Deadlier than the Male• New and little performed plays by women writers • Plays by mothers and daughters working in their own right • Cutting-edge work in script-held readings • From pub readings to work by National Poet of Wales An autumn season of rehearsed readings of plays written and directed by women Deadlier than the Male starts touring Wales this month (Sept). The writers range from well-established Welsh literary names such as National Poet of Wales Gillian Clarke to newer writers, including her own daughter. These are the latest performances under the umbrella of On the Edge, innovative seasons of works curated by Michael Kelligan. The common thread is in the style of performance: the actors carry their scripts with minimal action and no sets enabling a wide range of works that may otherwise not find their way in to the commercial theatre or that have perhaps been written as works for radio and not the stage. This is the sixth year of the On the Edge which was the brainchild of director and actor Michael Kelligan who had already established his own Welsh Fargo Theatre Company. Michael Kelligan said, “I would have never have imagined that six years after spending an evening reading plays over a few pints with a bunch of friends I would be able to ask the National Poet of Wales if she had a script knocking around we could use.” He added, “I wanted to put together a series of works by women writers and when I was preparing this Deadlier than the Male season of plays I was surprised just how underrepresented women are in the world of the arts. Maybe this will redress the balance a little.” The season opens at Chapter Arts Centre on September 14 with Gillian Clarke’s Talking to Wordsworth which started life as a radio play looking at her experiences as National Poet, meeting people who may not normally encounter poetry. The work is then performed at the Dylan Thomas Centre, Swansea on Wednesday, September 15 and Park and Dare, Treorchy on Friday, September 17. These evenings also includes a revival of Hijinx Theatre’s highly-charged play, Wishful Thinking featuring music, song ....and shopping at Tesco. Not only are all the writers women but some also share family ties. Gillian’s daughter Catrin has also established herself as a playwright and the season closes with her work Night Horse about children “playing” Afghanistan on a council estate when their lives are turned upside down. There are performances of Night Horse at Chapter, Cardiff on Tuesday, December 7, The Dylan Thomas Centre, Swansea on Wednesday, December 8 and Park and Dare, Treorchy on Friday, December 10. There is also a new work from Lotty Morris, whose mother Lucy Gough was featured in the spring season of Deadlier than the Male. Lotty Morris’ The Ordinary Three by is performed at Chapter, Cardiff on Tuesday, November 9 and in a fascinating insight into a domestic confrontation with three protagonists. Giving the season an international edge it also includes a work in translation from the Catalan writer Mercè Sarrias whose, An Absent Look. The play is representative of women writers in Catalonia who share much in common with female writers in Wales. There are performances at Chapter, Cardiff Tues 26 October 26 and The Riverfront, Newport Thursday, October 28. For full details visit www.welshfargostagecompany.com |
| On The Edge web site: www.welshfargostagecompany.com |
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Wednesday, September 8, 2010 |
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