Y Pwyllgor Diwylliant, y Gymraeg a Chwaraeon

Adolygiad Polisi: Cyfraniad y Celfyddydau a Chwaraeon at Adfywio Cymunedol

Spectacle Theatre and Regeneration, a personal view

Spectacle has been aiding the regeneration of the valleys for the last twenty five years. A precursor for Regeneration is the development of confidence and self esteem. Spectacle builds confidence and self esteem in many ways and with many individuals and organisations. We build it through the application and development of the theatre arts within school and the wider community. We have maintained the link between participation and appreciation of theatre arts and pioneered many professional theatre arts projects into areas where theatre had not yet reached. This spirit of regeneration is the lifeblood of the company and drives the continuous Loop between the community and the Theatre Art that we produce. As the Artistic Director of the company I can identify this drive and its subsequent professional development to a series of events. As a child growing up in the sixties in Splott, Cardiff, my sense of confidence and self esteem was limited by this experience. A Community theatre company came to a wasteland play ground; they encouraged us to take a very large herd of elephants up Mount Kilimanjaro. It was a fantastic experience and they were coming back the next week. I found out that the two leaders of this group lived around the corner and I promptly joined up. They weren’t local people but they were working locally with people like me. They did something extraordinary they took an interest in what people said, felt and did. I subsequently discovered near to where they and I were living a church was being converted into a theatre. I joined up and was encouraged to get involved. I was only young but I was presented with a wealth of opportunities which I was encouraged to take. Theatre meant - who I was mattered. This was happening locally, where I lived. My relationship to the area began to change. In this very small converted church theatre companies from all over Europe came to perform. I met them and they were also interested in what went on locally. Then I had the opportunity to perform in this theatre as an actor. The street theatre company came to support not just me but others in the production. That act of support and challenge was a new experience for me. I not only felt that I belonged, I did. Then one day the theatre made me the manager for a week. The trust and responsibility shown in me built a confidence that still refuses to be dented. It gave me the confidence to get to London to become a student actor at one of the best Drama schools in the world. I had no grant and no money but the two theatre groups were still there supporting me. They encouraged me. Wherever I have since worked in the world the theatre community has had the same function. It builds confidence in people who have little or no self esteem and continues to support them. It does this locally and its contribution to world culture at the international or local level can not be underestimated. I spent quite some time working in Europe and England before returning home to Wales. I was attracted to the Valleys because theatre here really does make a difference. Spectacle has drawn many arts professionals from all over Britain to the south Wales valleys. Many have remained with the company and some have forged links with other arts organisations in the Valleys Some Artists have moved into the valleys where their children were born and now attend Schools in the area. Some of the earliest members of the company’s children have returned to work with the company. Some have returned on work experience even though their parents now live further a field. Spectacle provides opportunities for young people to experience work with a professional theatre company. Many of these young people have gone on to have careers within the theatre profession. Some have gone on to other careers with the confidence they discovered whilst at Spectacle. Some young people have taken years of support to develop their confidence and all are welcomed back to the company and found positions of responsibility within the company. Spectacle has developed a quality youth theatre provision throughout the Valleys and in the last four years has been instrumental in the phenomenal developments of the Rhondda Cynon taf youth theatre. It is so important for communities to have access to the theatre arts where they live. We have always endeavoured to provide the very best of theatre in the community, pioneering the night out circuit in south east Wales. We take theatre to the audience and break down barriers that deny access and in doing so create community through the very act of theatre. This may be through a touring play or a community arts event that can last from one day up to four months. It may be in the act of dramatising a social audit for the communities first programme or bringing alive the issue of the relationships between young people on a street corner, elderly residents and the local police. We dramatise it by making it vital and fun. Unheard voices are supported to voice their opinions on platforms where those who have power are listening. Sometimes the voice is that of a young child sometimes it is the voice of an elderly resident. Sometimes it is the voice of a whole community. Our theatre is entertaining and challenging because it relates to the concerns we all share. We use our theatre to take our audience on a journey from the known to the unknown, it is a journey whereby the individual and the whole community grow in understanding and this is the function of theatre. We aim to expand the space in our culture is their for theatre and play. The social act of theatre brings people together for a purpose. It aids reengagement with society. It promotes health and well being. Our workshops are fantastic physical workouts for both body and brain. We promote pro- social behaviour. If young people have to look elsewhere to find quality arts experience how can they have confidence in the place that they come from. The confidence and drive to create community theatre began with me when I was very young living in Cardiff. It began because theatre was local and recognised the entitlement of people, to experience quality theatre arts provision where they live. Spectacle continues this regeneration.