Dear Editor,
I would be grateful if you could publish this in full, on your Theatre in Wales website.
Further to my earlier e-mail, which remains unanswered and rudely unacknowledged, along with a Facebook message to "Adam Somerset" on Sharon Morgan's message feed, where I first saw his intention to "review" my article of opinion, I wish to clarify a few points raised by Mr Somerset's "review" and heavily copied blog passages obtained without my consent ["Across-the-Board Critique of National Company - Theatr Genedlaethol Cymru - Artistic Programme, Management, Board, Presentation Critiqued, National Culture of Wales , October 19, 2024] on your Theatre in Wales website.
First of all, with all due respect, and pardon the pun, I personally don't know "Adam Somerset" from Adam. As can be clearly said about his knowledge of me. Basing my "voice of authority" on 122 words of introduction from my blog, is hardly fair, or good practice for an "author and critic" as Mr Somerset claims to be on his Linkedin profile. I note his other self declared "14 years and 4 months experience" as a "Theatre Critic & Arts Writer," along with being an "Operations Manager & Shareholder" with "Pharma Transfer", which has no connection to Theatre or the Arts. I did try to read other "reviews" by Mr Somerset, but unfortunately the Theatre in Wales website seems to be constantly suffering from a "500 - Internal server error," something you as Editor, may need to urgently look into.
I did manage to read an earlier "review" by Mr Somerset of the artistic choices made by the National Theatre of Wales, before they lost their £1 Million of funding by the Arts Council of Wales. I was quite taken aback, by the ferocity of Mr Somerset's "critique" of the sister-company of Theatr Genedlaethol Cymru. I respected his honesty, passion and apparent care for the future of his own Theatr Genedlaethol, in the English language. And having seen a few of their earlier productions like the 2011 The Village Social and their 2014 Raw Material : Llareggub Revisited, I could easily understand his anger and negative opinions. I myself was appalled when I was told by some of the local residents of Laugharne on the morning of the production, that they "weren't able to do their original script or contribution" because the National Theatre of Wales hadn't even applied for a licence to perform Under Milk Wood!. That's the kind of information conveniently omitted by the brigade of Arts PhD's being bred in Wales, over the past few years. It does appear that the only acceptable "opinion" that can be voiced, is the academic one, especially from a "Doctor" at the University of Aberystwyth!
But back to Mr Somerset's "review", which I don't think he either understood or correctly conveyed the context of why it was written. So let me clarify my intentions and reasoning over why I needed to voice my concerns and opinions, on paper, and my starting point as dictated by Theatr Genedlaethol Cymru themselves:
· the complaints and concerns I have heard and received over the past 3 years about the productions presented by Theatr Genedlaethol Cymru and their lack of focus on older audiences
· the appalling fact [in my opinion] of the termination of the Theatr and Pentref Drama on the Maes of the Eisteddfod Genedlaethol, due to Theatr Genedlaethol Cymru's artistic choices and withdrawal of co-funding
· the lack of communication to myself [on e-mail and on social media] (and from what I have now learned to others in the industry), from the £50k-a-year "Artistic Director" Steffan Donnelly himself
· the fact that I have not wanted to travel from London, and pay for accommodation and fuel to see a production by what I had considered to be my own National Theatre in my mother-tongue from mid-way through Arwel Gruffydd's reign and throughout Steffan Donnelly's artistic vision. A hobby and vocation I have honoured since the age of 6 years, and all currently listed on the Mezzanine theatrical app, where my theatre diary performances currently number 1,236 [to date] which makes me one of the 10 highest "theatre junkies" throughout the World. [I invite Mr Somerset to please do the same, along with all the Dr's at Aberystwyth and Bangor, and the Directors of Theatr Genedlaethol Cymru, so we can all see their qualification of "authority" in seeing and living real Theatre, not just reading about it]
· the disappointment and complete reversal [in my opinion] of Steffan Donnelly's "artistic vision" and career so far with Theatr Invertigo [where I was impressed with his two productions of the plays of Gwenlyn Parry and by his writings based on the works of Caradoc Evans and his passion for the Dramâu Cymru database] none of which I have seen any flavour of, to date with Theatr Genedlaethol Cymru. [I wonder why?]
