life in Butetown, and therefore insight into the protests made later that day. Instead, we were invited to join one of two parades that, for those familiar with the joyful explosion of colour and music in previous Butetown carnivals, seemed rather flat and boring. Fatima, a life-sized puppet camel, threatened to bring a sense of fun to proceedings, as did a group of street-dancing youths, but with a few hundred audience members getting bottle-necked in a series of pointless ‘passport checkpoints’ all sense of energy and good humour slowly fizzled away. "It is very disappointing to note that so few of the local community not involved in the project came out of their homes to watch these parades. The decision to stage such lengthy outdoor activities in early March, when intense cold and rain were to be expected, later struck me as singularly inadvisable. “The parades converged in the courtyard of the Coal Exchange, where pre-made placards were forced into the hands of audience members, who were then subjected to rough and ready musical performances. Perhaps the greatest missed opportunity of the day came with the open-air staging of a short play on two flat-bed trucks. This play dramatised the inter-generational conflict between the inter-cultural values of the Butetown youths, born or raised in Cardiff, and those of their parents and grandparents who still cling firmly to the heritage and traditions of their former homelands. There was a palpable sense among these poets that the task of bridging the gulf between their Somali heritage and their place in Welsh society was the central struggle of their lives. “At one point, a character conceded bitter defeat, ‘My father’s shoes are just too big to fill.’ At other points the cry went up, ‘Has the past got your tongue?’ De Gabay was an attempt by these Welsh-Somalis to reconcile their dual identities through the medium of poetry and, in particular, the notion of ‘the bard’ that looms prominently in both their cultures. This idea was worthy of a major production, but the poor acoustics and sightlines of the Coal Exchange courtyard (and did I mention the cold?) meant that the complexity and nuance of the drama was lost. Many audience members, particularly those with children, peeled away until only a portion of the original audience remained. “Before the parliament of poets began in the Senedd, a number of discussions and readings took place in a small village of shipping containers created outside the building. I was able to talk briefly with poet Daud Farah, who elucidated on the theme of generational conflict in migrant communities, and came to see how the difficulties faced by the poets of Butetown might present them with a key variation on the theme of Welsh identity. “...And I do hope De Gabay will continue, because the Butetown poets deserved a production with greater subtlety, sense of purpose and insight than this staging by National Theatre Wales. No-one should accuse the company of not putting in the time required for meaningful inter-cultural exchange, they have worked in Butetown for nearly three years, but some searching questions must be asked and answered about the way in which De Gabay descended into such a meandering and formless sprawl of activity without focus. “Welsh identity is being renegotiated in many interesting ways following recent waves of migration, and Butetown knows that best of all – and so the National Theatre Wales should remain there until that story has been told in a manner that clarifies but never simplifies that process for an audience. That would be an illumination I would cheer.” * * * * Another critic was there for Wales Arts Review: “It’s not often that a company will dedicate a massive site-specific project to a culture that is not indigenous to the country in which the performance will be staged. National Theatre Wales did just this. They took the home of the largest British-born Somali population, Butetown, and created a production which has seen no less than two years of development. There were countless workshops and events in the run up to the end result, yet when the end came, it was completely underwhelming. “To rely on the fact that a production is exciting simply because it is site-specific and participatory is dangerous; a project like this demands even more work than that of a two hour piece set on a stage in the theatre. "The incentive is always to engage the audience constantly, but this is what De Gabay failed to do. The day, which began at 10.30am and ended at 7.30pm, was a lengthy amble through Butetown, punctuated by long periods of time where the audience were urged to ‘get something warm.’ “These breaks ensured a disjointed feel to the whole production; there was no smooth movement from one event to the other, no glue holding the whole thing together as a piece. The sections of spectacle the audience did see were by no means bad. The actors performed perfectly, but these performances were not enough to salvage the production. “The day began with visits to either community centres or private houses. It seems people’s experiences differed; many were fortunate enough to have unique insights into the everyday lives of Somalis living in Butetown. "Whilst the house visits had the potential to provide the audience with the insight into a culture of which many of us are arguably uneducated and unaware, it also ran the risk of being slightly less educational. We were taken to a house where the inhabitants, although extremely hospitable and kind, were unsure of what they were meant to be telling their guests, and so everybody just resorted to chit-chat for an awkward half an hour. “Then there were the parades. Expecting a huge influx of floats, flags and other parade materials, the emergence of a single camel was perhaps a bit anti-climactic. There were various ‘check points’ for our Somali passports. This was a nice touch, and the check points were visually attractive. Similarly the Somali style market where food was handed out as we were ushered through the tent was very effective. It was just a shame that this was not continued throughout the production. “During this promenade-of-sorts, there was no active attempt to convey the history of Butetown or indeed of the Somali immigration. Perhaps something digital would have been useful at this point, something to help educate the audience. “The two audience groups were then united for a performance outside the coal exchange. This seemed to be