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Comment by meredydd barker on June 27, 2011 at 5:11

...he appreciated the kind of joke that unveils a problem: if your gags had a serious reason for being there, they stayed in. On the other hand any platitude, no matter how gravely expressed, was ruthlessly extirpated. It meant a lot to me to be able to make him laugh, because he never laughed at anybody who was merely trying to be funny.

 

This is Clive James talking about Karl Miller his editor at The Listener magazine. And I think there's a very interesting point to be made here. The most thought provoking film about the madness of the Cold War - I still wonder how we got away with it -  is Dr Stranglove. Isn't the most pertinent television programme about the New Labour project The Thick of It? I saw all the docudramas, but I can't remember them in detail. I can quote reams of The Thick' especially the first series and not only Malcolm's diatribes.

 

To my mind there's nothing more dramatic than a well structured comedy. There's nothing funnier or more intellectualy memorable than a joke with a point. The Life of Brian has a lot more to say about our attitudes to belief than Jesus of Nazareth. Olivier once asked Peter Sellers to play King Lear at Chichester. It should have been Hamlet. And he should have accepted.

 

If you made people laugh with your writing then well done indeed. Don't underestimate the power of that noise.

Comment by meredydd barker on June 26, 2011 at 23:49

Hello Rebecca

...but the Passion was a huge success, wasn’t it? Obviously I am viewing it from away but taking place in a historically significant, tiny Welsh town, it was one of the main theatre events of the year.

Yes The Passion was a huge success. High fives to all involved. But that wasn't my point. I was responding to Tim Price's comment about fostering discussion. As a theatre practitioner I'd like to think there was somewhere I could ask difficult questions. My questions concerning The Passion were examples of what could be asked, and mild examples at that.

Never mind that it was covered widely in the UK , (London),  I got texts from theatre mates in Africa, India, South America, talking about it. News of 3 or 4 of the productions in NTW’s first season seemed to travel more extensively than most Welsh theatre has for years.... Still it seems to me that the congratulatory stuff was well deserved.

Yes it was. But I was referring to the self congratulatory stuff which has been mild to be sure. But funnily enough, considering your point about wide coverage, the point about the production company behind the Love Steals' programme was made to me by a friend in Cape Town who has an eye for that sort of thing. The questions about Sheen/Jesus/unknowns/mutual back slapping was a friend in New York. I think if you're a theatre practitioner you keep an eye on everything everywhere because it's so easy with t'internet n'all. The first person to Facebook me about the recent murder in Narberth was a friend in Sydney. That said NTW are using the internet to spread the word quite superbly. An object lesson to everyone else.

This can only be brilliant - but let’s be honest - maybe it’s a little difficult for those of us who’ve been chipping away for years and who didn’t get anywhere near it and in most cases, who couldn’t even get a ticket to see it... NTW alongside the Sherman success in Edinburgh (and Wales) of late, only goes to show that audiences and the press are responding to the new vision and ambition. We just need more - and to involve more brilliant artists, a host of venues,  and to be even  braver.

I can't argue with any of that. Well said. The Persians is going to live with me until my last breath. That's as good as theatre gets.

We work in one of the most competitive industries in the world, fear and nervousness on here is inevitable, especially if you can’t spell, or don’t know how to use an apostrophe correctly (me).

I'm sorry, but I don't buy that for a moment. Microsoft Word can sort out grammar and spelling glitches. If anyone is fearful or nervous about posting opinions or making a pertinent enquiry then they need to get a grip, or find an industry that isn't so competitive or so hard on the nerves. Questions are being asked of The Sherman and nobody from The Sherman is responding yet. Are they fearful or nervous? Theatre professionals? Please.

However, this site can only be what people make it, I’m guessing NTW are aware that it will bring them flack, but appear to genuinely want to know what people think, despite being under huge scrutiny themselves and in competition for limited funds.

Under huge scrutiny? Well it is The National Theatre of Wales. NTW can be a lot of things but not a bushel under which anyone can hide. The artistic director is being paid a lot of money to square his shoulders. John E McGrath has my admiration but not my sympathy. I'd like to meet the artistic director who's got a better train set to play with. Competing for limited funds? I think you should do your homework in that regard. I don't think NTW have cap in hand issues.

Yes, John E McGrath does want to know what people think and I admire him for that. But nobody wants to tell him. The forums he created to foment discussion post production were/are woefully under subscribed. That's a pity.

 

Regards,

 

Meredydd

Comment by Rebecca Gould on June 26, 2011 at 11:29

Hello Meredydd, but the Passion was a huge success, wasn’t it? Obviously I am viewing it from away but taking place in a historically significant, tiny Welsh town, it was one of the main theatre events of the year. Never mind that it was covered widely in the UK , (London),  I got texts from theatre mates in Africa, India, South America, talking about it. News of 3 or 4 of the productions in NTW’s first season seemed to travel more extensively than most Welsh theatre has for years.  This can only be brilliant - but let’s be honest - maybe it’s a little difficult for those of us who’ve been chipping away for years and who didn’t get anywhere near it and in most cases, who couldn’t even get a ticket to see it... Still it seems to me that the congratulatory stuff was well deserved.