· the importance given to the self-nominations for National Theatre Awards, such as UK Theatre's current nomination for "Excellence in Touring" and their own choice of productions in the "eligibility period" (14 Aug 2023 to 29 Aug 2024) or "year" as noted on their own website [29/09/24] to enter for this Award. [In hindsight, and having tonight learned of their success in winning this Award, and new understanding from the UK Theatre awards website that it was actually only for their production of Parti Priodas and not, as incorrectly noted on their website, for the "year" of work named and listed, then part of my concerns that follow are no longer applicable, but were at the time of writing the original article]
These were and still are, the foundation of my article, that led to my detailed "critique" and "opinion" based on what I had read about their current "nomination" and their own choice of "year". If you pick out a specific time frame, and start self-praising your own "we staged 92 touring performances in around 50 different locations in Wales, partnering closely with venues, reaching more than 20,000 people with our programme of performances and participation projects. We employed over 260 freelancers, totalling payments of £350,000 to freelancers and contributing £180,000 to local economies on tour, including rural areas", then as both a Charity in receipt of Public Funding, and a National Institution, you must be ready to face "opinions", "facts" and "questions" about your choices and claims.
My main issues and "opinions" raised from this statement were:
· I personally didn't feel it was fair on their fellow nominees such as the ETT and Wise Children, or on the Welsh speaking audience, that 56.5% of these "productions" within their chosen "year"
were targeted at children, and that 58% of the "venues" toured to, [as per this specific nomination] were schools or youth festivals not Theatres.
· This clear shift from mainstream productions for adults to theatre for children, [in my opinion] was going to have [and as far as I know, may already have had] a negative effect on other Welsh companies like Theatr Iolo, Frân Wen and Arad Goch, who are funded to specialize in theatre for children and young people.
· The ever-increasing 'co-productions' (some of which they claim to be their own unique productions) to [in my opinion] the unfair detriment and disadvantage of other Welsh and UK Youth Theatre practitioners such as Krystal S Lowe, Small World Theatre and Welsh Ballroom Community, and potentially for National Dance Company Wales. They have claimed in a letter of complaint to Golwg that Krystal's reworking and performance of Whimsy (2019-2022) under the Welsh translation of Swyn, to be exclusively their own production, and that she was merely the "author". I note from her own website and comparing, that the same 4 main performers, same imagery and almost exact same description is used, and the only difference being the name of the main character and language of the show, with a few additional roles as director and dramaturg. The same claim was made about Small World Theatre, that they merely "commissioned them to create a puppet", which suggests it just arrived in a box, and no mention or reference to the skill needed by 3 puppeteers to bring this unique creation to life, as I have witnessed in shows like Life of Pi, War Horse and Kneehigh's Brief Encounter. Both explanations [in my opinion] completely devalues the experience, vision and contribution of these unique companies and their work, and shows the lack of empathy, respect and condescending superiority of money.
I hope you agree, that these are fair points of opinion and concerns to raise and question. So I was naturally confused, and if I were completely honest, a little hurt by Mr Somerset's "review" which did come over as being rather spiteful with an attempt to discredit my "voice of authority", [as others have done and continue to do], which I have never claimed to be, unlike himself, clearly. I am merely the only one brave enough to honestly inform the company, and the gynulleidfa Gymraeg, of the concerns conveyed to me. As has been the practice and tradition for over 18 years, where actors, writers and even on two occasions by Board Members themselves, who were clearly too scared to be the first or the only ones to be completely honest and open about their opinions and actions of the Company.
