| "Gripping and Petrifying” |
Theatr na n'Og |
| Y Fenyw Mewn Du- Critical Round-up , Touring Winter 2023 , December 13, 2023 |
“The Woman in Black” has been part of the theatre landscape for so long that it is easy to forget how well, and to such innovative effect, it utilised the capabilities of theatre.When it was at the New Theatre in 2010 the review read: “Seven million people have seen this play shout the posters on the pavement outside. That must make it the most commercially successful play after “the Mousetrap.” It is quite clear why and well deserved. “The Woman in Black” comes from a literate author. A line like “Performance is an art acquired with tears and time” would sound well in any context. "It occupies a dramatic territory all of its own. Most of all in its blend of performance, sound, light and design it is distinctively and triumphantly pure theatre.” Theatr na nÓg took “Y Fenyw Mewn Du” to Porthcawl Pavilion, Theatr Soar, Merthyr Tydfil, the Borough Theatre Abergavenny and the Welfare, Ystradgynlais. The producers were Y Consortiwm Cymraeg. Y Consortiwm Cymraeg is comprised of Theatr na nÓg, Awen Cultural Trust, Theatr Soar and The Welfare. Director Geinor Styles: “I saw the Stephen Mallatrat adaptation for the stage in the early nineties. It was not only a very clever adaptation of the story but also terrified me and those who sat with me watching it in the theatre. “The simplicity of the storytelling in the show elevates the power of theatre and the spoken word. That memory has stayed with me and it remains one of my favourite plays. Years later, after a feedback session with audiences following the Consortiwm production of Shirley Valentine, Welsh learners suggested that a known story or play helped with their confidence in attending Welsh language theatre.” The translation was by Gwawr Loader. Jonathan Nefydd and Tom Blumberg played the Actor and Kipps. Music was by Barnaby Southgate, design by Kitty Callister, sound design by Ian Barnard, and lighting and projection design by Andy Pike. Llinos Daniel was assistant director. Storyteller Owen Staton ran ghost story-telling workshops to accompany the tour. * * * * Nation Cymru was there: “I found it truly terrifying – so much so, that arriving home after that first performance, I lamented having just my cat for company, and slept with my bedroom lights, and telly, on for a fortnight afterwards. “...many years after those events, the elderly Arthur employs an actor to help him tell his tale, hoping to finally exorcise those echoes of what he endured at Eel Marsh House, and which haunt him still. And thus unfolds theatre’s most unnerving, and menacing, ghost story. “That prevailing sense of malignancy is brought brilliantly to life by the cast. Tom Blumberg plays Actor, bringing a naïve enthusiasm to the role, with his eager energy and love of stagecraft, and is engaging and often humorous. Jonathan Nefydd as the elderly, skittish Arthur Kipps, is splendid – as is how he deftly transforms into a variety of characters through the addition of a flat cap, or a heavy greatcoat, or simply by donning a scarf and fingerless gloves. “The set, deliberately minimal, uses limited props ingeniously, easily convincing us that our protagonists are on a train, or trotting through the silvered marshlands in a pony and trap, with nothing but a large wicker basket and wooden chair to aid them. “But the technical aspects of lighting and sound effects were stars in their own right, creating a sense of dread throughout, and ramping up tension to, at times, genuine screaming pitch, evidenced by the cries, shrieks, and gasps – invariably followed by sheepish relieved laughter – as we peeked through splayed fingers, and prayed The Woman wouldn’t appear (whilst secretly hoping she would). “The music, composed by Barnaby Southgate, expertly enhanced the pervading portentous atmosphere with a strange and haunting beauty. It was a genuinely gripping, and petrifying, ninety minutes. And the ending made for a terrifying finale which will stay with the audience for a very, very long time.” Quoted, with acknowledgement and thanks, from the full review which can be read at: https://nation.cymru/culture/theatre-review-y-fenyw-mewn-du-the-woman-in-black-by-y-consortiwm-cymraeg/ |
Reviewed by: Adam Somerset |
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