reviews and press
A Midsummer Night’s Dream
Taliesin Arts Centre
January 2012
YOUNGSTERS will revel in one of Shakespeare’s most magical tales at Swansea’s Taliesin Arts Centre from tomorrow.
West Glamorgan Youth Theatre Company has gathered up young drama enthusiasts from schools throughout Swansea and Neath Port Talbot for the production, which sees lovers get lost in the forest and stumble across a secret world of mystery and magic.
West Glamorgan Youth Theatre students warm up for a Midsummer Night’s Dream.
The show’s director Vivienne Buckley says this is some of the performers’ first chance to get to grips with Shakespeare, and it has been wonderful to see them grow to understand and to enjoy the text and the performance.
“Yes, this is the first time some of them have experienced Shakespeare.
“And it is lovely to see them move from that stage where it might seem like gobbledygook on the page to the point where they are acting with each other and really understanding and enjoying the text, and where it feels like natural language to them.”
This production is set in Edwardian times with the transition between the “normal” world and the fantasy world taking on an Alice In Wonderland feel, with the actors passing through Wonderland- style doors, to emerge into a fantasy world, peopled by off-the-wall characters.
Vivienne says the company is going through uncertain times at the moment, but demand from students for hands-on experience in the theatre is riding high.
“Things are difficult because we have lost all of the funding we used to get from Swansea council, but the enthusiasm for what we do is stronger than ever. “We had 90 people auditioning for 20 places on this course, so we hope to continue to draw audiences and to provide high quality training in the theatre for young people.”
YOUNGSTERS will revel in one of Shakespeare’s most magical tales at Swansea’s Taliesin Arts Centre from tomorrow.
West Glamorgan Youth Theatre Company has gathered up young drama enthusiasts from schools throughout Swansea and Neath Port Talbot for the production, which sees lovers get lost in the forest and stumble across a secret world of mystery and magic.
The show’s director Vivienne Buckley says this is some of the performers’ first chance to get to grips with Shakespeare and it has been wonderful to see them grow to understand and to enjoy the text and the performance.
“Yes, this is the first time some of them have experienced Shakespeare.
“It is lovely to see them move from that stage where it might seem like gobbledygook on the page to the point where they are acting with each other and really understanding and enjoying the text and where it feels like natural language to them.”
This production is set in Edwardian times with the transition between the “normal” world and the fantasy world taking on an Alice In Wonderland feel.
Way to Heaven
Taliesin Arts Centre
July 2011
“This powerful production reaches artistic standards superior even to many professional companies.
Although in recent months the West Glamorgan Youth Theatre has had some of its funding pulled, its creative standards have certainly not dropped.
One now earnestly hopes that the company, which has reached national and international prominence, can somehow continue – especially as the aim of West Glamorgan Youth Theatre is not merely to entertain.
Each production is the culmination of an educational course. During the course they explore some serious issues. This time round, they learned about the horrors of the Holocaust. The students visited Berlin to conduct research for their latest production, Way To Heaven.
It features a Red Cross representative visiting a concentration camp in Germany in 1942 is faced with a model town – children playing, lovers discussing their future on a bench, a balloon-seller even. But is all as it seems?
And even if he suspects otherwise, how can he report anything amiss when there is no evidence to support his fears?
The opening monologue, which gripped the audience for all of its 26 minutes, was superbly spoken by Oliver Ferriman with commendable clarity and timing. Their vital educational research clearly profoundly influenced the quality of the production.
This was the clearest possible example of the crucial yet widely unrecognised educational power of drama to bring home to us in deeply personal, emotive terms what a situation amounts to – education at its best.
The atmospheric setting evoked a sense of foreboding and half-life, to which imaginative use of lighting contributed poignantly, as did the video film made in Berlin.
Directors Vivienne Buckley and Matt Rees created a powerfully inventive production. The first performance of the play in Wales, it is extraordinary that such a fine work is little known generally.
Other excellent performances were by Rhys Jones as Commandant, and Johnny Gibbon as Jewish leader. The rest of the cast movingly captured the inmates’ deadened lives, devoid of any hope and individuality.
A further outstanding production”.
David Best
Western Mail
Richard III
Twyn yr Hydd
July 2011
The black louring skies over Margam Park, and the hellish fires of Port Talbot beyond created an appropriately threatening backcloth for the promenade performance of Richard III by wgytc. Richard unleashed his devastating evil upon England in a transfixing performance by Rhys Warrington, who, with steely, calculating ruthlessness, oiled with flattering charm, led us through a bloody history of abused power and murderous ambition.
The threat of tyranny has been the focus of the Youth Company’s present productions and, in Richard III, it was explored in the rise of fascism under the influence of Oswald Mosley.
Any open air production imposes challenging demands on actors, but importantly also on the production team, who demonstrated exceptional professional accomplishment. Timing and pace were skillfully maintained so that the audience’s attention remained riveted in spite of moving between imaginative locations.
