At Sgript Cymru |
| Sgript Cymru- Ghost City , Chapter Arts Centre Cardiff , March 5, 2004 |
Ghost City comprises a series of monologues, one for each hour of a random day in the Welsh capital, and takes place amongst a steely set of metallic blocks which map a miniaturised and abstracted city-scape, evocative of deserted Eastern European or Russian cities, abandoned in the wake of Chernobyl or industrial contamination. This bleak yet beautiful and slightly unsettling image forms the dark backdrop to a moving set of stories, of mixed emotions and tangents, populated by a multitude of transient characters. Derived from real overheard conversations and pictures taken around Cardiff by playwright Gary Owen, the result is a refreshing and unconventional portrait of the city and its inhabitants. Devoid of the usual stereotypical suspects, Owen's play employs instead a rich variety of interesting characters, making use of Wenglish-isms, local accents and dialects without becoming pre-occupied with Cardiff and its geographical position as such, avoiding the kind of proud naffness normally present in inward-looking works set in or based on an artist's hometown - provincial or otherwise. For the most part the play appears to be at night or a creepy blue-grey half-light, and although in the text the scenes take place at particular times throughout the day and at certain locations in Cardiff, this isn’t overt in the performance and the effect, combined with the (brilliant) electronic sound score is certainly eerie. Punctuated by interrupting moments of intense and sudden inexplicable pain, the actors' monologues are expertly delivered, and these fragments of stories and lives subtly begin to link as the play unfolds, scenes gradually involving more than one actor at a time in a build up to an emotive ending. Gary Owen's writing is incredibly alive. His characters recount familiar, believable events, describing scenarios, stream-of-consciousness style, that all audience members will relate to at least one of. These tales include nights of casual sex, grieving for long-gone loved ones in restaurants, striving lovers and soap-box speakers, all written and delivered with passion, emotion and a sense of truth that resonates empathetic excitement, pain, desperation and tenderness (amongst other emotions) in the viewer, drawing from his or her own similar experiences. Owen clearly has a gift for empathy and seems to have a deep and compassionate understanding of the situations of all his characters and the real people he created them from. Like all creative people Owen seems to function with a heightened perception of the world around him, seeing colours brighter than others for example, to be able to absorb so much and re-present it so descriptively without it diminishing in intensity. Although extremely funny in places, Ghost City is predominantly a rather touching and slightly mysterious piece of work that will certainly leave audiences thinking about it for days afterwards (provided they aren’t too offended by frequent/ any use of the c-word for comic purposes). |
Reviewed by: Zoe Hewett |
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