Venues Information Pack HERE

Transcription

THEATR PENA
Siôn Eirian’s
WOMAN OF
FLOWERS
after Saunders Lewis
AN EPIC TALE OF GODS
AND MORTALS, BETR AYAL
AND RETRIBUTION
Autumn 2016 Research & Development
Autumn 2017 Tour
INFORMATION FOR PRESENTERS
For more information contact
Megan Merrett, Marketing Officer
[email protected] / 07976 104902 / 01446 401744
TheatrPena15
TheatrPena www.theatrpena.co.uk
INFORMATION FOR PRESENTERS
Woman of Flowers – proposed autumn 2017 tour
Woman of Flowers – autumn 2016 Research and Development Project
Siôn Eirian
Cast
Creative Team
Plot Summary
The Mabinogi
Blodeuwedd by Saunders Lewis
Theatr Pena
Company Information
Page
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5 to 9
10 to 15
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TheatrPena15
Siôn Eirian’s WOMAN OF FLOWERS
after Saunders Lewis
Proposed autumn 2017 Tour
Alone in a cold and alien world, rootless and without ties, Blodeuwedd isn’t like other women.
Created to suit the desires of men, she is the ideal woman and perfect in every way. Until that is she rebels
against the role decided for her by those who made her, and asserts her innate wildness in the face of those
who would control her.
In autumn 2017, subject to securing Arts Council of Wales funding, Theatr Pena intends to tour a new play by
the award-winning Welsh writer Siôn Eirian.
Based on the ancient Mabinogi myth of Blodeuwedd and inspired by Saunders Lewis's seminal Welsh language
verse drama Blodeuwedd, Siôn's strikingly poetic re-telling of the story of the woman made from flowers
brings the richness of the Mabinogi (the earliest prose literature of Britain) and the Welsh classical drama
tradition into a new English language contemporary drama set in a dark, primeval world of gods and mortals.
Theatr Pena will bring this supernatural tale of love, lust, betrayal and retribution alive on stage in an
imaginative and visually rich production.
The cast of 6 includes the Welsh BAFTA winning actress Eiry Thomas as The Wizard Gwydion, Kathryn Dimery
as The Goddess Arianrhod, Olwen Rees as The Maid Rhagnell, Tom Mumford as The Warrior Llew and Isabella
Marshall as the Woman of Flowers, Blodeuwedd.
Director: Erica Eirian
Composer: Peter Knight
Movement Director: Caroline Lamb
Designer: Holly McCarthy
Lighting Designer: Kay Haynes
Creative Producer: Ceri James
Marketing Officer: Megan Merrett
Running Time: 1 hours 20 minutes [no interval]
Age Suitability: 16+
To provisionally book a performance please contact: [email protected] 07966 015041
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Autumn 2016 Research and Development Project
This autumn, with the support of the Arts Council of Wales, we will begin the process of developing our
production of this exciting new play culminating in a Work in Progress Performance and Presentation for an
invited audience on:
THURSDAY 20TH OCTOBER 2016, 2pm
Newbridge Memo, High Street, Newbridge, Gwent, NP11 4FH
This performance will be British Sign Language Interpreted and as part of the R&D the Company intends to
explore ways of increasing access to our work for the d/Deaf community.
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Siôn Eirian
Siôn Eirian is a Welsh dramatist who writes in Welsh and English for television, radio and stage. He is also a
translator and poet and at the age of 24 is the youngest to win the crown at the National Eisteddfod of Wales
(1978).
After graduating from Aberystwyth University with a degree in Philosophy he attended the Royal Welsh
College of Music and Drama Post-Graduate Acting Course and on leaving joined Cwmni Theatr Cymru (19761977).
In 1978 he was appointed Theatr Clwyd’s first resident playwright and adapted Daniel Owen’s novel Rhys
Lewis for the company. Since then notable plays written for the stage include: Crash Course, Made in Wales
Stage Company’s inaugural production; the ground-breaking Wastad ar y Tu Fas for Cwmni Hwyl Y Fflag; Epa
Yn Y Palwr Cefn for Dalier Sylw, which won the Liverpool Daily Post Welsh Theatre Award; Cysgod Y Cryman,
an adaptation of the novel by Islwyn Ffowc Elis, for Theatr Genedlaethol Cymru, performances of which sold
out throughout Wales and which was also performed in London at the Bloomsbury Theatre. Sion’s numerous
translations for the stage include Woman of Flowers, a translation of Saunders Lewis’s Blodeuwedd, an Actors
Touring Company and Sherman Theatre Company co-production, and The Royal Bed, an English language
adaptation of Siwan by Saunders Lewis for BBC Radio 4 and in 2015 for Theatr Pena.