NTW alongside the Sherman success in Edinburgh (and Wales) of late, only goes to show that audiences and the press are responding to the new vision and ambition. We just need more - and to involve more brilliant artists, a host of venues,  and to be even  braver.

We work in one of the most competitive industries in the world, fear and nervousness on here is inevitable, especially if you can’t spell, or don’t know how to use an apostrophe correctly (me). However, this site can only be what people make it, I’m guessing NTW are aware that it will bring them flack, but appear to genuinely want to know what people think, despite being under huge scrutiny themselves and in competition for limited funds

Comment by meredydd barker on June 26, 2011 at 1:08

Even if you have no interest in the post, perhaps you might like to comment on why the NTW struggles to foster discussion?

 

It struggles because most of the people/organisations who use this site are looking to catch John E. McGrath's eye or the notice of the creative associates. They do this because they want to further their careers. That's fine. But-

 

That's a good point Stapes about the dangers of one organisation/person having a creative monopoly.

 

A question that was never asked #1002789 - Wasn't it odd that the production company run by the chair of NTW, Phill George, made the programme about Love Will Steal Us from Loneliness for the BBC? No conflict there? The in-house that you find in-house is called the panic room. I personally couldn't care less because that sort of mutual back scratching is par for the course in certain bars, lives and careers. But on which forum, in the broadest sense of the word, could I ask that question without wondering who might be marking my professional card?

 

I personally think that writers - to keep things group orientated -  are scared of upsetting the people that do the commissioning. Artistic directors and creative associates are no more talented or intelligent than playwrights, but one set of theatre practitioners has the power of professional life or death over another set of theatre practitioners. That fosters fear. When I questioned John E's hurrah over Paines Plough coming to Wales, when they'd actually been to Cardiff on a Wednesday night, I think there were three messages supporting my point in the thread; three messages of support, but twenty four e-mails of support in my googlemail account. Playwrights shouldn't be in fear of anybody, anywhere, especially directors.

 

A question that was never asked #1003485 - How the hell did the website of one company become the de-facto website for the artform in this country?

 

It all reminds me of a King's Christian Fellowship forum (see later) I think the only way you'll get a bit of biblical piss and vinegar going is to use pseudonyms and let rip. The NiW site is there. I personally hate the idea of nome de plumes. I think people should be able to put forward a point of view without fear of doing themselves professional damage. But they can't. I want people to be able to say things such as... ooh, let me think... that though The Passion was without doubt a resounding success, those involved in creating it have been nauseously self congratulatory. Right? Wrong? Discuss!

 

And how about, erm, would it have worked without an ego maniac at its centre? Would it have worked with a talented unknown? If not can it be called theatre? It was a star vehicle, no? Yes? Could have been?

 

I asked someone from the King's Christian Fellowship what they thought of The Passion. I expected a diatribe. But no. It didn't bother them because-

 

'It wasn't about Jesus, it was about Michael Sheen.' Yes. To have a thought provoking discussion about The Passion I had to go to a King's Christian Fellowship forum. For f^&*( sake.

 

With the advent of NTW and Theatre Genedlaethol, two non building-based touring national theatres, it is necessary for the building-based Sherman to tour shows? Would their money be better spent, on more shows, in the new building? Or do the Sherman tours play a vital role in the new writing culture of Wales?

 

The Sherman was meant to take over from Sgript Cymru, no? Has it or hasn't it? NTW isn't Welsh Theatre. Wales needs The Sherman to plug the gaps not filled by NTW and there's plenty that NTW doesn't do. Provoke is one thing. Upset is another. Sian Summers is more important to playwrights in Wales than John E McGrath.

 

When I was the Artistic Director of the National Youth Theatre of Wales it was also very difficult to get theatre, TV and Film professionals to come and see our brilliant emerging talent.

That's because theatre, TV and Film professionals think they are the brilliant emerging talent. Kid's eh? What would they know?

 

Writers who want to be part of National Theatre Wales, share ideas, get feedback from each other, and hear about opprotunities

 

That's the tagline for this group. And yes it says opprotunities. Did someone want to write opprobrium then change their mind? Or is it lose their nerve?

 

A spelling mistake in the tagline of the writers group. Says it all really.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Comment by Rebecca Gould on June 26, 2011 at 0:21

If I ruled the world, and the Sherman, I'd commission loads more new plays, in both languages and I’d produce and tour some of them. I'd also give the Sherman much more money.

There are brilliant voices in Wales, young, old and in the middle. The talent versus the amount of proper commissions offered is woeful and the lack of new play production I suspect is often a lack of balls.


