Buzz Magazine May 2013 | Page 34

stage

SAY IT WITH FLOWERS
Sherman Cymru, Cardiff Wed 15-Sat 25 May From rags to riches and back to rags, Sherman Cymru is set to host a new stage play that details the highs and lows of the late and celebrated Welsh singing sensation Dorothy Squires, 15 years after her death. Say It With Flowers tells the story of a young girl’ s pursuit of fame, and her ascent into the ranks of celebrity by becoming the highest paid female singer in the UK, ending with her death back in the valleys of Wales. Chatting to Buzz, writer Johnny Tudor reveals his personal connection with Dorothy and his inspiration behind the play.“ I first worked with Dorothy 20 years ago in the London Palladium; she was always part of the family”. Brought up in showbiz, Johnny was inspired by the great American performers like Frank Sinatra and Sammy Davis Jr. but learnt“ a helluva lot from Dorothy. I’ m a funny bag, I’ ve been a singer, a dancer, an actor; you have to make sure you like the subject you are writing about,” explains Johnny. Tudor’ s“ labour of love” was originally written as a screenplay, but after speaking with the writer Meic Povey( Bonansa! Yr Hen Blant), he was advised that his memoriam was more likely to be commissioned for the stage. Opening on Wed 15 Wed, Say It With Flowers will detail the background of Dorothy’ s success, her marriage to Roger Moore and her battles with Rupert Murdoch. The cast will include the likes of welsh-born Ruth Madoc( Hi-de-Hi!, Little Britain) playing the older Dorothy and Gillian Kirkpatrick( Sweeney Todd) playing the younger. Heledd Gwynn, who has yet to graduate from Royal Welsh College Of Music And Drama, will be playing Dorothy’ s niece, Emily – the daughter Dorothy never had and best friend to Johnny. Also performing are Lynn Hunter( Stella, Baker Boys), Aled Pedrick( Teulu, Garu Tryfan) and recent graduate Matt Nalton as Roger Moore. After three years in the making, two directors and a lot of pulling teeth, the next big thing for Johnny will be a holiday in Majorca. Tickets: £ 12- £ 22. Info: 029 2064 6900 / www. shermancymru. co. uk LOWRI MARTINSON
DR FRANKENSTEIN’ S TRAVELLING FREAKSHOW
Chapter Arts Centre, Cardiff Thurs 9-Fri 10 May The Riverfront, Newport Wed 29 May Funny, a lil’ frightening, and just as weird as the name suggests, Dr Frankenstein’ s Travelling Freakshow is the new performance piece by comedy-theatre troupe Tin Shed Theatre Co., and it’ s shuffling its way to a theatre near you soon. The show is the latest in Tin Shed’ s eclectic portfolio of shows about the mysterious and the macabre, and presents us with the story of Mary Shelley’ s Frankenstein, as told by a Victorian-esque travelling freak show. There are plenty of crazy characters on display: Bathilda The Bearded Lady, Sangieve The Lobster Mind Reader and The Monster, to name but a few, and with them come the promise of a truly unique re-imagining of this classic piece of horror fiction. Tin Shed promise to teeter across the tightrope between comedy and tragedy as they explore Frankenstein’ s themes of loneliness, ostracism and the search for human companionship, all while asking“ What does one see, when looking into the eyes of a monster?” There’ s no way of divining exactly what will happen in this most unpredictable of stage shows( short, perhaps, of enlisting the help of a Lobster Mind Reader), but one thing is for sure, it’ s an evening of entertainment you just can’ t miss, and one that will be oh so very out of the ordinary. Tickets: £ 8- £ 10. Info: 029 2030 4400 / www. chapter. org( KN)
SALT, ROOT AND ROE
Sherman Cymru, Cardiff Tue 7-Sat 11 May Tim Price is definitely one of the must see playwrights of modern Welsh theatre, and after huge success with The Radicalisation Of Bradley Manning( National Theatre Wales), his Olivier nominated play Salt, Root And Roe returns to the stage with a brand new production team from Clwyd Theatr Cymru. The show is about identical twin sisters Iola and Anest who, whilst in their 70s, make a suicide pact as a result of Iola’ s struggle with dementia. Whilst the twins are committed to their plan, one of their daughters is determined to stop them. However, with her own demons to fight, will she succeed? The inspiration for this tragic tale came from a coroner’ s report from an incident in Pembrokeshire which Tim read when he was working as a journalist. The image of twins committing suicide together struck Tim as an“ epic Greek image”, but it wasn’ t until years later that he finally committed his play to paper. With the play having already made quite an impact upon its first run, the new production team – Which includes director Kate Wasserberg who Price is particularly excited to be working with on the production – promise an entirely new and abstract approach to the story.“ It’ s always really interesting when directors have the courage to put their own slant on the story,” enthuses Tim. Tickets: £ 15. Info: 029 2064 6900 / www. shermancymru. co. uk( CG)
ANDY PARSONS
Glee Club, Cardiff Bay Thurs 9 May Princess Royal Theatre, Port Talbot Sat 11 May Y Ffwrnes, Llanelli Sun 12 May TV favourite Andy Parsons is back on the road with another hilarious showcase of contemporary comedy. Having already distributed chuckles up and down the country with three previous sell-out tours, I’ ve Got A Shed promises to be just as cutting and topical as its predecessors as Parsons rips apart the‘ big society’ and ridicules those in power. Having started his TV career as a writer on the ground-breaking satirical puppet show Spitting Image, Parsons is no stranger to political spoof and up-to-the-minute comical observation. With his shaven head and geezer like manner it would be easy to dismiss Parsons as just another TV funnyman without much substance, but as his previous shows Britain’ s Got Idiots and Gruntled have already shown, Parsons is full to the brim with intelligent and to the point wit. Parsons is well-known for his acute observations, and as such, no point of British life is safe from his scathing gaze and acid tongue; from the antics at Westminster to the banter at the local. As regular TV comedy and panellist, don’ t be surprised to find the tickets for this tour selling fast. Tickets: £ 15. Info: 08714 720400 / www. glee. co. uk / cardiff( CG)
REVERIE
Chapter Arts Centre, Cardiff Mon 27 May-Sat 1 June“ What happens in the time between wake and sleep? Where do you go in your dreams – or nightmares?” Step out of your comfort zone and experience theatre in a way like never before. Reverie, a Yello Brick production in collaboration with Gerard Tyler and ThinkARK, is a new, innovative type of entertainment. Embracing a completely different narrative to typical theatre, Reverie is a mixture of online storytelling, roaming theatre and street gaming. Combined, these three elements are designed to transport the audience on foot through several locations in Cardiff Bay, bringing the story to life in the physical world. Designed as an interactive, multiplatform production, once your ticket is purchased the game begins. Starting with pre-production online content and social media, the Reverie game, as it is referred to, is a mixture of puzzles, running, intrigue and theatrical happenings. The online content and real life interruptions are all building to the physical productions, which features actors and performers as the main characters. The pervasive game will begin from a secret location and over the period of three hours the audience, in groups of six( strictly 18 +), will be immersed into the world of Reverie. Participants are advised to book tickets in advance in order to interact with all parts of the story. Tickets: £ 16 /£ 12. Info: 029 2030 4400 / www. chapter. org( BG)
BUZZ 34