one to watch 2010
ALL THE
WORLD’S
A STAGE
An English language National Theatre for Wales is long overdue, but nobody could
have predicted the form it will take in 2010. Ben Bryant takes a look at one of Wales’
most exciting artistic endeavours in years
W
hen Shakespeare’s plays were first Jon, 47, was brought in to approach the concept The breadth of ideas that has been extracted from
shown at The Globe Theatre in of a National Theatre for Wales in February 2008. this approach is impressive. The productions span
London four centuries ago, it was A former theatre director based in Manchester, he the geography of Wales, from the coasts to the
more than just a theatre: it was the and his team spent months trying to work out how Brecon Beacons. There are conventional theatri-
centre of a community. It was a place where people to approach the idea of national theatre. Eventually cal pieces, but there are others where large sites
came to be entertained, certainly, but it was also they decided to throw the rulebook out the window are adopted as a stage, or where the boundaries
a place to escape the frustrations of everyday life, entirely and create a theatre with no home. The between audience and performer are dissolved.
where a fleeting sense of anarchy could be felt, result, loosely based around the National Theatre One such production is Mike Pearson’s reworking
where fantasies of love and anger and fear and hope Of Scotland, is National Theatre Wales, a bold at- of The Persians, the oldest surviving play in the
were played out in front of all walks of life. It was tempt to map Wales theatrically through 13 monthly history of theatre, which is scheduled for August
a hugely influential symbol of nation – so much so, performances spread all over the nation, starting in 2010. The setting is a village in the Brecon Beacons
in fact, that when the old bard staged a production March 2010. belonging to the army where special forces soldiers
of the subversive play Richard II on the eve of the National Theatre Wales became the first national are trained to ‘clear’ insurgents, and audiences will
Essex rebellion he was accused of involvement in cultural organisation to launch online, and has built be taken there by convoy. “I want the audience to
the conspiracy to kill Queen Elizabeth. up a vast community of members “If you didn’t have have that experience that I first had walking onto
When National Theatre Wales launched last month, walls, you need to replace that with a different kind the site,” says Mike. “I want to resist the temptation
it had no Globe. As a matter of fact, it had no of community,” says John. “Web 2.0 isn’t just about to overdress it, because it is so extraordinary. This is
theatre at all. It launched out of a modest office giving out information. It’s about sharing stuff – a a very big part of Wales, but we go around the edges,
in Castle Arcade in Cardiff, although it would be place where people can gather & share ideas.” so people can actually go onto the range itself and
inaccurate to describe this as its home. Its stage In fact, it might be said that National Theatre Wales’ experience a kind of landscape which under normal
was constructed in a flurry of HTML coding, and its true home is the internet, where its community of circumstances you wouldn’t see.”
opening was watched online by hundreds of people members have been feeding ideas in from the start. At the end of Shakespeare’s The Tempest, Prospero’s
from across the world. It’s safe to say that Jon Mc- Behind screens hundreds of miles apart, these epilogue describes the ‘baseless fabric’ of the
Grath, artistic director for National Theatre Wales, people have been mapping out the future of national theatre, actors and all, dissolving into thin air. It’s
is one man who takes Shakespeare’s most famous theatre for Wales. John’s part is to adjudicate and tempting to see this epilogue as the starting point
soundbite ‘All the world’s a stage’ a very seriously judge: “I respond to the wisdom of the masses and for National Theatre Wales, whose launch last
indeed: “When you think about national theatre, it the expertise of the individual,” he says. “I will do month will hopefully mark the start of a series of
sounds grand,” he says. “But actually it’s theatre for my job better because I will be responding to the groundbreaking productions.
the nation. So really we’re about building to com- wisdom of the masses. My expertise is to think
municate and listen to everybody.” about how it will actually work.” Info:
www.nationaltheatrewales.org
BUZZ 14
december2009.indd 14 27/11/09 17:29:01
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