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Comment by Matt Ball on December 21, 2011 at 2:23

@sybil its a debate we're very happy to engage in so I've set up a page here for that debate to happen - everyone's input welcome

Comment by Sybil Crouch on December 21, 2011 at 2:10

I'm not arguing against site specific/responsive work but rather the balance. Its a bit disingenuous to refer to A Provincial Life and In Water I'm Weightless when both productions will only be seen (as far as I know) on stages in Cardiff. The question is about what responsibility our national theatre has to theatres across Wales - with for example, no theatre staged work in North Wales (or Swansea!)to date - at all..

(I'm intrigued to learn that this prodcution will actually take place in the classroom/s rather than the school hall(?).

Is this not a debate we should be having when we look at theatre in Wales for the coming years? 

Comment by Matt Ball on December 21, 2011 at 1:53

Hi Sybil, we take very seriously our relationship with, and responsibilities to, the theatres of Wales, and it’s something we talk about a lot; but for me it’s all about form & content.

Our next show, Provincial Life, is on Sherman’s new stage, as this is the right place for it – just as The Persians, The Passion or The Village Social – were in the right places as their form and content were symbiotic.

The reason Bradley Manning is taking place in schools is due to its content – simply that. It deals with the period of Bradley’s life where he lived in Wales and attended school here. InThe GuardianTim Price Explained

 The classroom becomes a prison, then it becomes a military training base, but it always reverts back to being a classroom. That was the idea that we got excited about – could we tell this story in a classroom?“ 

One of the schools we’re taking this production to is Tasker Milward, where Manning went to school – increasing the significance of the location. To be clear we’re not touring the show to schools and trying to turn them into theatres, nor are we doing it to be gimmicky, we’re doing it because we believe this is the right environment for this new work from an exciting Welsh playwright.

 

So on the stages of Wales this year we’ll be presenting  A provincial Life, In Water I’m Weightless & Mundo Paralelo – alongside productions such as Little Dogs in the Patti Pavilion in Swansea, or Branches in a forest. Whether the work takes place in a theatre building is not our starting point – we start with an idea or story and find the right way to tell this.

Please don’t give up on drama – we’re certainly not.

Happy Christmas and here’s to a successful year for theatre on and off stages across Wales.

Comment by Sybil Crouch on December 21, 2011 at 0:26

I'm struggling to understand why NTW is touring this show to school halls - with echoes of Theatr Clwyd's controversial "mobile" tours of the late 90's. I am all in favour of site specific and site responsive work so perhaps there is some aspect of a school hall which lends a very specific element to the production? Whilst thetares in Wales have struggled for 20 years to get access to high quality English language drama we are seeing yet again an obsession with putting theatre into unsuitable spaces with all the associated costs of trying to make them fit for purpose in terms of both technical facilities and customer comfort.Please NTW - on behalf of theatres across  Wales - can we have more work for our stages? Or should we just give up on drama?

Comment by National Theatre Wales on December 20, 2011 at 13:45

Great debate about politics in theatre, with a focus on Bradley Manning  going on. You can join it here.

Comment by Tom Beardshaw on December 19, 2011 at 12:31

A significant revelation in the case: Feds found chat logs between Bradley Manning and Julian Assange

Comment by Tom Beardshaw on December 17, 2011 at 2:06

Here's a worrying article in Huffington post about Bradley's current state.

Comment by Tom Beardshaw on December 16, 2011 at 8:43

Great spots on the website John. There's also the article about Valentine's day - Bradley had  tried to create a 'special Romance quiz', but had technical difficulties - there are echos of his love life, his knowing about leaks and I love that he had heard of Funeral for a Friend :) 

Comment by Catrin Rogers on December 16, 2011 at 2:49

Check out Tim Price's blog post on why he decided to write a play about Bradley Manning, in today's Guardian online.

Comment by Iain Goosey on December 16, 2011 at 0:16

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/dec/16/bradley-manning-militar...

The controversial pre-trial begins with the prosecution pushing for a minimum life in prison, without parole.

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