Marega and I returned to Barmouth in November to work a little with Bermo Arts on their production of James and The Giant Peach. We travelled by train and like excited kids we relished the mighty views of the mountains and coast of Wales. We had spent a month during the hottest part of the summer working on For Mountain Sand and Sea with the enigmatic Marc Rees and revelled in the juxtaposition of weekend Biker, Kite, Girl Guide and Line Dance Festivals (not so juxtaposed anymore) along with the promenade performance that made up NTW's 4th production. As the train pulled us closer to Barmouth the dull sky dissipated so much so that when we disembarked the sun warmly embraced us. The town is a totally different kettle of fish out of season and the busy narrow roads of the summer were cold and bare in comparison. Many of the shops we had used regularly to beg and borrow stuff from were closed and familiar faces were absent. However the charm remains and a brisk walk along the beach with Yupp, our landlord for the evening and friend from those barmy summer nights, with the dogs prepared us for an evening with the cast.

Its a real tribute to Bermo Arts and its members that despite some catastrophe and last minute drop outs they are geared up and ready to work on the production at any given opportunity. The catastrophe was an accident to Ann (Welsh Lady on the hill in FMSAS), whilst dressing the set earlier in the week she had slipped and broken her wrist. We realised the commitment of the cast and crew as last minute replacements were found and stepping in to fill the vacant roles. It felt appropriate that perhaps we start the session with some stretching exercises to warm up and embrace our environment and brush off some of the day. Marega put us through our paces with some yogaesque and chi gungish (no breach of copyright…honest) type breathing and movement exercises and a variety of stretches. The session was completed with some vocal warm up that ended in screaming prompted by Cheryl, the director, who had just been informed of more cast unable to continue. The screaming over and the cast were ready to work. We were then allowed to offer our insight to the ebb and flow of the work and offer, hopefully, some useful tips and encouragement. The evening was a lot of fun and I hope in some small way we were able to help. What was apparent was a cast and crew united in creating and enjoying making a theatre production. I hope I can say without offending anyone that the age range was quite large between the oldest and youngest participant and the community is well represented, as everyone seemed incredibly supportive and appreciative of the efforts of their colleagues. There was a lot of laughter but also a drive and a commitment to get the lines right and take on direction.

A lovely experience and some soup with John Sam and Yupp in the evening and another brisk walk along the Mawddach with John prior to climbing aboard the train completed our 24 hours in Barmouth. It was a flying visit; there were people we did not get to see but Barmouth remains firmly in our hearts.

Gareth

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Comment by National Theatre Wales on December 4, 2010 at 3:27
How great to hear about your visit Gareth. The link with Barmouth from everyone who took part in the show and in the Assembly has remained so strong - and it's wonderful that artists like you and Marega are so generous with your time, and that the community is so open to keeping these links alive.

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