National Theatre Wales Community

March 2010 Blog Posts (116)

Day 13 - Packing - Aberystwyth

Every-time I get on a plane I think I am going to die. As a direct consequence I spend the day prior to take off behaving like a condemned man. Swimming with Poppy in the morning is far more poignant and for the first time in several years I make sure that I send my mum some flowers for mother's day.

I also tidied. The last thing i want is for the last impression of me to be a messy one. Though if the plane does come down I guess that is…

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Added by Dr Tom Payne on March 13, 2010 at 12:30 — No Comments

A REALLY good night out in the valleys

A few of us who hope to be involved with NTW10 - butetown - watched A good night out in the valleys and we all thought it was brilliant. This is my first play and I went in arms folded thinking 'go on then... entertain me' and to my delight I was. My mind has been spinning not stop since with thoughts of what can be achieved a NTW10.

Well done to ALL involved.

Added by Gavin Porter on March 13, 2010 at 0:25 — No Comments

Shall we change the site font? Your views please.

Several people have mentioned to us that they find the font on this site rather difficult to read, so we have decided to offer some alternatives, and ask for your views.

We've come up with two alternatives - ARIAL, the second VERDANA. There is an image of what the site would look like with each of these fonts below.

Please let us know if you would like us to change the font or keep the existing one, and if so, which one - VOTE… Continue

Added by Tom Beardshaw on March 12, 2010 at 14:00 — 34 Comments

Day 12 - Clapper Board - Aberystwyth

It was difficult to get out of bed today. I think I managed to squeeze a 60 hour week into the previous 4 days and it has caught up with me. I made it to the Hugh Owen library on the campus to pick up a copy of 'A Good Night Out'. I also went to the department to collect a clapper board. I am going to Poland tomorrow for a few days to meet with an activist devoted to the protection of Krakow. The clapper board is for the filming. It is giant and I would have left it in the department but… Continue

Added by Dr Tom Payne on March 12, 2010 at 11:30 — No Comments

Likely Story Touring Pea

Likely Story Theatre Company are back on the road with Pea, an exciting new adaptation of Hans Christian Andersen's classic fairy tale, Princess and the Pea. www.likelystory.org.uk

What happens when real life and fairy tales collide?

Take a motley crew of…

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Added by Anne Langford on March 12, 2010 at 5:32 — No Comments

Day 11 - The First Night - Blackwood Miners

I arrived at the car behind the Parry Williams building in Aberstwyth ready to leave for the first show. I was clutching my carefully crafted Glen Gould style Blackwood soundscape CD, created using almost every single one of the last 48 hours of my life, only to be told that "we probably don't want to be listening to that". It wasn't phrased quite so politely. I saw the last two days flash before my eyes and managed to stifle several primal urges. Crying out of context… Continue

Added by Dr Tom Payne on March 11, 2010 at 14:30 — No Comments

Iron in the Soul - The Ultimate Disaster Movie on Stage.

Dance/music/multimedia project looking for a venue. Forge, foundry or cooling tower preferred. Suitable for all post-industrial areas.
Suitable for radical adaptation to suit company culture.
Adaptable for educational performances.
Check it out.

Iron in the Soul

Added by rob on March 11, 2010 at 8:09 — No Comments

Reviews round-up

Hi everyone,

As one of the critics for National Theatre Wales, one of my duties is to thrust a load of reviews in your general direction and invite feedback. I hope that they're not torn apart too enthusiastically, in much the same way, I imagine, that others hope I don't slag off a play they've just spent months perfecting.

So here's a quick round-up:

A Kind Of Alaska had its first night at Chapter last night. I liked it… Continue

Added by Ben Bryant on March 11, 2010 at 7:53 — 5 Comments

Hi

Good luck with the opening. As a good valleys' boy myself I shall attend the performance with my entourage on Friday 26th March in Aberdare. Ten quid a ticket though! It says from £5 on the publicity! Bloody hell! Also, I'm duty bound to report that the 'cut-up' style of editing you used on the promo film for 'Good Night Out' is strangely familiar...

Hmm...

Finally... a friend of mine auditioned for this show and never heard back, so as a little tribute to him…

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Added by David Garland Jones on March 11, 2010 at 6:24 — No Comments

Who said that accountancy was boring? Not at NTW.

As it’s a day of firsts for National Theatre Wales – the first night of the first show of our first year! – I thought I’d join in and write my first blog.

