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Comment by Matt Ball on April 13, 2014 at 22:12

I think it's interesting this conversation is happening in the Writers group, I'm going to flag it up in the Producers group.

Its also worth noting that there's a group called Producers Place, where Wales based producers are coming together to meet and look at some of the issues that have been raised - the next event is on 7th May, and details get posted in the producers group.

As someone who used to run a venue in London, I don't think the other capital city is the answer to getting our work out there. Work can easily get lost among the myriad of shows that open in a week, and it can be prohibitory expensive place to produce. 

I think it's partly about the artists connections and networks but it's also about building long term relationships with producers and venues. Lots of times companies/writers/directors look for a producer too late. Good producers want to work on a project from the beginning, to help shape it creatively and have an input into every aspect, so that they co-own the project and can represent it to potential partners, funders and audiences wholeheartedly. Most producers don't just want to be tour bookers, accountants an administrators. 

Part of the lack of experience comes from the same problems faced by writers, directors, actors, stage management, designers etc. Wales isn't a big market, so many people feel they have to cross the border to get the jobs/experience they want, then there aren't the jobs to return to. How many full-time salaried producers are there in Wales? You could substitute pretty much any role into that question; so if we want the talent in any discipline then there has to be investment.

Comment by Kaite O'Reilly on April 13, 2014 at 21:06

@Greg: I think this is a great analysis. How to proceed, indeed. My question would be who might be the 'we' gathering to discuss this lack? How might 'we' go about creating this infrastructure and who should be involved? ACW and the Edinburgh funding is one model, as is the British Council's 'Best of British' showcase for international touring at the Edinburgh fringe. Following the success of the Unlimited Commissions/Cultural Olympiad I was invited a few times to a 'speed dating' event at the Young Vic in London, aiming to introduce UK-based producers to disabled and Deaf artists and companies. I'm not sure how successful that proved, but it provides another possible model of trying to 'match-make' between talent and producers. 

Comment by Greg Cullen on April 13, 2014 at 13:53

Shock n Awe will, in the next three months, finally pay off the debt incurred by performing "Muscle" at the Edinburgh Festival in 2011, at which we won the Herald Angel Award and were nominated for two others. Whaddyahavetodo?!  The ACW grants (not available then) to help companies go to Edinburgh are great and I have nothing but praise for Nick Davies etc for breaking the borders of Welsh Arts Funding. But John is right, what about the rest of the world and very significantly, London? Face facts, two hours down the M4 is one of the two biggest and most influential theatre cities in the world and Welsh Theatre doesn't seem to know how to get there. Whenever I have managed to get a play produced in, or toured to, London, I am suddenly swamped with reviews, offers and credibility. Its the nature of the beast. That is not to deny in any way the vital penetration into the "Regions" we must also have.  Hijinx used to tour their community shows across the UK to small venues and built up an incredible array of relationships over many years. With the axing of their community touring went the only small/middle scale company with that knowledge and expertise.  International touring or even "profile" is left begging. Kaite is therefore bang on the money when she says that its currently left down to the professional networks/reputations of individual companies or artists. What I want is for great Welsh work to be seen and not be left paddling around our perfectly lovely, little pond because we don't have those networks, or because no one knows we have a reputation. Internally we have Creu Cymru helping to place product in Welsh venues. Do we need something similar to help place Welsh product beyond our borders? This would be somewhere we could go for advice, contacts and planning but who could also say, "Yup, we can sell this".  Many of us are independent theatre makers, but not much else. Project funding does not facilitate company infrastructure to the degree where we can offer a salary to producers who can promote and place the work we create. Once again I come back to the historic dearth of producers in Wales. No doubt this was in part to do with the old Community/TIE infrastructure, which by its very nature did not look beyond the Welsh borders or even county borders. The ignition of new Welsh theatre that changes in funding have facilitated now begs new questions, "How do we get the work out there and who knows how to do it?" Do we need to get together and discuss this?

