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Day 65 - Mike Pearson Interview - His Office, Aberystwyth

We spoke for an hour this morning. Cycling around the areas I picked out yesterday. I am looking for a way into this first case study. Does the way forward lie in exploring the relationship between the Persians and Mike's previous work with Brith Gof? Is it about the English language and it's relationship to the the Welsh tongue? I think back to my interview with Eddie Ladd, there is something at play here. Is there an angle exploring the relationship between NTW and the artists… Continue

Added by Dr Tom Payne on May 2, 2010 at 23:53 — No Comments

Peter Cheeseman

Last week, I was told that Peter Cheeseman, theatre director, visionary and agitator, had passed away. I'm really sad that I won't be able to talk with him again. I know that there will be many people who are affected by this sad news, least of all his family; Romy, Kate, Betsy and Chloe. I'm also certain that there will be many, many stories from many people about how Peter influenced their lives. Lots of stories about how he influenced whole generations of theatre makers. How he developed a… Continue

Added by Catherine Paskell on May 2, 2010 at 14:00 — No Comments

Day 64 - Sunday Lunch - Llanbadarn

Fantastic sunday lunch, all the more entertaining as a result of Poppy's insistence on punctuating the meal with musical silence. Like musical statues but with food. I came a close second to last... it seems the unspoken goal was to be the first to finish.

Tomorrow I am meeting with Mike Pearson at 9am. In his office.

I have four areas of interest that I would like him to talk about.

1) National…

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Added by Dr Tom Payne on May 2, 2010 at 11:30 — No Comments

Theatre-in-the-round

The Obituary in the Guardian on his death of Peter Cheeseman a few days after the last posting in which I featured his work at in Stoke-on-Trent with Stephen Joseph and Alan Ayckbourn stimulated me to add the following to the last Swansea U3A posting.

THEATRE

Last week I was pointing up the

similarity between the pioneering work done with theatre in the cultural

desert of Stoke on Trent to the… Continue

Added by Brian Henry Corbett on May 2, 2010 at 6:01 — No Comments

Room to Read 1st May event

Love Reading's Room to Read event on Saturday 1st May was a great success - many thanks to all who came along to make it so! And to the passers-by who stopped to listen, and those who took in the scene from further away. If you missed it this time, come along to the next, which'll be arranged asap. Leona & Laura …

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Added by Leona Jones on May 2, 2010 at 3:30 — 1 Comment

Day 63 - Pool Party - Plas Crug Leisure Centre, Aberystwyth

One of Poppy's school friends had a party at the leisure centre. I chose not to go into the pool for the first part and instead chose to sit upstairs and listen to an audio book on my ipod. I probably should have gone swimming, it has now been over a week since I got any decent exercise. She gave her friend an inflatable Barbie rubber ring and a pair of party shoes. The kind that I won't allow her to wear herself.

I was listening to a book about being organised. I…

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Added by Dr Tom Payne on May 1, 2010 at 7:00 — No Comments

A glimpse of Prestatyn Parish Church and graveyard

This short video gives a glimpse of Prestatyn Parish Church (also called Christchurch) and its graveyard.

Among the graves are those of shipwrecked mariners and six choirboys who drowned in a tragic accident in 1868.

Our exploration of Prestatyn last weekend forms part of our research for The Beach, ntw05 happening this July… Continue

Added by Carl Morris on May 1, 2010 at 3:30 — No Comments

Day 62 - The Standing Man - Cnwch Coch

After an evening of editing (2 minutes) and discussing with Sam, we have decided upon a new project. The Standing Man. I can't explain what it is right now, but it links into my research work with NTW. I need to arrange to go back to the old library in Swansea in order to create the first part of the project. A creative response to the place. Down in the stack. I will get in touch with Paul to see if we can do our interview as well. Just need to figure out how to get down there.

Added by Dr Tom Payne on April 30, 2010 at 12:00 — No Comments

WIN a pair of tickets to The Devil Inside Him Guest Night!

We have a pair of tickets to give away to one lucky winner of our prize raffle!

The Devil Inside Him Guest Night is Tuesday 11th May at the New Theatre, Cardiff.

The show starts at 7.30pm.