A theatre, (without a guaranteed audience, e.g. School children), putting the full weight of production behind a single playwright is brave, especially when you don’t have a lot to go around. However, if you don’t have a lot, perhaps it is the time to be more courageous - easy for me to say - but aren’t most theatres too willing to take the conservative route? It’s safer (and much much cheaper), to do a reading, or a workshop? Obviously, there are workshops that genuinely help develop plays, or make informed choices about which plays, or collaborations, to commission, but it doesn’t change the fact that there are some excellent playwrights in Wales and very few opportunities (compared to Scotland, Ireland or England) for their work to be commissioned or seen. Until this changes its tricky this tinkering around the edges.

Ps Aren’t theatre's constructed around one, (or two, or maybe even three), people having the monopoly?

Comment by Peter Cox MBE on June 24, 2011 at 19:18

Spit Spit Pogo Pogo

Comment by Greg Cullen on June 23, 2011 at 12:07

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It seems to me that the primary function of Sherman Cymru is to embed itself within the city of Cardiff and its locality, not only as a much loved and used venue, but for it’s outreach into the city and beyond through drama workshops and collaborative productions with sections of the community. The idea that Sherman Cymru can exist within their walls, no matter how much money has been spent to prettify them, is an outdated concept for any building based company. Given that Cardiff is actually the hub for the Valleys too then this should also be their remit. After all people pour into the city to frequent St Mary's St, on a Friday and Saturday night as well as to support Cardiff football and rugby teams, and even to frequent The New Theatre, so why not the Sherman?

Touring beyond Cardiff and the Valleys, whilst inclusive and unifying in terms of spreading ideas and Culture across this difficult (in more senses that one) terrain, is incredibly important, but perhaps it should only happen after a trial run in Cardiff and with the most excellent product.

As for producing work in English and Welsh I hoped this argument was dead and buried, of course they should. Actually I want to hear other voices too.

At a recent "debate/discussion" at Chapter Arts Centre during The Sherman’s RAW season it seemed to emerge that theatre in Wales is run by a Cultural Class, all lovely people, but whether in English, or Welsh, they spoke the same language and were all well educated white people who, perhaps it was just me, had the same clothes sense. In fact at one point I imagined taking their heads off and swapping them over to see if it would make any difference. I don't think it would have. They all agreed with each other so the "debate" was non-existent. I couldn't help thinking, "Bring back Punk, all is forgiven!"  In no way is this intended as a personal dig at the panel, just an observation that there might be a cultural Class operating our major theatres and that this may prove to be a weakness.  I sincerely hope not, because it would give me no pleasure, nor satisfaction.

We are experiencing the most exciting time in Welsh Theatre for thirty years, perhaps forever and Sherman Cymru is part of that.

Tonight I'm going to see a piece of theatre set in a container, not since Moving Being and Brith Gof and dare I say it, Mid Powys Youth Theatre in their heyday, has anyone tested the boundaries like we are now.

Should Cardiff's primary producing venue tour to the whole of Wales? Absolutely, with the right quality of product. Should North Walian companies come to Cardiff and appear at the Sherman? Yes of course because I live in a small country, which is incredibly complex, and I need to see and share what is going on within it. (Please note I make no mention of theatre from the middle of Wales because most of it has been annihilated)

Also tonight, the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama opens its new theatre and concert hall, an amazing leap forward although potentially ruinous financially. The RWCMD is the nearest thing we have to a “Rep” company. They produce an incredible range of theatre throughout the year with higher production values than many of our so-called professional companies and yet very often there are empty seats and few theatre professionals in the ones that are taken. Why is this?  When I was the Artistic Director of the National Youth Theatre of Wales it was also very difficult to get theatre, TV and Film professionals to come and see our brilliant emerging talent.

Perhaps then we need to change our culture to one of being supportive rather than parochially self interested, to broaden rather than split hairs, to include rather than patronise the excluded, to be militant instead of demurely smug, to be rude occasionally instead of speaking in class bound obfuscation and to celebrate together what can yet be a revolution, or at least a renaissance, in Welsh Theatre. To pull it off in the face of the biggest recession in a century and one of the most philistine governments since the 19th Century would be absolutely “bloody marvelous!”

Comment by Tim Price on June 23, 2011 at 4:11

That's a good point Stapes about the dangers of one organisation/person having a creative monopoly.

Comment by Ian Staples on June 23, 2011 at 2:58

Welsh Medium, just got lazy with my typing!

Comment by Ian Staples on June 23, 2011 at 1:19

Just to wade in...during a recent conference at the ATRiuM it was noted that the current commissioning process of S4C, because it relied on too few companies, was flawed and stifled creativity.  I believe that the same would be true if the Sherman lost it's mandate to produce new welsh language writing.  Also bear in mind that the Sherman have appointed a new Associate Director who's responsibilities are to develop new WM writing.  So it's going to be interesting to see what he/she has planned.

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