National Theatre Wales Community

Dr Tom Payne's Blog – April 2010 Archive (26)

Day 43 - Sitting out on the step - Mill St. Aberystwyth

The intersection of Mill Street and Bridge Street in Aberystwyth is not the first place that one would think to have picnic on a bright Sunday afternoon, but that is what I did. A number of questions are beginning to bubble up...

What is the National Theatre trying to do? What is it seeking to achieve with the work that has been created so far? What is the relationship between the PR, marketing, online community and the actual work? We live in a media saturated…

Continue

Added by Dr Tom Payne on April 11, 2010 at 11:42 — No Comments

Day 42 - All along the cliff top - Aberystwyth to Borth

It was extremely sunny yesterday. I therefore forgot to write the blog and drank wine with friends instead. The good weather seems to change things. The way people behave and interact shifts. It's as if all the collective concerns held by people are put aside, released as a consequence of the weather.

I am censoring myself. Something has to give at some point soon. The blog has to find form and begin saying what it is here to say. Is it the very nature of an online…

Continue

Added by Dr Tom Payne on April 10, 2010 at 21:31 — No Comments

Day 41 - Shelflife - Swansea Old Library

I've just returned from Swansea where I saw the second production Shelflife. The Swansea Old Library building is extraordinary. The stacks at the base of the building lie empty all but for the stacks themselves and the red strip lights on the ceilings. The performers took us through the stacks into the reading rooms above where we ate cheese and the performers filled the vacuum left by the absence of the books.…

Continue

Added by Dr Tom Payne on April 9, 2010 at 12:00 — No Comments

Day 40 - Not going anywhere - Aberystwyth

So I set myself the task of blogging everyday for a year and the chances are that no one is reading this and when I have the courage to make a full vlog rather than a blog I won't know what to say or what to talk about. Writing about the National theatre on the National Theatre site is difficult. Am I writing to myself? Potentially i am writing something that is accessible to the entire web using world but equally most of this may never even be seen again. Even by myself. Regardless I… Continue

Added by Dr Tom Payne on April 8, 2010 at 14:07 — No Comments

Day 39 - In a rock pool - Aberystwyth

The sun shone brightly today and as I spent most of the Easter weekend working I decided to spend the day with my daughter Poppy. Without a strict structured schedule I am finding that I could easily spend all my time working without a break.

We took her bright pink fishing net and searched for crabs in the rock pools. We found none so we settled for catching a white stone instead. I then took her for sausage and chips at the fish bar at the top of town and popped…

Continue

Added by Dr Tom Payne on April 7, 2010 at 15:46 — No Comments

Day 38 - The Back of the Pier - Aberystwyth

Today I stood thirty feet above the waves and looked out to sea from the tail end of the pier in Aberystwyth. I walked like a very old man and lowered my centre of gravity to prevent myself from falling into the abyss. The abyss was a good ten feet away over a metal railing but all the same I thinlk it is better to be safe than sorry.

Today was also the day that i attended a philosophy reading group at the Orangery. Today was a day of cafes and dinners out. Conversations and personal…

Continue

Added by Dr Tom Payne on April 6, 2010 at 12:39 — No Comments