His film Leaving Lenin (co-scripted with the director Endaf Emlyn) won a BAFTA Cymru and a Writers’ Guild of
Great Britain Award and the Audience Prize at the London Film Festival. Another of his films, A Mind to Kill
(Yorkshire Television/S4C) has been sold to forty countries and was the basis of the popular television
detective series of the same name which starred the late Philip Madoc.
Early television credits include his innovative drama series, Bowen a’i Bartner (BBC Wales) and most recently
the acclaimed 2010 S4C drama series Pen Talar, which he co-wrote with Ed Thomas, and which was described
by the Western Mail as “comparable with the best that European TV has had to offer”.
Radio drama credits include Dyddiau Hope Street which was broadcast on BBC Radio Cymru in August 2008 to
mark Liverpool’s year as European City of Culture. He is also one of the regular storyliners and scriptwriters for
S4C’s continuing drama Pobol y Cwm.
In 2014 his stage play Garw, commissioned by Theatr Bara Caws, was performed at the National Eisteddfod in
Llanelli before touring Wales and in the 2015 Wales Theatre Awards won 4 awards including the Best
Playwright in the Welsh Language.
He is currently writing a new stage play, Yfory, a political drama commissioned by Theatr Bara Caws and which
will tour Wales in spring 2017.
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Cast
EIRY THOMAS
The Wizard GWYDION
A winner of two BAFTA Cymru Best Actress Awards (in 2002 for the BBC television drama, The Bench, and in
2010 for the film Cwcw) and winner of the 2015 Wales Theatre Awards Best Female Performance in the Welsh
language for her role in Garw (Theatr Bara Caws) and nominated for the 2016 Wales Theatre Awards Best
Female Performance in the English language for her role in The Royal Bed (Theatr Pena), Eiry has an extensive
list of acting credits.
Television includes lead roles in TV monologue Tic Toc and Con Passionate, Teulu, Pen Talar (S4C), Belonging
(BBC Wales) and Byw Celwydd (S4C) and guest roles in Hinterland, Stella, Eastenders, Hollyoaks, Torchwood,
Casualty, High Hopes, The Indian Doctor, Rillington Place, Ordinary Lies, Sherlock and Owen Sheers’ The Green
Hollow.
She is a regular contributor to BBC Radio Drama including Torchwood and most recently The Diary of Samuel
Pepys. She played a regular role in the long-running radio soap Station Road and in the comedy sketch show
The LL Files for BBC Radio Wales. She is also a regular narrator for radio programmes including Poems People
Love and has voiced various animations, documentaries, promos and commercials.
Her stage credits include productions for the Sherman Theatre Company, Sherman Cymru, Sgript Cymru,
Mappa Mundi, Theatr Cadair, National Theatre Wales and Theatr Bara Caws.
Eiry is a Theatr Pena Company Member. She played Amelia in The House of Bernarda Alba by Federico Garcia
Lorca (2009), Andromache in Brendan Kennelly’s The Trojan Women by Euripides (2010), Siwan in The Royal
Bed, Siôn Eirian’s English language adaptation of Siwan by Saunders Lewis (national tour 2015) and most
recently Laura in The Glass Menagerie by Tennessee Williams (national tour 2016).
For Pocket Pena she compiled and directed Mother Tongue, readings from the poetry, prose and plays of
Welsh women writers (2012).
Eiry trained at Rose Bruford.
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Cast
OLWEN REES
The Maid RHAGNELL
Olwen is an an immensely experienced actress and singer with a career spanning many years in theatre,
television and radio.
Her numerous screen credits include roles in Stafell Ddirgel, Y Rhandir Mwyn, Gwen Tomos, Pobol Y Cwm, Mae
gen i Gariad, Tipyn o Stad, Rownd a Rownd, Porthpenwaig, 35 Diwrnod (BBC Cymru, S4C); Tartuffe, Strife,
Sticky Wicket, Lloyd George, Dylan, Lifeboat, Jack of Hearts, My Family, Doctors (BBC); Fallen Hero (Granada);
Stella (Tidy Films/Sky); Rocket’s Island (Lime Pictures); Talk About Welsh (HTV); Omlet (Boomerang); Cwcw
(Fondu) Under Milk Wood (Timon Films).
Olwen is also a regular contributor to radio (Radio Cymru, Radio 4 and Radio Wales) and children’s television
having well over four hundred radio and television children’s programmes to her credit. She is also an
experienced voice-over artist and can be heard as the voice of Mamgu Bobinogs on CBEEBIES.
As well as two tours of America promoting Anglo Welsh Poetry and Song with Pryderi and His Pigs; a number
of UK tours with the cabaret Mr Moonlight starring her husband, the entertainer Johnny Tudor, and
appearances in pantomime with, amongst others, the late Stan Stennett, Olwen’s stage credits include
numerous productions with Cwmni Theatr Cymru, the Sherman Theatre Company, Theatr Bara Caws, Wales
Fargo Company/On the Edge, Gwalia, and most recently Royal Court Liverpool (Golden Oldies) and National
Theatre Wales (Before I Leave).