Mr Somerset's comments such as "As a critic for six years 2006-2012", [as opposed to his 14 years +] which specifically referred to my time as the Theatre Critic of Y Cymro, not my whole career, [which again he couldn't be bothered to research], and his clear misunderstanding of the whole article, which must have been lost in translation, is frustrating. It was based on the specific time frame and productions, quoted by the Company themselves to UK Theatre, as a representation of their work in Wales. I don't see any sentence in my "1687 words" that states, "National theatre holds centre place, a position it has yielded, in Griffiths' assessment, to Cwmni Franwen." and his "assessment" that "Quotations and reviews are drawn from The Stage and the Guardian to the exclusion of local reviewers of Wales". Maybe if he could have been bothered to look at the main pages which I did, for the productions named and listed in their chosen "year", he would have seen the omission or more probable the complete lack of reviews in Cymraeg, not Cymreig. And therefore, we must ask why?
As I earlier stated, and it may be due to my autistic brain, I do find his "review" confusing in tone, and full of mixed intentions. He continues to criticize National Theatre Wales by stating "This preference has been taken straight from the National Theatre of Wales. Reviewers of England were held in higher regard over the publications of Wales." Which to me, conveys he agrees with my "opinion", apart from the major difference in languages. If Mr Somerset had been bothered to read (instead of counting words!) my original uncensored article, which appeared in anger on my blog after I was furious with the edited version in Golwg, he would have seen a reference to a review in the Guardian about the production of Rhinoceros within their chosen "year". This was written by the Chair of Welsh Drama at the Eisteddfod Genedlaethol, who regularly boast of their "collaboration" and "close ties" with Theatr Genedlaethol Cymru, and again [in my opinion] and in the opinion of a resident of Bangor, could be perceived as a conflict of interest. They could argue of course, [like Golwg did] that he may not have been "in post" in the Autumn of 2023, but as I pointed out, why was his name published in that position in the Rhestr Testunau of the 2024 Eisteddfod, published about May 2023?
Again, he seems to agree with my opinion, or either wanted to take another swipe at the archive sections of both National Theatres, who have clearly "erased all mention of John McGrath and Lucy Davies. Griffiths notes the same of Theatr Genedlaethol. Cefin Roberts, Judith Roberts, Daniel Evans are lost to the archive." Then another criticism that I "omitted" '...the company's role in the decaying of the National Youth Theatre of Wales.", which again isn't mentioned in their "news" article about the nomination, or on their chronological "project" page.
He then seems to completely change his tone [or my interpretation of his "opinions" and tone] and authoritatively states that "A national theatre is not a fringe company. The strangest thing is that the public of Wales has been here before. Stephan [Steffan] Donnelly, it should be remembered, served as a director of the National Theatre Wales. The period, March 2021 to June 2022, was a key period for that company, when it was in overdrive not to put on national theatre. The company has its view of national theatre, its place and its purpose. It is not that of Paul Griffiths", nor clearly, Adam Somerset himself!.
He ends his "review" with "thanks and acknowledgement, [for extracts] from the full article" with a link to my blog, which would have been nice to have received as permission prior to being judged and criticized. And for his information or for any further attempts to belittle me, I have worked in the Arts in Wales since my second year at University [1993] that's over 30 years. I set up my own youth theatre company at the age of 13 years, and toured Wales with award winning theatre productions, directed by myself, until I left College. I then co-wrote and directed 4 musicals with a semi-professional company in Pwllheli between 1995 and 2005, 2 musicals for Eisteddfod Genedlaethol yr Urdd [in my spare time] whilst also working for numerous TV Companies in Wales on productions for S4C, BBC, ITV and TG4. I have also been invited to judge performing and the main Drama Medal competitions at the Eisteddfod Genedlaethol and Eisteddfod Genedlaethol yr Urdd. In 2007, I relocated to London, where I returned [and continue] to work in the UK Theatre for 15 years, which includes 4 years as the Operations Manager of a National Youth Music Theatre Company, producing 16 musicals a year with young people aged between 11 and 21 years. Other collaborations includes the Finborough Theatre, Soho Theatre, BAC and Punchdrunk.
But again, I am not claiming any "authority" over my "opinions", only honesty, a little experience of working and seeing theatre productions, and some common sense.
Kind regards
Paul Griffiths.
London.
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