| A Proper Little Miracle |
At National Theatre Wales |
| National Theatre Wales , Wrexham , November 29, 2022 |
The movement for a national theatre for Wales is a century old. The first entry on this site is dated 1st April 1995. It included the contribution of a theatre practitioner who was also a former chair of the Welsh Arts Council's drama panel. Julian Mitchell “advocates the creation of a national touring company that would work in both north and south Wales by using the Mold theatre and the New Theatre in Cardiff.” Audience, a national audience, is surely critical. That is not how it has turned out to be. Video footage of Wrexham on a winter's night shows an audience of forty standing outside. “A Proper Ordinary Miracle” attracted 550 over six performances. That was the claim of the company at least. That is less than a couple of nights at Aberystwyth Arts Centre or a night at the Wales Millennium Centre with the Donald Gordon theatre half-unfilled. The last production in the winter of 2022 invited no press and had no reviews. Artists want to matter There are few who do not want what they do broadcast to the world. But not this company. A company director , uniquely, is on the record that the artistic quality anyway is a secondary factor. The liking for private activity over public presence, and public obligation, has been steadily incubating. It is unique to Wales and unique to the hub, a small cluster, at the apex of Wales. With no independent observers the public record is comprised only of words made by the producers themselves. * * * * The advertising read: “Wrexham. A city that’s a town at its heart. “Magicians and map makers, dreamers and developers gather at a meeting place between the very real and the fantastical. You’re invited to join them. “When a property developer arrives in town with plans to build a swanky new Super Centre, some are seduced, others suspicious. As the machines move in, a rebellion is born and lines between protest and power are drawn. “Follow these characters as they guide you on a theatrical journey, shining a light on the politics of place, space and the systems we all play a part in. “Who can call Wrexham home? The fate of the city, its people and its future lies in your hands.” For all the repeated talk of community this kind of advertising copy is blurry, a guarantor that an audience of scale will not be attracted. * * * * The background information to the production included: “There’s power to be found in telling your own stories, in whatever way you want to tell them. Strong, close communities do this all the time; it’s something we’ve learnt in spades from being out there with them. “...Our aim across all we do is to listen, learn and help people express some of Wales’ richest untold stories...Whatever it looks like, together we build creative communities across Wales and beyond ‘Joyful, fun, big-hearted and wearing its social conscience loud and proud, A Proper Ordinary Miracle is a show that is the embodiment of Wrexham. The performance has been co-created with, by and for the People of Wrexham: the dreamers, the creators, the musicians, the change makers and the people who want to see brilliant things happen here. “...The community of Wrexham breathe and sing and shout through each moment of the show, since they developed every single aspect. The show has inspired and taught us all what miracles can happen when you are willing to give up your ego, trust communities to lead, and actively challenge entrenched power and hierarchies in theatre making and in society. “This is Wrexham. This is A Proper Ordinary Miracle. This is where we all found a home.” This is curious. At every level power resists challenge. No institution is more emblematic of this than the National Theatre of Wales. Funded above and beyond a plethora of locally committed companies it is the epitome of entrenched power and at the apex of hierarchy. * * * * The company spoke of itself: “We make theatre in its broadest sense: a journey that connects and questions us, makes demands of us, provokes and pokes us, surprises and delights us. “...We do this by drawing people and places into experiences that enrich and inspire creators and audiences, alike. The unexplored corners of Wales’ rich cultures and communities are where we play. We’re a free-range theatre company for all of Wales. “...You’ll find us in unanticipated spaces: on the shore; up a mountain; on a train; in the woods. And sometimes, when you least expect it, in a theatre, too. It’s all about the giant ripple effect that connects people and inspires change. We love that.” * * * * The directors' report gave some detail of the content: “Site-specific theatre saw a group of artists meet on the streets of Wrexham and become immersed in the narrative, noise and raw emotion of ambition, conflict and rebellion. The participatory nature of the play saw the audience playing local people being presented with a housing investment opportunity by a developer, before being split into two groups, one of which stayed with the developer while the other followed a group of activists opposed to the project. “The audience was limited to 60 in each run to cater for the practical constraints of the outdoor performance.” “The long-term impact of A Proper Ordinary Miracle resonates beyond the tangible.” |
Reviewed by: Adam Somerset |
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