Olwen is a founder member of Theatr Pena and Chair of the Board of Directors. She was Maria Josefa and
Prudencia in The House of Bernarda Alba by Federico Garcia Lorca (2009), First Woman of the Chorus in
Brendan Kennelly’s The Trojan Women by Euripides (2010) and Solange in The Maids by Jean Genet (2012).
Pocket Pena appearances include Y Cryfaf & Gwyr, Dark Love and Deep Song, Mother Tongue, and Merched Yn
Bennaf (V1, V2, V3).
Olwen studied music and drama at Normal College, Bangor.
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Cast
KATHRYN DIMERY
The Goddess ARIANRHOD
Kath is an experienced stage actress whose numerous credits include roles in productions with Theatre Wales,
Sherman Theatre Company, Theatr Y Byd, Wales Fargo Company, Frank Vickery, Wales Theatre Company,
Mappa Mundi, Birmingham Rep, Ludlow Castle Open Air Theatre Festival, and Ian Dickens Productions.
Her many acclaimed and memorable performances include Gertrude in Hamlet, Lady Capulet in Romeo and
Juliet, Mrs Cratchit in A Christmas Carol (directed by Michael Bogdanov), Mme Volanges in Dangerous Liaisons
(directed by Lloyd Llewellyn Jones), Mrs Hardcastle in She Stoops to Conquer (directed by Peter Doran) and
Queen Elizabeth in Richard III (directed by Lynne Seymour). Her most recent stage appearance (2014) was in
the Wales Theatre Company’s critically acclaimed A Child’s Christmas in Wales (directed by Michael
Bogdanov).
Her screen credits include roles in Iechyd Da, Heliwr, Glan Hafren, Pobol y Cwm, Nadolig Llawen, Jara for S4C,
The Knock for ITV and The Story of Tracy Beaker for BBC and the films A Heap of Trouble and Relative Values.
Kath has also contributed to a number of productions for BBC Radio 4 Drama.
Kath is a Theatr Pena Company Member. She played Angustias in The House of Bernarda Alba by Federico
Garcia Lorca (2009) and Cassandra in Brendan Kennelly’s The Trojan Women by Euripides (2010).
For Pocket Pena she appeared in Dark Love and Deep Song (2012).
Kath trained at the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama.
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Cast
TOM MUMFORD
The Warrior LLEW
Tom Mumford is originally from Anglesey and moved to London at the age of 14 where he went on to study at
the drama school Rose Bruford College. After spending a number of years in London, Tom moved back to
Wales and based himself in Cardiff where he now works in theatre, television and voice over.
His theatrical credits include WISE (August012), Macbeth (NPT Theatres), Serious Money (Waking Exploits),
Siwan (Theatr Genedlaethol Cymru), Cinderella and Robinson Crusoe (The Owen Money Theatre Company),
Everwake (PlayArk), Pinocchio and Romeo and Juliet (Black Rat Productions), Rosencrantz and Guildenstern
are Dead (Welsh Fargo Stage Company) and A Wasp in Winter (Champion Productions).
Television credits include Gwaith Cartref for S4C, Torchwood for BBC Worldwide/Starz,"4c" for S4C and
Mountain View for BBC2 Wales.
Over the last year Tom has voiced campaigns for The Football Association of Wales, HSBC, Classic FM, Marie
Curie, Tesco and The Open University Wales.
Tom played the lead character Felix in the Iris produced film Spoilers released in 2016. In September 2016 it
was announced that Spoilers has been nominated for a BAFTA Cymru award.
This is Tom’s first appearance with Theatr Pena.
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Cast
ISABELLA MARSHALL
The Woman of Flowers BLODEUWEDD
Isabella trained at the Royal Welsh Collage of Music & Drama.
Theatre credits include: Ophelia in Hamlet, Diana in All’s Well That Ends (Shakespeare at the Tobacco
Factory); Ella in Cinderella: A Fairytale (Tobacco Factory / Travelling Light); Wendy in Peter Pan, Chris in
Dancing at Lughnasa, Kate in She Stoops to Conquer, Edna in An Inspector Calls, Eugene in Vincent in Brixton
(Theatre by the Lake); Sarah in Flowers of the Field (White Bear Theatre); A Merry Little Christmas, The Sun
Dragon, Before We Remember (Gomito Productions).
Television and film credits include: Grantchester (ITV); Piano from a 4th Story Window (Idle Films); Voices
(Broken Island Films).
Radio includes: The Real George Orwell (BBC Wales).
This is Isabella’s first appearance with Theatr Pena.