Your Guest tickets give you access to the Guest event and you will also be invited to the exclusive after-show party at Cardiff Arts Institute.… Continue

Added by Catherine Paskell on April 30, 2010 at 3:56 — No Comments

Floralia Festival with all-female performers this May Day weekend!! See www.jambones.webs.com for details!

Added by Mab Jones on April 30, 2010 at 2:51 — No Comments

TEAM Cardiff get together to plan their work on "The Devil Inside Him"

Had a really interesting session with the TEAM in Cardiff this evening - we spent a bit of time going through what NTW is doing online and how they can help spread info and links about Devil Inside Him to their networks. We had a brainstorm about how they could create a buzz around the show, and came up with ideas around live performances, audio and video resources they can create. Devinda has made a Group for TEAM Cardiff… Continue

Added by Tom Beardshaw on April 29, 2010 at 9:30 — 1 Comment

Great website

Hi this a link to a website full of great speeches , stirring stuff !

http://www.onlineuniversities.com/blog/2010/04/50-incredible-historical-speeches/

Added by Guy O'Donnell on April 29, 2010 at 6:34 — No Comments

Are you living in Cardiff and under 24?

I'm looking for young people to take part in the Cardiff Assembly.

Are you aged between 14 - 24?

Are you living in Cardiff?

Are you interested in getting involved in the Cardiff Assembly?

Do you know anyone who fits the above description whose details you could pass over to me?

If so please let me know by posting a message to me here.

Please do not publically post personal details like phone numbers, emails, date of birth etc. Send these to… Continue

Added by Catherine Paskell on April 29, 2010 at 6:04 — 2 Comments

Read here what the New Critics said about Shelf Life.

Click on the name of a New Critic and be taken straight to their review in the New Critics Group. See what they each thought of our second production...

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Dylan Moore: "Our generation stands on the cusp of perhaps the greatest reading revolution since the… Continue

Added by Catherine Paskell on April 29, 2010 at 4:50 — No Comments

Swansea Assembly, Monkey Bar, April 22nd.

A tad belated but had to post to say what an amazing week I had last week on this project. The truly wicked Mathilde Lopez, incredibly funny Brent Morgan, mildly annoying Allison John, my new father Garry John, the immortal Steve "ladies man" Allen and the infectious Ellie Carter along with Ian, John, Lloyd and the rest of the team, was just amazing to be a part of and hardly felt like working at all.

All very fun but also thrilled to be in the same room as like minded,…

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Added by Brendan Purcell on April 29, 2010 at 1:28 — 2 Comments

Day 61 - My Missing Laptop - Somewhere on the Fulham Road, London

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Added by Dr Tom Payne on April 29, 2010 at 0:30 — No Comments

Day 60 - The BBC - Aberystwyth

These first two months have been phenomenal. Coming to terms with PhD research has been a struggle at times. Teaching in an FE college in Mid-Wales was pretty straight forward, and unlike this research project, teaching, by and large, gets done simply through it's doing. There have been times in these first two months where I have felt lost without the structure that teaching provides and at other times an incredible sense of freedom.

I've been to Blackwood, Krakow,…

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Added by Dr Tom Payne on April 28, 2010 at 11:00 — No Comments

Directors Forum commentary

I attended CPR’s Directors Forum in Aberystwyth (Lab1 weekend and Gathering weekend). As far as I know, Tracy Evans and Lisa Wells attended the Lab2 and John McGrath attended the Gathering weekend, did I miss anyone else?

I found the Exploratory and Laboratories sections of the Lab days a great idea, inspiring, intense and worth every penny, even the long train journey. Meeting the other participants, intelligent, interesting and creative people from around the world, it was truly… Continue

Added by Maria Morancho on April 28, 2010 at 0:35 — 4 Comments

Blue Baby Crew in Blaengarw

It was great to be back in Blaengarw on Monday night. This time it was to see one of the performers at our Valleys Assembly - Blue Baby Crew. They were definitely one the highlights of the Assembly & they didn't disappoint. Performing to another full house and another great crowd they were joined by singers, a tap dancer, drummers, comedy and dance routine from Greg Sage and his father Donald (yes,… Continue

Added by Devinda De Silva on April 28, 2010 at 0:21 — No Comments