Of course the sheer professionalism of the acting was the main engrossing factor. Beside the tour de force by Rhys Warrington, there were excellent performances by the Lords of the Court. The women of the Court, who have had husbands, sons, brothers, and fathers murdered by Richard, have, in some ways, much more demanding roles. Their situations have to be conveyed purely by their speeches, often quite complex, rather than in action. They expressed their grief with quiet dignity, and despite their despair and powerlessness, had more courage that Richard’s lords, to express comtempt and accusation.
It is a mark of the skill and professionalism of the Company and directors Matthew Bulgo and Godfrey Evans that, despite the difficulities of the open air, the Shakespearean speech was delivered clearly and flowingly, and each character carried a convincing presence and authenticity.
Again this ambitious production revealed the enviable high standard of professional insight which we have come to expect of wgytc.
David Best
Toad of Toad Hall
Dylan Thomas Theatre
February 2011
“The imaginative, luminous stage set of rippling water and reeds, and ingenious holes of riverbank inhabitants magically transported the audience into the gentle world of riverside creatures for an engaging performance.
This stage adaptation involved a gentle humanisation of the wild creatures which was ably captured by the actors and by the nostalgic costumes of countrified gentility.
The main characters superbly captured Milne’s conception. But the softening of the animals’ characters makes greater demands upon the director to achieve some contrasting piquancy and robustness, particularly to suggest the nastier character of the stoats and weasels of the Wild Woods.
This was sparklingly achieved by the energetic ensemble scenes, brilliantly choreographed and sung, with imaginative music by John Quirk. Indeed all the large ensemble scenes showed the company working at their best with disciplined vitality and professionalism, and were a tribute to the dedication of these young people and their production team.
This was an excellent production, even more remarkable because of its short rehearsal period”.
David Best
South Wales Evening Post
“This was an excellent performance, which is particularly encouraging because the performers were so young and mostly new to performing.
They perfectly conjured up the spirit of the original Wind in the Willows, and even the post-Victorian age in which it was written and first performed.
The timing and choreography were precise and imaginative; challenging in view of the large cast.
The set evoked the ethos of bygone days, and ingeniously allowed for intriguing entrances and exits of the chimerical creatures.
The hauntingly original music by John Quirk complemented this..The imaginative design by Hilary Statts set a magical context to the whimsical world of these fantasy animals. Such eloquent flair is a tribute to all involved, especially directors, Matthew Rees and Matthew Bulgo, themselves former actors of the WGYTC.
It would be invidious to select any individual performance, in view of the uniformly high standard of acting, costume, lighting, stage management and other supporting roles.
The only weakness was that sometimes one could not hear the words clearly – hardly surprising given the inexperience of these remarkable youngsters.
But this was a fine performance and augurs well for their continued success. I hope that people living in the area, and especially the funding authorities, are fully aware of what a unique treasure we have in the WGYTC – it has achieved outstanding national and international repute, and has visited South Africa to help children in deprived areas.
As a keen theatre-goer, I have seen youth theatre companies in many countries, but never one to equal this company.
Many who have gained from the unique way in which it is conducted, are now in leading West End companies and the Royal Shakespeare Company.
Despite current financial stringencies, I urge the City and County of Swansea, and the County Borough of Neath Port Talbot to continue their enlightened support for this flagship company.
Many more youngsters should have the opportunity to benefit from the unique experience it offers”.
David Best
Western Mail
I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change
Taliesin Arts Centre
July 2010
“Love and laughter wait just around the corner in Glamorgan Youth Theatre’s new show, at Taliesin Arts Centre.
Perhaps a more familiar exposé of love than most couples would be willing to admit, the snappy and sassy I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change will be performed by a cast of young performers from Glamorgan Youth Theatre’s summer course.
Primed and confident after their recent success performing Billy Elliot for its original producers in London’s West End, the company is all set to perform the smart and funny Broadway musical.The piece is a witty take on the trials and tribulations that are part and parcel of relationships, and will strike a chord with everyone who has ever endured an awkward first date or had cause to think men and women really are from different planets.
Vivienne Buckley, artistic director at West Glamorgan Youth Theatre Company, said she had chosen the show as a challenge and a training ground for students to go professional, as well as a chance to portray different characters in a series of funny and recognisable comedy sketches.One scene paints the picture of an ordinary family setting off on their holidays in a car together. The people quickly turn to arguing with each other, with familiar consequences.She says: “Every person had a story about an in-car experience to recount at rehearsals, and students could easily recognise and engage with the ups and downs of love and life expressed in the production.
The young performers, accompanied by a small orchestral trio, will perform this piece, as well as a separate show at Margam Park, of the more weighty The Women of Troy, and Hotspur, an original take on Henry IV”.
Graham Williams
South Wales Evening Post
Women of Troy/Hotspur
Margam Castle
July 2010
“What a challenge for the WGYTC — two plays, in one evening, spanning 2,000 years!
The Women of Troy, an Ancient Greek Tragedy, written about 415 BC, by Euripides, was performed in an open field. This placed the emphasis on the actors, whose convincing performances were led by Catrin Sheridan as a powerfully moving Queen Hecube.The scene of these tragic consequences of war was set by the God Poseidon, played with commanding authority, by Tom Myles.