Th sixth character in Woman of Flowers is The Hunter GRONW, yet to be cast.
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Creative Team
ERICA EIRIAN
DIRECTOR
Erica trained at the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama and divides her time between directing, acting
and running Theatr Pena.
She is the Artistic Director of Theatr Pena and a founder member and a member of the Company’s Board of
Directors. She has directed all the company’s productions to date: The House of Bernarda Alba by Federico
Garcia Lorca (2009); Brendan Kennelly’s The Trojan Women by Euripides (2010), The Maids by Jean Genet
(2012) for which she was nominated for a Theatre Critics of Wales Award for Best Director, The Killing of Sister
George by Frank Marcus (2104), The Royal Bed, Siôn Eirian’s English language adaptation of Siwan by Saunders
Lewis (national tour 2015) and The Glass Menagerie by Tennessee Williams (national tour 2016).
She has an extensive list of acting credits having worked with many theatre companies in Wales including
Spectacle Theatre, Gwent Theatre, Outreach Theatre, Hijinx Theatre, Theatr Iolo, Made in Wales Stage
Company, Moving Being, Sherman Theatre Company, Mappa Mundi, Thin Language, Sgript Cymru, Clwyd
Theatr Cymru, Wales Theatre Company and over the border with the Birmingham Rep, English Shakespeare
Company, the Brewhouse Taunton and the Dukes Lancaster.
Erica has also contributed to a number of programmes and drama productions for BBC Radio 4, Radio 3, World
Service, Radio Wales and Radio Cymru.
Her television credits include a regular role in all three series of the popular, BBC comedy drama, The Indian
Doctor in which she played Sian Davies and guest roles in in episodes of Hafod Henri, Bowen a’i Bartner, The
Bench and Doctor Who for BBC Wales, Daniel Turner Ynte!, Glan Hafren, Nuts and Bolts for HTV Wales, Iechyd
Da for S4C, Coronation Street for Granada.
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Creative Team
PETER KNIGHT
COMPOSER
Cardiff-based composer Peter Knight studied musical composition at University College Cardiff under Alun
Hoddinott and was awarded the Hywel John Bevan Memorial Prize for composition in his final year. He
recently gained his second degree from the University studying with Lynne Plowman and Anthony Powers.
Peter is one of the founding members of the acclaimed Wales based theatre company Mappa Mundi and has
written original scores for all their productions to date spanning over two decades.
He has also written for film and provided a number of theme tunes and much incidental music for BBC Wales.
Peter’s first love is writing for the stage and he has composed music for such companies as Theatr Iolo,
Sherman Theatre, Clwyd Theatr Cymru, Hijinx Theatre, Caerphilly Youth Theatre and Everyman Open Air
Theatre Festival, National Museum of Wales St. Fagan’s.
Peter was the composer, musical director and musician for Theatr Pena’s spring 2016 national touring
production, The Glass Menagerie by Tennessee Williams.
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Creative Team
CAROLINE LAMB
MOVEMENT DIRECTOR
Caroline has a wealth of experience working for many years as a freelance choreographer, movement director
and performer. Trained at Dartington College of Arts, Devon as both a contemporary dancer and actor, her
work encompasses a wide variety of styles, but is in essence dramatic and theatrically based. It includes work
in dance, opera, theatre, television and film and has been seen throughout the UK, Canada, Australia and New
Zealand.
Caroline is artistic director of Striking Attitudes and choreographs work specifically for the older dancer. In
2014 her work Dear Miss Griffiths was shown at the prestigious Elixir Festival, Sadler’s Wells, London. She has
made two dance films - Remains To Be Seen 2008 - shown at Sadler’s Wells, London, the Laban International
Conference, London and Chapter Arts Centre, Cardiff, and Footfalls 2011 selected for the Festival of British
Cinema 2012 and the Elixir Festival at Sadler’s Wells, London 2014.
Her most recent opera choreography was Don Giovanni for Winslow Hall Opera in 2016. Welsh National Opera
choreography includes Falstaff, Orfeo et Euridice, Parsifal, La Favorita, La Traviata, Peter Grimes, Don
Giovanni, Mazepa, Il Seraglio and coaching for Salome. Other opera work includes Carmen – Vancouver Opera,
Canada, The Mikado for Carl Rosa Opera - the Barbican, London, Hackney Empire, London and touring, and A
Night At The Chinese Opera - British Youth Opera, London
Caroline has choreographed extensively for theatre from the Superted Panto touring nationally, the Miracle
Plays - St. David’s Hall, Cardiff for a cast of 200, to Peter Gill’s Small Change - Sherman Theatre, Cardiff, among
many others. In 2011 she made Passing Through - a co-production with Sheffield Theatres, Sheffield Museums
and Striking Attitudes celebrating the Crucible Theatre’s 40th birthday. She has also worked much for TV, most
recently Sky Atlantic’s Stella.