the most rehearsed part of the production. There was an obvious theme of identity politics, with the original immigrants talking to their children, warning them to not forget who they were or where they came from. "There seemed to be a conflict between trying to remain true to their own cultural identities whilst also being able to successfully integrate themselves into Wales. This was by far De Gabay’s most interesting insight into the world of Butetown and to the difficulties modern Somalis face. It was just short-lived. “The finale took place at the Senedd. The audience were greeted by Maryan Mursal singing to a small crowd. As time went on, there was a feeling of concern whether anything else was actually going to happen. Eventually, after everyone had been ushered through the metal detectors, three Somali politicians took their stand. There then ensued a debate between the politicians and several plants in the audience. "The Somalis challenged the politicians, demanding answers and expressing their feelings of segregation from the other inhabitants of Tiger Bay. The Somalis encouraged the audience to ‘walk out’ in protest with them, but it was difficult to do so being motivated by a sense of empathy. There had been no build up; no mention of the prejudices Somalis faced until the scene at the Senedd, and by then, frankly it was too late. “Although perhaps this was merely the party at the end of an incredible project within the Somali community in Butetown, not enough was done to communicate this, to educate the audience of either the project itself, or of the history and difficulties of the Somali people. De Gabay contained a crucial lack of personal experiences, and one could leave after an entire day not really having learnt anything about a different culture. The feeling of complete alienation could perhaps be seen as the possible creation of the general feeling of immigrants in a foreign country, but to be honest, it just seemed down to bad planning." * * * * Buzz Magazine was there: “National Theatre Wales have set a very high standard in recent years for producing theatre which has something of the tragic Greek chorus about it. Crowds have found themselves at once witness to, yet almost part of the action, of their site-specific productions. Thinking back to NTW’s best work, it’s often been that the apparently unseen history of places has been dramatically implicit; such as the religiose aspect of community found in The Passion in Port Talbot’s industrial betrayal. “It’s hardly a surprise then that Cardiff’s historic Butetown was chosen as the location for De Gabay, last Sunday’s opening of NTW’s third season. Tucked between the city centre and the now somewhat corporatised Cardiff Bay, it’s easy to bypass an area which actually has a diverse and confident identity. As you’re welcomed, instead of a ticket you’re handed a Butetown passport – the young female Somali face on mine suggesting genuine participatory potential as you’re invited into a community more concrete than you may expect. Early scenes see small groups invited into homes in the area and an excellent community choir finale later in the day, however, it’s a sense of place which is largely undeveloped, and one sadly lacking in the narrative solidity needed to do it justice. “De Gabay is a production with poetry at its heart – mirroring the thriving young Somali poets in the area – and there are attempts at demonstrating the common, unifying power of spoken word. The climax at the Senedd for example takes the form of hip-hop style poetry, spat as an angry, political counterpoint to the bureaucratic language of the “public servants” we see ignorant of the community. However, moments such as this have to be frustratingly grasped at in light of a disparate narrative which never really seems like it may cohere. “It felt at times that it was assumed that the mere fact that the audience is watching a site-specific work would be enough to coalesce a feeling of community, but the failure of the play is that the redemptive potential of the surroundings, the locality and its poetry is never fictionalised enough. Many scenes pass without meaningful reference to characters and substantial details are instead replaced by an over reliance on poetic fables which by the end feel arbitrary. “While other NTW productions have felt thrillingly unmediated, De Gabay lacks the narrative coherence needed to express the kind of collective emotions that underused members of a mostly excellent cast sometimes display. There is symbolic eloquence to the scene at the Coal Exchange where past and present clans act out their historical differences, but this is something preceded by separate parades (on separate routes) which fail to make evident this potential confrontation. “Perhaps the play is meant to be a more transcendental look at community, but it would be a foolish abstraction to think that this is entirely possible with the absence of factual and autobiographical details apparent throughout the play. In the end, in spite of a beautiful finale where a 12-foot iron man clad in De Gabay’s poems and words walks into the sea, one leaves feeling disappointed that the undoubted talent behind the performance wasn’t allowed the poetic journey and pathos they deserved. * * * * One London broadsheet made the journey on a cold Sunday. From the Financial times: “The show, directed by Jonathan Holmes and garlanded with music, dance and song, acted both as a celebration of resilience and an opportunity to explore tensions. What held it back, then, was a crucial lack of detailed content, context or substance. For anyone not familiar with the city, the area and the history of the people, hard facts were hard to come by. Opportunities for performers to meet audience members and tell their stories were taken by some, but not others, while the significance of a venue such as the Coal Exchange remained unexplained.” “Process was clearly as important as end product. But even so, without clear narratives, detailed personal testimonies or historical background, it felt like a missed opportunity." Abridged from the full reviews which can be read at: https://www.walesartsreview.org/de-gabay/ https://www.walesartsreview.org/young-critics-review-elin-williams-at-de-gabay/ https://www.buzzmag.co.uk/de-gabay-stage-review/ https://www.ft.com/content/024d1534-84d1-11e2-891d-00144feabdc0 |
Reviewed by: Adam Somerset |
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