‘Because beneath even the most respectable exterior will lurk some strange impulse, some irrational craving, some inappropriate imagining.’

This is National Theatre Wales’s first visit to Neath Little Theatre, and it seems the whole community has turned out to witness the event. Following a highly successful Edinburgh Fringe with their devised piece ‘The Dark Philosophers’, National Theatre Wales return to their homeland with a surreal musical theatre piece. Created by Welsh playwright Dafydd James and fellow writer Ben Lewis, it has been described as ‘The Vicar of Dibley meets The Wicker Man’, a bizarre yet accurate comparison to which the piece most certainly lives up to. Music is at its heart, and is a device often utilised to represent contrast. Music becomes the precipitating factor for the descent into psychedelic hysteria, whilst previously it had represented the more traditional aspects of community life.

We are welcomed into the village hall of Cae Bach, walking directly into the scene with characters milling about preparing the hall for tonight’s event. The set creates the perfect atmosphere; balloons, flags and a ‘glamorous’ gold stripped tinsel backdrop all work to convince us of an authentic, poorly decorated community hall. We are greeted by Lawrence (Darren Lawrence), joined by Yvonne (Carys Eleri), Lisa-Jên (Rebecca Harries), Dave (Oliver Wood) and Jean (Sue Roderick), who welcome us to Cae Bach’s autumn social. The piece adopts a Brechtian technique by ‘breaking the fourth wall’, forcing the audience to become a part of the scene with characters acknowledging the audience’s presence as they happily wander from stage to audience. What struck me most of all, was how easily the audience bought into the pantomime act. Prompted by a single arm movement, the audience enthusiastically joined in the action consequently becoming the community of Cae Bach. As the piece progresses, we are made aware that we are waiting for a special guest, Madam Isis. Due to her late arrival the characters begin to stall, singing and relating myths allegedly associated with Cae Bach. Although these stories may seem irrelevant, they are obviously being set-up for a greater purpose later on. Dion (Gwydion Rhys), Lawrence’s son, brings on a selection of youths and together they perform a song that is perhaps overly long and slightly irrelevant. Unfortunately, several plot plants are heavily dropped into the light-hearted script, which is slightly jarring.

TO SEE COMPLETE REVIEW, PLEASE GO TO http://theatreinwales.blogspot.com/2011/10/2-national-theatre-wales...