In 2016 she choreographed Theatre Pena’s spring 2016 national touring production, The Glass Menagerie by
Tennessee Williams.
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Creative Team
HOLLY McCARTHY
DESIGNER
Holly graduated from the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama in 2005 with a BA Hons in Theatre Design
and has since worked as a designer and maker of set, costume and puppetry.
She is a Theatr Pena Company Member and the Company’s resident designer and has designed all but one of
Theatr Pena’s productions to date: The House of Bernarda Alba by Federico Garcia Lorca (2009), Brendan
Kennelly’s The Trojan Women by Euripides (2010), The Killing of Sister George by Frank Marcus (2014) for
which she was nominated for a Wales Theatre Award for Best Design, The Royal Bed, Siôn Eirian’s English
language adaptation of Siwan by Saunders Lewis (national tour 2015) for which she won a Wales Theatre
Award for Best Design and/or Costume and The Glass Menagerie by Tennessee Williams (national tour 2016).
In 2011 she co-designed the British National Theatre Design Exhibition, Transformation and Revelation, which
transferred into the V&A museum in 2012.
Other credits include work for companies such as Bath Theatre Royal, Wales Theatre Company, Moving Being,
Theatr Iolo, Music Theatre Wales, Wales Millennium Centre, The Tobacco Factory, Hamburger Kammerspiele,
The Llanarth Group and the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama.
Holly has also worked in television in the Art Departments of Dr Who and Torchwood (BBC), Da Vinci's
Demons seasons 1-3 (for BBC Worldwide and Starz Television), as costume coordinator on The Bastard
Executioner (Imagine Entertainment, Fox 21 Television Studios) and is currently working on Will (Ninth Floor
UK Production Limited).
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Creative Team
KAY HAYNES
LIGHTING DESIGNER
Kay graduated from Derby University in 1995 with a 2:1 BA Hons in Theatre, Film and Television Studies.
She is a Theatr Pena Company Member and the Company’s resident lighting designer and has designed the
lighting for all but one of Theatr Pena’s productions to date: The House of Bernarda Alba by Federico Garcia
Lorca (2009), Brendan Kennelly’s The Trojan Women by Euripides (2010), The Maids (2012), The Royal Bed,
Siôn Eirian’s English language adaptation of Siwan by Saunders Lewis (national tour 2015) and The Glass
Menagerie by Tennessee Williams (national tour 2016).
Kay is currently the Head of Lighting at the Liverpool Everyman & Playhouse Theatres. Previous to this she was
employed at the Royal Exchange Theatre in Manchester for 9 years.
Lighting design credits include: The Family Way (Bolton Octagon); The Mermaid in the Gherkin Jar (Northern
Rose Theatre Company); Cartoonopolis (Liverpool Everyman & Playhouse Theatre); Brilliant Adventures, Three
Birds, Black Roses, My Young and Foolish Heart, Cracks In My Skin, Strawgirl, The Adoption Papers, Single Sex,
Galka Motalka, The Baby and Flypie, Pub and Making An Exhibition Of Ourselves (Manchester Royal
Exchange); The Art of Success, The Trojan Women, Sanatorium Under the Sign of the Hourglass, Unity: 1918
(Manchester Metropolitan University); Beyond the Score – Dvorak Symphony No.9, Young Person’s Guide to
the Orchestra, The Last Train Of Tomorrow (Halle Orchestra); Seven Deadly Sins (Feelgood Theatre and Halle
Orchestra); Project XXX (Laid Bare); Pages From My Songbook (The Alligator Club); Epstein - The Man Who
Made The Beatles (Jen Heyes Productions); Mother F (Articulate Elbow); Spinach (Waters Productions); Plain
Jane (Cheap Seats); Thrasher (Conor McKee Productions).
Future designs include: Shakespeare, his Wife and the Dog for Bated Breath.
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Creative Team
CERI JAMES
CREATIVE PRODUCER
Ceri graduated from the Welsh College of Music and Drama and worked and studied at the University of
Southern California.
He returned in 1992 to join the Cardiff Festival team and helped create Cardiff’s Big Weekend Music Festival
and International Street Festival.
In 1994 he co-founded Mappa Mundi Theatre Company, for whom he has designed and produced over 30
productions.
In 1999 Ceri returned to Cardiff Events to production manage large scale city wide events for the Millennium
Celebrations and Rugby World Cup.
He has worked as a producer for Theatr na n’Og and as production manager for National Theatre Wales,
Theatr Genedlaethol, Hijinx Theatre, Unity Festival, National Youth Theatre Wales, Music Theatre Wales, Torch
Theatre and Taliesin Theatre.
He is a visiting lecturer at the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama and a Theatre Consultant for
Newbridge Memo restoration project.