Yet another triumphant performance by this distinguished company. The second play was a collage involving the brilliant Hotspur from Shakespeare’sHenry IV published in 1600 AD. This was a very imaginative initiative, since Hotspur, one of the most charismatic and fascinating Shakespearean characters, is generally overlooked. As usual, the general level of performance was very good, but it was dominated by the outstanding acting of Taylor Davies in the title role. I can, without exaggeration, say that his was the most convincing, dynamic performance of Hotspur I have witnessed.
West Glamorgan Youth Theatre Company’s reputation for high quality productions of a professional standard is well established, and if by its very nature it loses some of its better performers who invariably move on to pastures new, then it also benefits from an influx of newer faces who rapidly establish their place within the company”.
David Best
Billy Elliot Youth Theatre
Taliesin Arts Centre/ Birmingham Repertory Theatre/Victoria Palace Theatre
March/June/July 2010
“Young performers have been treading the boards in the West End.
West Glamorgan Youth Theatre Company was one of 115 groups across the UK given permission to perform a version of Billy Elliot the Musical to mark five years of the production in the West End.
The group put on its performance at the Taliesin Theatre in March, and was one of just 15 productions selected and invited to perform excerpts at the Billy Youth Theatre West End Gala at the Victoria Palace Theatre, in London, last weekend.
Ruth Williams, part of the group’s artistic directorate, said: “It was a fantastic experience for everyone.
“Each different group performed its own excerpt, making up a whole performance.
“They all met for the first time on Saturday morning, and the performance was on Sunday evening. The theatre was full to capacity. The performers loved it — you can’t buy an experience like that,” she added”.
South Wales Evening Post
“Recently back from the West End, the young members of the West Glamorgan Youth Theatre Company are still buzzing from their success there.
They performed Billy Elliot in front of the show’s original producers in the Victoria Palace Theatre, London, alongside other young theatre groups made up of students from across Britain.
Artistic Director Vivienne Buckley said: ”It was an amazing experience for young people to get a sense of that size of theatre.”
The young actors and actresses got to meet members of the original cast and work with the West End’s creative team, and West Glamorgan put on the ‘Solidarity’ musical movement, a high-spirited interchange between the police and the miners, performed when Billy is learning to dance.
West Glamorgan Youth Theatre Company was one of 115 groups across the UK given permission to perform a version of Billy Elliot the Musical to mark five years of the production in the West End.
The group put on its performance at the Taliesin Theatre in March, and was one of just 15 productions selected and invited to perform excerpts at the Billy Youth Theatre West End Gala at the Victoria Palace Theatre, in London, last weekend”.
South Wales Evening Post
“As the dust finally settles on the inaugural BYT project, I had to take the opportunity to thank you one more time, on behalf of myself and all the creative team, for the remarkable talent, energy and passion you brought to the Victoria Palace Stage on Sunday. Not once did we encounter anything less than 100 percent commitment from every single person, and it allowed the performance to reach levels of detail and polish that we really had no “right” to achieve. When you work in professional theatre, you are constantly working to create an atmosphere of dedication and creativity. Faced with so many talented and hard-working young people – from ballet girls to rioting miners (!) – we couldn’t fail to make something special happen. Indeed, on watching Monday night’s Billy Elliot show, I am utterly sure that actors, production team and our Billys, Debbies and Michaels were even more energised and inspired than usual – something to do with what you lot shared with them on Sunday I suspect!!!”
Member of the Creative Team of Billy Elliot the Musical, London
Forus Humanitas
Bishop Gore School
February 2010
“Forus Humanitas was attended by members of the NPT Youth Offenders Team during the half term holiday. The young people did not move throughout the performance, a real testament to the young performers involved. The subject matter and style of the work was perfect for the young audience, and very pertinent in its content. I only wish the politicians had been there to hear the arguments placed against the stereotyping of young people in society – thought provoking stuff that should have been seen by more people of every generation”.
NPT Youth Offenders Team Group Leader
The Kitchen
Dylan Thomas Theatre
July 2009
“West Glamorgan Youth Theatre Company’s latest offering was a spirited production of a play penned by Arnold Wesker: first staged in 1961, it was based upon his experience as a pastry cook in a large kitchen and is an ideal vehicle for a large cast.
Despite its age, the play has a contemporary resonance due to its Hell’s Kitchen-style setting and the hothouse atmosphere which is reminiscent of Big Brother.
The relationships, conflicts and arguments which ensue between the characters as they weave around the large and very complex set are smartly executed and director Vivienne Buckley has clearly worked hard with the cast to ensure that the pace moves along slickly.
It could be argued that the play can be seen as an allegory for the post-war generation, whose lack of focus and direction led them to lash out at authority — but it can also be appreciated on a more prosaic level: the central story revolves around the relationship between a volatile German chef, Peter (Huw Richards), and a waitress called Monique (Sophie Melville), but there are several subplots along the way.
The most remarkable aspect of the production is the choreography, which sees the performers dash around the set in a frenzy of activity of which Gordon Ramsay would be proud.
West Glamorgan Youth Theatre Company’s reputation as a breeding ground for talented performers will no doubt enhanced by this ambitious and thought-provoking production, which went down a storm with the crowd”.
Graham Williams
South Wales Evening Post.
