TIC TOC & #WONDERFULWELSHIES
This year I have been fortunate enough to be involved with Theatr Genedlaethol Cymru’s project Awenau: A Training and Mentorship Scheme for Theatre Directors. Over the next few months I’ll be taking part in workshops with different theatre Directors to develop my skills.
Through the scheme, I’ve also had the opportunity to work on a production with Parama 2 called Tic Toc, and as we move into our final week of rehearsals, I wanted to take a moment to tell you a little about it.
Tic Toc tells the story of a group of women who worked together in a factory in South Wales up until the factory was closed in the late 80’s. Now in 2019 a reunion is being planned, but one person has not been invited… Cue the drama!
Directed and written by Valmai Jones, we see how close these women are through moments of reminiscing, laughter and trials and the score, written by Catrin Edwards takes us through our characters’ journeys as they strive for equal pay and acceptance.
My role as Assistant Director has been to support the whole company and it has been great to try my hand at all areas of production. One thing in particular I have loved doing is working on emotional moments in the play, something Valmai does extremely brilliantly and it’s been a joy to see these scenes shape and grow.
The show, as well as being a massively emotional and poignant piece has side splitting hilarious moments brought about not only by the script but by the actors’ performances. Which brings me to the cast, who are an absolute joy and are beyond talented. I have laughed non-stop and have been moved by their performances brining these characters to life. Seeing the relationship between Gillian Elisa, Lowri-Ann Richards and Clare Hingott’s characters grow as the family unit of the show and the sad pasts of Ri Richards, Olwen Rees and Mary-Anne Roberts’ characters come to light has been an invaluable and moving experience.
That’s why my Wonderful Welshies this week are the brilliant company of Tic Toc and the real-life factory workers of South Wales on which this story is based on. Their stories reflecting on Welsh landscape and community that’s changed in the 21st century. When I set up Have Another Cuppa, telling these stories were the main reason why I wanted to meet and have conversations with Welsh people and being on a project like Tic Toc just reminds me of that.
I have to say a big thank you to Theatr Gen and Parama 2 for allowing me to be a part of this great production.
Have another cuppa 