Alongside his production and producing career, Ceri has continued his career as a freelance Lighting Designer,
working for many companies in Wales and the UK, including over 20 productions for the Sherman Theatre
Company, also for Theatre Centre, Dalier Sylw, Theatr Clwyd, Wales Theatr Company, Theatr na n’Og,
Salisbury Playhouse, Unicorn Theatre, Haymarket Theatre Leicester, The Royal Derngate Northampton, New
Theatre Stoke, Theatr Bara Caws and Wales Theatre Company.
Recent engagements include: Lighting Designer for A Christmas Carol (Foundation Haydn Orchestra of Bolzano
and Trento Italy); Simplicius Simplicissimus (Independent Opera Lilian Baylis Studio, Sadler’s Wells) A Christmas
Carol (Welsh National Opera); Woman in Black and Brief Encounter (Torch Theatre Company); Roald Dahl City
of the Unexpected (National Theatre Wales) Merch yr Eog and Rhith Gân (Theatr Genedlaethol); Hunting of the
Snark (Sherman Theatre Company/RGM Productions); Belonging (Re-Live); Meet Fred (Hijinx Theatre); Still Life
(Mappa Mundi ); Rosie's War (Theatr na n'Og); NSFW (Waking Exploits); Tides (Catrin Finch concert tour);
Beneath the Streets (Punch Drunk/Hijinx Theatre); Gladiator (Chainworks Productions); The Sea / Innocent and
Trojan Barbie (Trinity College); Visual Designer for 22 Strings (Sekou Keita concert tour).
Ceri joined Theatr Pena in 2014 as producer.
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Plot Summary
There’s a new conflict brewing between two mythical Celtic gods – the vindictive shape-shifting wizard
Gwydion and his estranged sister, the moon goddess Arianrhod.
Arianrhod fears that some great tragedy is going to unfold now that Gwydion has conjured from flowers a wife
for the warrior prince Llew, the bastard son she disowned and who she decreed would never have a name,
never have his own weapons and never have a wife born of humankind. With the creation of the perfect and
seemingly flawless Blodeuwedd, Gwydion has now undone all these fates.
Llew dotes on his wife but confides in Gwydion that he fears she can never understand the conventions of
ordered society, give him the heir that he craves and can never fully belong to him.
Accompanied by Gwydion, Llew departs on for his Uncle’s court, leaving Blodeuwedd alone but for her maid
Rhagnell.
Shortly after Llew leaves, a young hunter arrives at Llew’s fort. Gronw and Blodeuwedd fall instantly in love
and they spend the three days of Llew’s absence making love and indulging their senses. The two conspire to
be rid of Llew and Gronw vows to help Blodeuwedd murder her husband. But Llew can only die in a certain
way and only he knows how.
When Llew returns Blodeuwedd tricks him into revealing his secret. He tells her that as he cannot be killed by
any weapon lawfully made, during the day or night, nor indoors or outdoors, neither riding nor walking, or
with a foot upon the ground. He can only be killed at dusk when standing on a water trough that is set beside
a river with a poisoned spear fashioned over a year of Sundays.
A year later the deed is done and Gronw claims Llew’s land with Blodeuwedd as his eager accomplice.
Gwydion finds the dying Llew and slowly nurtures him back to life. The two return to seek their revenge on
Gronw and Blodeuwedd. By now Gronw has grown tired of Blodeuwedd’s passions and seems ready to
embrace death as a form of redemption. Blodeuwedd’s maid Rhagnell kills herself rather than be forced to
flee her home. Gronw is savagely executed by Gwydion, and Blodeuwedd is punished by being turned into an
owl, a bird condemned to live in darkness and shunned by other creatures.
But Blodeuwedd finds her way to the hermit goddess Arianrhod, and together these two outcast women
suggest hope for a different future.
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Mabinogi
The Mabinogi is the earliest prose literature in Britain and is generally agreed to be a single work in four parts,
or "Branches”.
Each Branch contains several tale episodes in sequence and is titled with the name of a leading protagonist Pwyll, Branwen, Manawydan and Math. The tales explore political, ethical and gendered themes, as well as
imaginative fantasies.
The world displayed within the Mabinogi extends across Wales, to Ireland, and into England. It presents a
legendary Britain as a united land under a king, yet with powerful separate princedoms, where native Welsh
law, hud (magic), and romance, combine in a unique synergy.
Blodeuwedd is a central figure in the fourth and most complex Branch of the Mabinogi:
Math Son of Mathonwy is a dark sequence of deception and treachery, war, the double rape of a virgin girl,
the rejection of an unwanted son by his mother, a magician, a synthetic woman, lust, murder, revenge and
retribution.
