John E McGrath, artistic director of the National Theatre Wales, at a meeting with Guild members
(Photo: Paul Rees)
Introducing National Theatre Wales
Othniel Smith reports on John E McGrath's meeting with Welsh Guild members
On November 5th 2009, John E. McGrath, artistic director of the National Theatre Wales, announced its inaugural programme during a multi-media web-cast, reflecting the company’s determination to embrace the new technology in a bid to engage with artists and audiences.
Later that evening, on BBC Radio Four’s flagship arts programme Front Row, whilst interviewing McGrath, Mark Lawson twice raised the spectre of placard-waving Welsh-speakers protesting at the new company’s work being performed in English. This suggested a metropolitan determination to cling to outmoded perceptions, and a shocking ignorance of the fact that a national theatre operating in the Welsh language – Theatr Genedlaethol Cymru – has been in existence since 2003. Mercifully, the Guild members whom McGrath addressed at Cardiff’s Chapter Arts Centre on 2nd December, in a meeting chaired by Roger Williams, were somewhat better informed.
The announcement in 2007 of the establishment of the National Theatre Wales - funded by the Welsh Assembly Government with an initial grant of £3 million - followed hard on the heels of similar developments in Scotland, and brought to an end (or at least moved into a new, constructive phase) a debate which had been raging for over half a century. The company’s first-year programme boasts an ambitious range of work, commencing in March 2010 with Alan Harris’s A Good Night Out In The Valleys, to be staged in a number of South Wales workmen’s institutes; and climaxing with Hollywood heavyweight Michael Sheen’s takeover of his home town of Port Talbot as he revives the traditional Passion Play alongside poet Owen Sheers in April 2011.
There will be a production each month, taking in several venues, both traditional and non-traditional, across Wales. These will include a piece by Gary Owen inspired by the media coverage of youth suicides in Bridgend; a long-lost play by John Osborne to be staged at Cardiff’s New Theatre; the first-ever U.K. commission from Berlin-based ‘reality theatre’ specialists Rimini Protokoll, sited in Aberystwyth; an event reflecting the multi-cultural history of Cardiff Bay; Kaite O’Reilly’s adaptation of Aeschylus’ The Persians, performed on a military training-base in the Brecon Beacons; and projects from performance artist Marc Rees and No Fit State Circus. The impression is of a bias towards the visually spectacular and/or media-friendly, reflecting the company’s intention of announcing its arrival with a bang, and taking full advantage of its national status and lack of a dedicated performance space.
McGrath joined the National Theatre Wales in February 2009 having spent the previous decade as Artistic Director of the Contact Theatre, Manchester, where he was fêted for his innovative approach to new work and audience development. When asked by Roger Williams at the meeting with Guild members what attracted him to the post, he cited the rare opportunity to build a major venture up from scratch. The challenge of attempting to build a sense of community based around a nation rather than a building was also attractive.
Another important factor was the presence of a highly supportive and sympathetic board of governors.
When interrogated about the process of developing the programme for the first year, McGrath asserted that his impetus was the idea of engaging with the ‘national’ in a creatively interesting way, via the exploration of history, identity and territory. The idea of spreading productions across the country came early, as did the ‘one show per month’ concept.
The relatively brief period between his appointment and the announcement of the schedule was spent consulting with individuals and companies rather than sifting through written proposals – building creative teams and developing interesting collaborations (between, for example, particular writers and directors) through a back-and-forth process. This resulted in around 30 possible productions, which were whittled down using criteria such as the extent to which each potential show made sense in its proposed location, and the degree to which McGrath felt personally excited by each project and its ‘unexpectedness’.
When asked the vital question, from the Guild’s point of view, of whether writers were the most important part of the company, McGrath replied that it is ‘the event’ which matters most. He was critical of play development culture in which a submitted script goes through several drafts without ever reaching an audience. There are around seven up-front play commissions for the National Theatre Wales’s first-year programme but writers will be involved in most of the other productions, either as dramaturgs, or when called in by performance- or installation-art specialists at a late stage in the development of their pieces.
Attention then turned to the document outlining guidelines for the company’s relationship with artists, a draft version of which was published on their website (www.nationaltheatrewales.org), reflecting the breadth of possible forms of engagement with them. Writers (as well as performers, companies, etc.) will be encouraged to submit proposals in a variety of forms (scripts, DVDs, web-links), using the company’s interactive internet forum which has already been active for a number of months. Those interested in working with the company are encouraged to create Facebook-style profiles on the site and, as well as contributing to discussions, will be able to attach or display examples of their work.
When the discussion was opened up to the floor, the first question concerned the new company’s responsibilities in terms of the representation of women and minority groups. McGrath replied that it was important that a National Theatre should look like the nation rather than the government, and made it clear that he was conscious that there is much work to be done in Wales where diversity is concerned.
When questioned about the precise remit he’d been given on his appointment, he said that it had been made clear that his job was to develop new, more broadly based audiences; to promote the best of Welsh artists internationally; to introduce new and varied directorial voices; to support emerging artists; and to be bold in terms of the varieties of theatre he felt able to produce. In respect of his preconceptions about the theatre scene in Wales, McGrath admitted a familiarity with only a small number of more widely known writers, but was au fait with the work of now defunct new writing companies such as Made In Wales and Sgript Cymru and the messy political history of the funding issues surrounding them.
He discussed the work that will go on independent of the headline productions – so-called ‘satellite’ events, co-ordinated by the company’s Creative Associates, under the headings of Theatre of Debate and Theatre of Rapid Response (workshops already having taken place on the themes of We Love Our NHS, and Where Are Our Modern Social Spaces?). Furthermore, when the programme commences, events will take place to accompany each show, involving instant performances or theatricalised debate, possibly in pubs or church halls, co-ordinated via the web forum.
It emerged that touring overseas was a possibility, but not in the first year, where site-specific work was being prioritised – any of these pieces might be toured later, if it is deemed appropriate. The focus in Year Two will be on touring throughout Wales, and rest of the U.K. and beyond. The company is already looking for ideas for the second year; seed commissions for research purposes will soon be available, and there will be a residential BBC Writers’ Room event.
The question of audience development then arose, and McGrath suggested that ‘people will come if someone they trust tells them they will like it’ – whether that someone is a cast-member with a well-established reputation, or someone from one’s personal network of acquaintances. In order to build public awareness, the company will rehearse plays in the towns where they are being performed, and there will be a number of open rehearsals.
When asked about the audience research that he had already done, McGrath spoke in warm terms of having attending a Frank Vickery play as preparation for the company’s opening, Valleys-based production, and argued that the company could not rely on the existing theatre audience and would continue to utilise non-traditional venues. They will make use of audience feedback, both in the performance space and online, and have already begun the process of building ‘teams’ to promote each production. He did not rule out commissioning a ‘populist’ musical, but pointed out that these take a long time to develop.
When questioned, finally, about the possibility of bilingual or multilingual productions, McGrath indicated that these could well arise organically, given that a number of those artists already commissioned are native Welsh speakers. There is also the possibility that National Theatre Wales and Theatr Genedlaethol Cymru could collaborate in areas, such as director training, where linguistic differences are irrelevant.
The consensus, following a well-attended meeting, was that it had been open and constructive on all sides, and only served to build on the optimism and goodwill which the new National Theatre Wales had already engendered.
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