Okay, I'll admit it. While I was pretty confident that we had a good programme to announce - which is of course the only thing that REALLY matters - this morning I was wishing I'd never uttered the words, 'Let's do it live online!'

So many things could have gone wrong. But somehow they didn't. We saw Mathilde live from Snowdon (possibly the funniest moment of the day). The young people of Bridgend were inspiring, and Lucy and I managed to get all the shows in the right order. Even the hula hoops went to plan!

For those of you who missed our livecast, all of the details of the programme are now available on our shiny new website. (Have a look at the many clever ways it draws on this community site - pulling comment and blogs out to place alongside shows). And for those of you who want to see Mathilde, the young people of Bridgend, and all the wonderful video clips, there will be a video available on the website very soon.

Huge thanks to all the technical and production team who made the launch work so well. Very few people - and there were folk watching all over the world - had any problems seeing or hearing what was going on - remarkable for an internet event. And thanks to all of you who logged in, joined live chat and sent us your messages of support. It's been a great day. Now for some truly extraordinary shows!

Views: 132

Add a Comment

You need to be a member of National Theatre Wales Community to add comments!

Join National Theatre Wales Community

Comment by Angie Bual on November 10, 2009 at 3:31
Amazing programme John. Just wondering if I can commute from Glasgow to come once an month. Working on it! Angie
Comment by Carl Morris on November 9, 2009 at 7:47
Simon, you could start with a Google News search for Alun Ffred Jones.
Comment by Simon Harris on November 9, 2009 at 4:13
Anybody got more info on this from Betsan's blog? "There are plenty of questions in the wind these days about the quality of theatre provision in Wales, be it in English or in Welsh. The Culture Minister has been posing a few questions of his own this week ..."
Comment by Carl Morris on November 8, 2009 at 23:30
My serving suggestion for Betsan Powys' blog is to read the posts and always to ignore the comments section. Trust me, it's not worth it if you're looking for insight. Use a feed reader like Google Reader then you don't have to see them. You're not going to follow this advice are you?
:-)
Comment by Tom Beardshaw on November 8, 2009 at 11:08
Comment by Andrew Loretto on November 8, 2009 at 2:06
Congrats John and to everyone involved with the launch - we all watched from the Chol office. I'm absolutely thrilled that the theatrical creativity that has always been in Wales looks set to be given its rightful platform in a season of work that is politcally, socially and aesthetically challenging, life-affirming, forward-looking and democratic. As for old perceptions being thrown up on R4, well our national UK institutions know deep-down what we've always known: that work from the nations and regions of the British Isles is leading the way on so many fronts... can't wait to see the work in action - it will undoubtably speak for itself in the coming months and years. The campaign for Mathilde to be NTW roving reporter starts now!
Comment by Rebecca Gould on November 7, 2009 at 23:21
Great launch. I watched it at the Wellcome Trust Library, I forgot my headphones, so had my ear squashed up to the computer, until the kindly librarian gave in and handed me hers. Great press following on too, although bloody Mark Lawson! I’ve written to ‘any questions’ which is in Cardiff this week, to ask how long Radio 4 plan to keep parading their lazy, out of date and stereotypical views of Wales, and Welsh Theatre. But it’s not like I, and many, many others haven’t asked before! Anyway concentrate on the positive, brilliant line up, fantastic response, good luck everyone.
Comment by Deborah Powell on November 6, 2009 at 7:55
Couldn't agree more ... a landmark event, perfectly executed. The cat has been truly set amongst the pigeons after only one day!
Comment by National Theatre Wales on November 6, 2009 at 7:25
There's no doubt that the press response to the programme launch has been terrific. The Western Mail really pulled out the stops with a centre page spread of all 13 shows, and the Guardian's coverage was wonderful, both in print (in the main news pages) and online. Lyn Gardner, one of their top critics, even joined the twitter response - 'National Theatre Wales's first season is a thing of wonders. Feels as if all my theatrical Christmases have come at once' Maybe we should be the first theatre to feature a tweet on our posters! And Gemma, yes that Telegraph article is grand too - very focused on the digital and the new models, but you can't really complain about an article that starts ' Yesterday, I attended the launch of National Theatre Wales, an event that opens a dynamic new chapter in British theatrical life.' and ends 'from out of nowhere, Wales is taking us towards a watershed moment'!
Comment by Carl Morris on November 6, 2009 at 7:07
I just listened to the Front Row piece on Radio 4.

I found the questions bizarre but John handled them very well indeed.

Here's the link
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00njg1s
It starts at 10:50.

Gary, maybe we shouldn't take this as a typical response from "London-based media" for now.

Anyway... We also live in an age of social media now. The way it will complement and interact with traditional media is still being worked out. And for what it's worth, the reactions I'm seeing via, say, Google Blog Search and Twitter Search seem generally very positive!

image block identification

© 2024   Created by National Theatre Wales.   Powered by

Badges  |  Report an Issue  |  Terms of Service