Blodeuwedd by Saunders Lewis
Saunders Lewis wrote the first two acts of Blodeuwedd in the 1920s but it wasn’t until 1948 that he was
persuaded by John Morris Jones, director of the Garthewin Players, to complete his great verse drama based
on the myth of the woman made of flowers.
First performed in Garthewin Theatre on the Clwyd estate of his friend and landowner R.O.F. Wynne on 15 th
October 1948, Blodeuwedd is held by many to be Saunders Lewis’s finest play and has been a staple of Welsh
theatre ever since.
Saunders Lewis was born on 15th October, 1893 in Wallasey, Wirral to a family of prominent Welsh Calvinistic
Methodists. He died on 1st September 1985 at the age of 91 in Cardiff. A controversial figure, he is
remembered as a poet, dramatist, historian, literary critic, one of the founders of Plaid Cymru in 1925 and its
president from 1926-39 and is acknowledged as one of the most prominent figures in 20 th century Welshlanguage literature. In 1970 he was nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature.
His literary output was varied and prodigious but his two novels, two collections of poems and numerous
articles and essays in various newspapers, magazines and journals are dominated by his 22 plays. He excelled
in the genre of drama, in particular the difficult craft of verse drama, and is the only significant Welsh
playwright in the classical tradition. Blodeuwedd and his later play Siwan (1954) are held by many to be the
greatest plays ever written in the Welsh language.
17
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TheatrPena15
Theatr Pena
Theatr Pena was established in 2008 out of a desire to celebrate text, to create opportunities for women in
theatre and to create opportunities for audiences in Wales to see plays they might not otherwise have an
opportunity to see. Our mission is to make literary theatre a vibrant part of 21st Century theatre in Wales and
to create unique and meaningful theatre experiences for our audiences.
Since 2009 we have staged 6 successful productions, including 2 national tours, which have seen "many of
Wales' finest female actors" give their most memorable and accomplished performances in productions of the
highest quality and ambition.
2016: The Glass Menagerie by Tennessee Williams
National Tour, 11th February to 18th March
Co-production with The Riverfront, supported by the Arts Council of Wales
"Tender, revealing, superbly acted, nuanced. The Glass Menagerie is top class work from Theatr Pena. Art that
hurts and tells truths."
Jon Gower, former BBC Wales arts and media correspondent, author, producer, presenter.
“The Glass Menagerie is the latest drama to be given the Theatr Pena treatment. A triumph in
characterisation, light, pace and delivery, it began its tour across Wales with a three night stint at Newport
Riverfront on Thursday evening, drawing the audience in from the offset and raising the seemingly
unsurpassable bar even further from last year’s production of The Royal Bed.”
Andy Howells, Review Entertainment South Wales
"This is a painfully sad but beautifully written play, and Theatr Pena's delicately nuanced production more than
does it justice. Highly recommended."
Othniel Smith, British Theatre Guide
“A sparkling addition to Theatr Pena’s diverse work and a reminder of the power of live performance to
uniquely affect us.”
Mike Smith, Arts Scene in Wales
“A fine addition to Theatr Pena’s portfolio.”
Eryl Crump, Daily Post
“Theatr Pena’s beautiful and very moving production of Tennessee Williams’s Glass Menagerie a fine and
fulfilling experience.”
Michael Kelligan, Theatre in Wales
“Erica Eirian and her talented team have done a fantastic job of presenting this popular text in a modern and
moving way, its themes of love, loss and faded dreams powerfully resonating with the audience.”
Laura Emily-Dunn, Political Style
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TheatrPena15
Theatr Pena
2015: The Royal Bed by Siôn Eirian, English language adaptation of Siwan by Saunders Lewis
National Tour, 11th February to 28th March
Co-production with The Riverfront in association with the Torch Theatre
Supported by the Arts Council of Wales
Holly McCarthy Winner of Best Designer Wales Theatre Awards 2016
Eiry Thomas nominated for Best Female Performance in the English Language, Wales Theatre Awards 2016
“Skilfully crafted production by Theatr Pena.”
Eryl Crump, Daily Post
“May this have been the first of many successful tours for Theatr Pena.”
Andy Howells, South Wales Argus
“This skillfully crafted production is a rare treat: an intimate drama that stands on its own feet irrespective of
the historical context and a stimulating and enjoyable piece of living theatre.”
Mike Smith, Wales Online/Western Mail
“Another crowning success for Theatr Pena.”
“Sumptuous and full-spirited Saunders Lewis revival.”
Adam Somerset, Theatre in Wales
"Really enjoyable production from Theatr Pena, great performances, writing and design."
Karen Price, Arts Editor, Wales Online
"Astounding ensemble production of The Royal Bed."
Terry Dyddgen Jones, Television Drama Director
"Emotional, real and intelligent!!!"
Siwan Jones, Writer
"What a brilliant translation, movingly and powerfully acted and staged.”