I’m currently alone in the office as everyone else is at Blackwood watching the dress rehearsal. I’m not there because I’ve got a ticket for…

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Added by Rhiannon Davis on March 11, 2010 at 5:24 — 2 Comments

First night of 'A Kind Of Alaska' - March 10th

You know that thing you do with good luck cards?...when you open them to vast acres of blankness..and the card invites you write something brilliant... and you cant ..and you think..blimey i spent £3.50 on this card and i cant think of a thing to say...well that happened to me.....Its not that i havent got things to say....i did have but its just the ability to say it in a few words that escapes me..you know the witty erudite phrase that sums up six weeks of work...that sums up the bond you…

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Added by Julie Barclay on March 10, 2010 at 14:28 — 1 Comment

Day 10.6 - BBC interview Dai Smith - The Gallery, Blackwood Miner's Institute

Five people including me. Six chairs, three laptops, two white pillow cases hung on the back of the radiator. One table covered with the remains of many dinners and breakfasts. NATIONAL THEATRE WALES in neon lights behind Dai Smith the chairman of the Arts Council of Wales. The BBC arrive and are beginning to set up lights for an interview with Will Gompertz the new BBC arts editor. The two men are engrossed in a discussion in… Continue

Added by Dr Tom Payne on March 10, 2010 at 4:30 — No Comments

Tittle Tattle ...

My new play 'Tittle Tattle, Tattletale' is being read at Live Theatre tonight as part of the Different Stages Festival. All very exciting ...

Added by Alison Carr on March 9, 2010 at 23:46 — No Comments

Day 10.5 - Nancy's Cafe - Ystrad Mynach

The Bacon and egg roll, served with a mug of tea on a saucer, is to be honest, quite brilliant. I seem to have arrived at the cafe during mid morning workmans breakfast. A large group of men in grubby work clothes have just entered and ordered a combination of breakfast and sausage and chips. I am eating at a modern school table next to a gas fire taped to the wall… Continue

Added by Dr Tom Payne on March 9, 2010 at 23:30 — No Comments

Day 10.4 - Auburn Hair - Arriving into Cardiff

The girl opposite is projecting tinny music from beneath a mop of auburn hair. She wears a red autumnal scarf around her neck and an inspector gadget jacket with large black buttons. Her head is facing down towards the device playing the music. I am trying to decipher. It is a female artist, someone like Alanis Morrisette of similar. She is travelling on a return to Cardiff from... I can't remember where she boarded the train. The man with the laboured breathing exits. Possibly we are… Continue

Added by Dr Tom Payne on March 9, 2010 at 22:30 — No Comments

Day 10.3 - The School Run - Hereford

The train, which had been overflowing with school children chattering about drugs and their boyfriends, returns to a state of peace and quiet. All but for the gentle rumble of the train and the laboured breathing of a rather sturdy looking gentleman to my left. A red brick and a green metal structure filled in with green wooden panels, their paint worn away, fades… Continue

Added by Dr Tom Payne on March 9, 2010 at 21:30 — No Comments

Day 10.2 - Missing Hour - Leaving Shrewsbury Station

I did sleep. The inflatable travel cushion came in handy. As I exited the train at Shrewsbury I passed an old man carrying a number plate. I saw him again a few minutes later in the coffee shop where he directed me to the much needed sugar. Pigeons are flocking about the bridge as we pull away from the station. I am not in my seat No. 20 F as the Man in 21 F is so fast asleep it seems unfair to wake him. Especially as the train is… Continue

Added by Dr Tom Payne on March 9, 2010 at 20:30 — No Comments

Day 10.1 - Departure - Somewhere between Aberystwyth and Borth

I should probably try and sleep. It is 5:15am and I am on the Arriva Trains Wales service bound for Birmingham New Street. I will get off before that. Shrewsbury, change for Cardiff. Then Ystrad Mynach and finally a bus to Blackwood. I should get in some time around 10:30am. As the train travels between Aberystswyth and Borth all that can be seen through the window… Continue

Added by Dr Tom Payne on March 9, 2010 at 18:30 — No Comments

Day 9 - Sudden Panic - Aberystwyth

The sudden panic in question relates directly to the task that I have set myself for day 10. I have booked myself onto the 5:14am train from Aberystwyth tomorrow morning. I should arrive in Blackwood some time after 10:00am. I will then spend the day meeting people connected to the NTW and observing rehearsals before jumping back on the train and arriving back in… Continue

Added by Dr Tom Payne on March 9, 2010 at 11:30 — No Comments

Day 8 - The Tree House - Aberystwyth

I meet with Alan Chamberlain in the tree house in the afternoon. The morning is spent in the National library working through emails and missing the delivery of my new computer. Still no sign of the laptop, so I call apple repairs in London and am told that it is on the way. One or two pieces of equipment would make life a great deal easier.… Continue

Added by Dr Tom Payne on March 8, 2010 at 11:00 — No Comments