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Welsh Theatre - Small-scale CompaniesTo my knowledge there are 38 small-scale theatre companies working in Wales, plus a number of Dance companies, some of whose work shades into physical theatre. Of these 38, fourteen are based in Cardiff. Many work in English, although some are bilingual and a few work entirely in Welsh. Theatre in Education/Young People's Theatre is strong in Wales and has been the cause of a fierce battle between the Arts Council of Wales and the theatre establishment. Under its proposed Drama Strategy, for instance, south and mid-Wales was to be carved up between for companies - Theatr na n'Og (formerly Theatr Gorllewin Mornganawg (West Glamorgan Theatre)), Theatr Iolo, Spectacle Theatre and Arad Goch - but the whole Drama Strategy is now in the melting pot and so new TIE/YPT arrangements, which were due to be in place by April of this year, may not now happen until 2003. Also part of the Drama Strategy was the New Writing Franchise (Welsh and English). Under the proposed arrangements, the two most established new writing companies - Dalier Sylw and Made in Wales - would receive no funding and all new writing would be concentrated on Cardiff's Sherman Theatre. This, too, is now in doubt. The most significant event in Welsh theatre over the past couple of years, in fact, has been the inceasing isolation and distrust of ACW and the distrust of the Welsh arts establishment of the organisation. Its planning has been attacked by almost every Welsh theatre company, the Writers' Guild, the TMA and, eventually, the Welsh Assembly. The Western Mail, Wales' national newspaper, has also weighed in against it and towards the end of last year ACW's chief executive Joanna Weston resigned and the latest news is that the quango is having difficulty attracting suitable applicants for the job. The continuing row - which began back in 1998 - also led, albeit indirectly, to the resignation of Tom Middlehurst, of the Assembly. The row has occupied many pages of the Western Mail and almost every issue of the Newsletter of the influential Theatre in Wales Website brings news of further developments. The site's Discussion Forum is full of postings which range from the angry to the saddened from concerned theatre supporters and members of threatened companies. Last year one of Wales' most internationally famous directors, Michael Bogdanov, weighed in with an alternative Drama Strategy (which was first published on the Web on this site), which set out a vision of theatre in Wales which is very different from that held by ACW. This strategy, and subsequent correspondence in the Western Mail, has led to accusations of elitism, with occasional very personal attacks being made by both sides on the other. You remember the old Chinese curse "May you live in interesting times"? These are interesting time indeed for theatre in Wales! BACK>> Mold & Cardiff - Introduction Articles Indices: |
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