Professor Elan Closs Stephens, BBC National Trustee for Wales
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TheatrPena15
Theatr Pena
2014: The Killing of Sister George by Frank Marcus
The Riverfront Studio, Newport
Torch Studio, Milford Haven
Galeri, Caernarfon
Holly McCarthy nominated for Best Designer, Wales Theatre Awards 2015
“60s drama performed with 21st century edge.”
Andy Howells, South Wales Argus
“An intelligent and thoughtful production that gets to the real heart of this tragedy without sacrificing what is
a gloriously entertaining and still shocking black comedy. In the hands of director Erica Eirian, the play rises
above the sensationalism that has always surrounded it. Features some towering performances.”
Mike Smith, Western Mail
“Erica Eirian’s production moves along at a good pace, accompanied by an evocative soundtrack of sixties
torch-songs. Holly McCarthy’s set and costume design is rich in well-observed period detail”
Phil Morris, Wales Arts Review
“Killingly good.”
2012: The Maids by Jean Genet
Torch Studio, Milford Haven
Erica Eirian nominated for Best Director, Theatre Critics of Wales Awards 2013
"A powerful production of Genet's existential play."
"Theatr Pena delivers an original and atmospheric adaptation of Genet's chilling tale."
Amanda Griffiths, Theatre in Wales
"The Maids makes for an eerie, unsettling evening which makes it true to its author."
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TheatrPena15
Theatr Pena
2010: Brendan Kennelly's The Trojan Women by Euripides
"Such is the professionalism, maybe bloody-mindedness, of this ensemble they made a damn good fist of The
Trojan Women and on the basis of last year's exceptional The House of Bernarda Alba, and much of the acting
on show here, Erica Eirian can surely direct."
Chris Paul, Theatre in Wales
"The Company rendered a poetic and tragic interpretation of an excellent script performed with a remarkably
high degree of skill."
Peter Owen Williams, The Raconteur
"The company mount productions of the highest quality and ambition. Brendan Kennelly's The Trojan Women
by Euripides, which we saw at The Riverfront, Newport, was one of our most memorable nights in any theatre.
The production and acting were world class."
William Wilkins CBE, Artist
2009: The House of Bernarda Alba by Federico Garcia Lorca
"A remarkable interpretation by Theatr Pena under Erica Eirian. The sheer intensity and sustained
claustrophobic atmosphere made this a draining and stimulating night of high drama imbued with a sense of
total commitment from the company. A display of assured, accomplished acting from some of the best in the
trade."
David Adams, Western Mail
"This superbly crafted script is given legs by the strong Welsh cast. This is challenging and rewarding theatre played with professionalism, commitment and quality. The extended run at the Riverfront is well deserved."
Chris Paul, Theatre in Wales
"Erica Eirian's well judged, precise directing captures all the dryness of the earth that surrounds the tearing
suppression of these five young, yearning women, providing us with an evening of great theatre."
"The House of Bernarda Alba at The Riverfront, Newport was for me one of the most exciting ensemble
theatrical events that I have seen in a very long time. Theatr Pena's work has weight, dignity and an integrity
rarely seen in such a new company."
Terry Dyddgen Jones, Television Drama Director
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TheatrPena15
Company Information
Company Members (who own the Company)
Ian Buchanan (Production and Tour Manager)
Llinos Daniel
Kathryn Dimery
Erica Eirian (Artistic Director)
Kay Haynes (Lighting Designer)
Buddug Verona James
Betsan Llwyd
Holly McCarthy (Designer)
Lisabeth Miles
Hannah O’Leary
Christine Pritchard
Olwen Rees
Chris Ryde
Rosamund Shelley
Clêr Stephens
Eiry Thomas
Board of Directors (who manage the Company)
Erica Eirian (Company Secretary)
Betsan Llwyd
Hannah O’Leary
Christine Pritchard
Olwen Rees (Chair)
Chris Ryde
Rosamund Shelley
Adviser to Board
Emma Goad
Artistic Director (who runs the Company)
Erica Eirian
Producer (annual production and related projects)
Ceri James
Marketing Officer (annual production and related projects)
Megan Merrett
Theatr Pena is a member of ITC (Independent Theatre Council) and operates ITC/Equity contracts. We are
dedicated to achieving the highest standards in all areas of our work and consistently strive to exceed
expectations. Mutual respect and ethical behaviour is the basis of our relationship with our colleagues and
with our audiences and fair, honest, open and socially responsible practice is the hallmark of our Company.
FOR MORE INFORMATION www.theatrpena.co.uk
THEATR PENA is a Company Limited by Guarantee
Registered in Wales 7664025, Registered Office: 19 Boverton Street, Cardiff CF23 5ES
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Venues Information Pack HERE

Transcription

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