The Awkward Years | The Other Room

Remember back in July when I said I was going to get back into blogging? Yeah, life got busy and that didn't happen. I managed to pick up a full time job (yay) but I work a lot of evening shifts (boo) so I just haven't had a chance to see much theatre sadly. This week however I found myself with a few days off and I knew exactly what I wanted to do - I bought myself a ticket for a new play by Matthew Bulgo, The Awkward Years, which was appearing for an almost two week run at The Other Room theatre.

Cardiff Fringe Festival 2018!

Great news Cardiff gang! The Cardiff Fringe Festival is returning for it's third year from the 31st May until the 16th June and if you're a fan of discovering new works of performance art at affordable prices then you are going to love it. 

Mnemonic | USW Theatre Through the Telescope

The second play from the Theatre Through the Telescope season was Mnemonic, a play originally created by Complicite (a British physical theatre company) in 1999 and that has been adapted by the company. While I am familiar with Complicite's style, I wasn't entirely sure what to expect and it's fair to say that this was a very interesting and unusual piece. It begins as a sort of lecture, with the cast describing memories of their own as well as explaining how the human memory works, and then flowed into two parallel stories that converge as the play goes on. Sound complicated? At first it was, but over the 1 hour 50 minute performance the links come together to make a surprisingly compelling production.

Silent Sky | USW Theatre Through the Telescope

This week I was lucky enough to be invited along to see a couple of plays from the University of South Wales Theatre Through the Telescope season, a selection of contemporary student theatre on the theme of science. First up, I saw Silent Sky by Lauren Gunderson, a play based on the true story of Henrietta Leavitt who was one of Harvard Observatory's early "computers" and her achievements in mapping distant stars and galaxies. The play was approximately 90 minutes long (with no interval) but managed to pack a lot of story into a short period of time.

Legally Blonde | UK Tour | New Theatre

Legally Blonde has long been one of my favourite films: it's a story about being true to yourself and fighting for what you believe in. It's inspiring whilst still being a lot of fun and I think it's fair to say that the main character, Elle Woods, influenced my love of blonde hair and the colour pink! I saw an excellent amateur production of the show a few years ago (by Wolverhampton Musical Comedy Company at Wolverhampton Grand Theatre) so I was obviously thrilled to find out that the official tour would be stopping off in Cardiff. I grabbed my gal pals, donned my sassiest pink outfit and headed to the New Theatre for what really was a spectacular performance.

The Cherry Orchard | Sherman Theatre

Rehearsal Image

Playwright Gary Owen has returned to the Sherman Theatre with a re-imagining of Chekhov's classic play, The Cherry Orchard (now set in Pembrokeshire in 1982). Before my visit, I knew of the original piece but was not particularly familiar with it so, to me, it was like a completely new play. Overall I found it to be a highly thought-provoking production about class, family and relationships that had a lot of heart at it's core.

Killology | Sherman Theatre

Killology, a new play written by Gary Owen, tells the story of a controversial new gaming experience where players are rewarded for killing their victims in the most original and gruesome ways. While the creator of the game, Paul, harbours the philosophy that "it's just a game", Davey and Alan's experiences make us think differently. There has been such a big build up to this production - it is transferring to the Royal Court Theatre in London later this year - so I decided to check it out while it's being performed just minutes from my door here in Cardiff.

Seanmhair | The Other Room

I was really thrilled to be invited to the premiere of the new play Seanmhair (Gaelic for 'grandmother', pronouced 'shen-a-var') written by Hywel John, especially as it also involved me discovering a new venue here in Cardiff! It astonishes me that I've lived here for over 18 months and I'm still discovering new performance spaces but it also made the whole experience particularly exciting and intriguing for me. The play is performed by three women, who represent three stages of Jenny's life, telling the story of Jenny and Tommy's dark and ill-fated romance.

The Red Shoes | Wales Millennium Centre

I'd heard so much hype around Matthew Bourne's The Red Shoes that when I heard it was coming to Cardiff I just had to get myself a ticket. The Millennium Centre is a stunning venue so it's always a pleasure to visit but I was even more pleased when I managed to bag myself an under 26s ticket for just £10. I've seen a few ballets in my time but they've all been fairly traditional (think Swan Lake, The Nutcracker) so I was very interested to watch a more contemporary production and I was certainly not disappointed. Set in the 1940s, the show tells the story of a girl who longs to dance but is torn between the two men who inspire her, with fateful consequences. It was a truly stunning production, almost cinematic at times, and I can't stop thinking about it!

Zero for the Young Dudes! | Sherman Theatre

I was really excited to be invited along to see a play put on by the Sherman Youth Theatre as part of the National Theatre Connections festival. The idea behind National Theatre Connections is to give young people interested in theatre the chance to perform in front of a large audience with the opportunity to perform at the National Theatre in London if selected. I saw one performance last year and was really impressed so I was excited to see what the Sherman Youth's had to offer. The premise behind the play is a camp to discipline young people in the midst of a country in revolution. It was a very intense and chilling production and I was so pleased to see how much talent these young people have.

The Moot Virginity of Catherine of Aragon | Sherman Theatre

After over a year of living in Cardiff I finally got around to paying a visit to the Sherman Theatre and bought myself a ticket to see The Belfast Ensemble's production of The Moot Virginity of Catherine of Aragon. I would describe the show as a cross between a one woman play and a song cycle as it features only one actress, Abigail McGibbon, as Catherine accompanied by a small piano and string ensemble but rather than singing, McGibbon performs spoken word. I went in with very few ideas and expectations and was really impressed by what I saw.

The Rocky Horror Show | UK Tour | New Theatre

The Rocky Horror Picture Show has such a cult following so when I saw that the UK tour would be returning to Cardiff I decided it was time I found out for myself what all the fuss was about. I watched the film a few months ago and thought it was brilliantly weird so I couldn't wait to experience the live version. The atmosphere in the theatre was absolutely electric from the moment I walked in: there were so many people dressed up and you could just tell everyone was ready to have a great night.

Avenue Q | New Theatre Cardifff

I recently read that Avenue Q has been in constant production since about 2009 (after first hitting Broadway in 2003) and I can absolutely see why. This is my second time seeing the show- the first time was last year's tour, and this year the tour kicked off in Cardiff with over twenty cities to visit before finishing in June. It's a show that I think I could see over and over without getting bored of and  now I'm going to try and explain why!

The Mikado | The New Theatre Cardiff

All through my teenage years I performed in Gilbert and Sullivan operettas and loved them so I was really excited when I saw two of their shows being shown at my local theatre in Cardiff. I booked myself a ticket to see the matinee performance of The Mikado. The show was put on by The National Gilbert and Sullivan Opera Company who tour year round so I was expecting great things.