One Country: Two National Theatres

A new chapter in Welsh theatre has begun with National Theatre Wales’s first production: A Good Night Out in the Valleys. Now at long last, Wales has both an English language and a Welsh language national theatre company.

Having been to see just over half of the productions of Theatr Genedlaethol Cymru, I must admit that National Theatre Wales’s first year programme seems much more exciting than that which has been on offer by the Welsh language company. Of the thirteen English language productions which will be staged in the next year the vast majority are completely new works, and many see National Theatre Wales (NTW) working in collaboration with other theatre practitioners such as Welsh National Opera, Volcano Theatre and NoFit State Circus. There are only two plays which have not been written especially for NTW, a newly discovered early work by John Osborne, and a widely anticipated new production of The Persians. This is in stark contrast to Theatr Genedlaethol Cymru (ThGC), which chose a production of Romeo and Juliet as their second production, and have staged no fewer than nine plays which fit into the “classics” be that a Welsh language classic or a Welsh translation of an English or European classic.

This is not to say that there is no place for the classics in the repertoire of a national theatre company, however such a company should be at the forefront of new writing, and pushing forward new ideas, inventive, fresh productions, and challenging its audience, rather than merely regurgitating a series of classics.

Both companies decided on relatively safe productions for their first shows: NTW chose to begin with A Good Night Out in the Valleys, whilst ThGC began with Yn Debyg Iawn i Ti a Fi. A Good Night Out in the Valleys was a success because it was very much a play about the Valleys, and for the people of the Valleys, but did not descend into clichés of male voice choirs, rugby and coal pits. Rather it was a warts and all picture of a tight-knit Valleys community, with its inhabitants weaknesses on show, just as much as their strengths. It may not have been the most mentally taxing piece of drama ever written, but it did prove beyond all doubt that the theatre can be a good night out, and re-iterated a point that is too easily forgotten: that drama should entertain and amuse the audience, rather than preach and patronise.

Yn Debyg Iawn i Ti a Fi was a production of a play by Meic Povey previously performed by Theatr Bara Caws, and it was disappointing that the company had not decided to begin with a new, fresh piece of work. Furthermore, the play itself failed to convince in its portrayal of a man suffering from schizophrenia, with some extremely strange pieces of theatre such as the cooking of bacon on stage, and the relentless opening and closing of the oven door, which added nothing to the narrative and did nothing to heighten the dramatic tension. The performance I saw was not helped by a member of the audience falling ill and requiring an ambulance a couple of lines from the end of the production, destroying any tension and suspense that had been built, and forcing the cast to return to the stage to finish an insipid performance.

NTW’s first year programme, and especially so the lack of productions of the classics, or even the modern classics shows a self-confidence in the company’s output that has been missing from ThGC. This might be in part due to the fact that NTW has been able to learn from the mistakes of ThGC, but more importantly there is a feeling that NTW has more faith in its audience. That is, generally speaking Welsh language theatre caters for a rather narrow clique, that knows what it likes, and is not challenged or pushed by ThGC’s provision. The dramas produced uphold the status quo, and nurse the conscience of the Welsh middle class, rather than take them by the scruff of the neck and make them see their lives, communities, country and their position differently, and through the viewpoints completely estranged from their own. On the other hand, NTW seem to be trying to reach out, not only to those that do regularly attend the theatre, but also those that might not feel an affinity with traditional theatre. To this end, they have decided on a very varied programme, as well as using location very effectively to try and engage people by producing plays with a relevance to those particular communities.

With NTW performing a different play in a different location for the next twelve months, and ThGC currently advertising for a new Artistic Director, undeniably this coming year is going to be an exciting time for both Welsh language and English language theatre in Wales.