Comment by Kaite O'Reilly on April 11, 2014 at 22:22

@John. The Llanarth Group has had some success touring internationally with 'Told by the Wind' (The Grotowski Institute, Poland; Dance Centre Chicago USA; Evora Festival, Portugal; Theatre Babylon, Tokyo, TanzFabrik, Berlin - where I am currently). We've had support from Wales Arts International, who helped financially get us to Japan last November, but these opportunities all came from outside as invitations to artistic director Phillip Zarrilli. He brought 'The Beckett Project' to the Malta festival in 2012 and we're taking work-in-progress 'Playing the Maids' to the Cork Midsummer Festival this June, and the Mandarin premiere of my performance text 'The 9 Fridas' to the Taipei international theatre festival this autumn. Having support and ideally, advocacy from within Wales would be fantastic. In my experience the path to international touring is often down to the reputation and professional networks of individual artists and/or companies. 

Comment by Guy O'Donnell on April 11, 2014 at 19:08

Hi Greg I agree, 'Welsh Theatre cannot attract national critics in the way Leeds, Sheffield, Manchester, Bristol, Glasgow and Edinburgh can.'

There are very few opportunities for new and emerging critics from Wales to develop and promote the work of Welsh artists internationally. I would suggest this area also needs more support, the majority of present activity supporting a critical response to the arts in Wales is unsustainable and could easily cease.

Comment by National Theatre Wales on April 11, 2014 at 11:27

I think this is a very important point Greg. it's been great to see ACW and other agencies embracing a Welsh presence in Edinburgh in recent years - and to see the success of independent companies like Shock n Awe and Gagglebabble there.  I think the next step is to think beyond Edinburgh to other international festivals, venues and partnerships.  Great producers with the right connections can be key here.  So is an understanding by funders and by government that such international work is a hugely positive thing for Wales.  Most of the countries that have developed a successful international reputation for their theatre and performance work have done so with significant commitment from their home countries - that's what make it possible to get the work out there, and get the work noticed. 

Comment by Terry Victor on April 11, 2014 at 5:36

No elaboration from me, merely endorsement. You nailed it, Greg.

Comment by Greg Cullen on April 10, 2014 at 17:14

International touring is vital to the ecology and aspiration of Welsh Theatre. Right now its incredibly difficult to find the expertise, experience and knowledge to take a show to London, or on tour across the UK. We need to develop that in Wales. Its appalling that when a book about UK theatre comes out we're lucky to get a couple of pages when so many beautiful plays have been written here over the past thirty years. To then ask about international touring begs even more questions of our producing experience. It remains a fact of Welsh Theatre life that we cannot attract national critics in the way Leeds, Sheffield, Manchester, Bristol, Glasgow and Edinburgh can. We need to develop a production body which promotes Welsh product and can deliver it beyond the borders. Whilst we have this flourishing of exciting independent companies alongside NTW we cannot be masters of all trades. We need producers who know what they're doing and can take us to the places we want to go and deserve to be seen in.

Comment by carmen medway-stephens on April 8, 2014 at 22:48

Q. What are the best fringe theatres that take 'unknown writers' work on for tour in London?

Comment by National Theatre Wales on April 3, 2014 at 23:00

Thanks for sharing this Tim - it's a good read.  Two very different questions in there - one about international exposure, one about the collapse of national touring in Scotland.  In relation to international here, there's a big push to make.  I don't think it's about 'modular' shows - it's about unique but tourable shows.  You're right that a lot of our 'site-specific' work is difficult to tour - though it was great to see the Schaubuhne in Berlin restage Branches last year - on the surface of it, one of our most site-specific of shows.  (And watch out for more good news re Berlin!!)  There are a few different ways to think about this - one is getting international co-productions for some of the bigger work (shows like Coriolan/us) - where future exposure in festivals is built into the plans for the show from the start - to more traditional touring, but hopefully in a way that feels special to the company and to Wales.  And then there's the kind of thing we did in Tokyo, where we make a new show with Welsh artists outside of Wales - I think there's real scope in this - and the amount of attention that Wales and Welsh theatre got in Tokyo as a result of that collaboration was considerable. Overall, I very much agree with you that the kind of direct investment in international presentation that Creative Scotland and the Scottish Government make would be a game-changer for us.  

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