“I’m lucky to have a character name”, says Gwydion Rhys, one of the cast members of a Waking Exploits production of Simon Stephens’ Pornography. Gwydion is playing Jason, a troubled school boy from East London with an unrelenting crush on his teacher Miss Watson. “It gives the character a sense of identity.” Jason’s home life is plagued by domestic abuse; his father regularly beats his mother, and consequently he feels alone and slightly alienated from society. “The characters have similar traits” says Gwydion. “They are objectified; hence the name of the play Pornography. I also think the name helps with marketing and PR!”

Stephens’ play is a fragmented set of monologues; a recurrent style in his works. This allows companies to experiment with narrative, which is exactly what Waking Exploits did with Pornography. “The monologues can be performed in any order” Gwydion explains, “but we tried to create a narrative. Also, some actors play more than one character, so that affected our decision.”

Having a Welsh cast, I was interested to know what the actors had done in terms of accents, as having London at its heart is an integral part of the play. “I try to do an East London accent.” Says Gwydion with a grin. “It helped with my characterisation, and it’s important to differentiate between characters. Jade, who plays the suicide bomber, does a Mancunian accent.”

Gwydion also revealed that the style of direction from Mathilde Lopez was one which was new to him. “She’s very expressive and visual. She’s given us freedom to do what we want with our characters.”

Finally, I asked Gwydion about the relevance of the play, and the importance of the depiction of such events in theatre. “I think it’s very important.” He replies. “And with the Olympic Games coming up, it’s more relevant than ever!”

“This city is never silent…It feels charged…as though something remarkable is going to happen.”

Stephens is famous for his unique style; his writing is often characterised as part of an in-yer-face generation, making his works extremely contemporary and versatile. Written in 2005, the play could be considered as a response to that week in July 2005. With Live 8, the G8 conference, the Olympic announcement and more disastrously the 7/7 bombings, Britain felt like the centre of the world. Waking Exploits brings Stephens’ thought provoking and powerful play to Wales for the first time, arguably now more relevant than ever with the Olympic games looming.

Undoubtedly collectively a strong cast which includes the BAFTA winning Sharon Morgan and Richard Elfyn, the production looked set to be proficient and successful. The set, although seemingly bare at first, slowly morphed into a fragmented scene, a potential reflection of the destruction of the city caused by the bombings. Characters effectively decimated the scene amidst monologues, bringing a kind of uncomfortable energy to the play which was extremely effective. Such a relatively minimalist scene also allowed the play to speak for itself; the audience were able to concentrate on the words.

Gwydion Rhys gives a fantastic performance as Jason the East London schoolboy, switching effortlessly from a humorous, teenage bravado to a deeply affected, confused and distressed individual. In another unforgettable scene, Sharon Morgan makes a simple yet extremely poignant gesture towards human contact, where she smells barbequed chicken from a neighbouring house, and knocks on the door to ask if she could possibly have some.  Words written with such compassion coupled with sensitive, impressive acting ensures this scene will affect every member of the audience.   

In all honesty, it’s the acting which makes this particular production so indulging; there aren’t any specific production factors which contribute to the performance. I do think, however, that this is a good thing. As previously expressed, it’s the words which make plays such as Pornography so effective, and to detract attention away with an elaborate set would be frustrating. The moveable, destructible set was extremely suitable, and added to the sense of fragmentation. I look forward to Waking Exploits subsequent projects, as they promise to bring more works of playwrights rarely seen in Wales to our theatres.

 Pornography runs until 19th of May, at various venues throughout Wales