Owen Scourfield rounds up the stars of tomorrow that you should be keeping an eye on in 2017.
We tend to be pretty good at churning out top class performers in Wales, whether through birth right or adopted through training and study. Next year doesn’t look so different. Theatre and stage is bursting with talent, and here’s a few faces and companies to look out for.
Swansea born Sophie Melville, recent finalist in the Evening Standard Theatre Awards Best Actress category looks like a definite star in the making. She was nominated for her role in Sherman Cymru’s Iphigenia In Splott, which also got transferred to the National Theatre. Melville earned an abundance of praise for her role as Effie in Gary Owen’s one woman show.
Directed by Rachel O’Riordan and inspired by a Greek myth, the play tells the tale of a foul-mouthed, aggressive young woman living in Cardiff, who lives for nights out and excessive alcohol. The monologue, sees Efie tell the story of meeting an ex-soldier and how that led her life to fall to pieces. A graduate of the Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama, Mellville has put on an impressive performance so far, and I’m sure in 2017 we’ll be hearing a lot more about her.
Another student of the Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama is Belfast born Anthony Boyle; currently strutting his stuff in London’s Palace Theatre. Giving critics plenty to talk about, Boyle stole the show when he broke out in the Harry Potter West End play The Cursed Child. Cast in the role of Scorpius Malfoy, the son of Potter bad-guy Draco Malfoy, Boyle successfully gained the part earlier on this year while he was in his final year at the Royal Welsh College where he studied, and is classed as one of his biggest achievements. He also played a part in filming East Belfast Boy, and gained a part in arguably the most popular show on TV, Game of Thrones (SPOILERS he played a young Bolton when Theon Greyjoy’s sister Yara was trying to rescue him.) Already making waves, this young Northern Irishman has a bright future ahead of him for sure.
Chapter Arts Centre also recently announced the first group of Peilot Associate Artists. Peilot is an initiative funded by the Esmee Fairbairn Foundation and the Arts Council of Wales, and is designed to enhance the assistance Chapter offers to artists at all stages of their careers. The scheme will offer three years of dedicated support to each artist and company to maximise opportunities for touring, partnership working and UK and international collaboration.
One of the inaugural benefiters of are theatre company Triongl, a performing and audio-visual project with an international dimension. Working collaboratively in both Welsh and English creating work that engages with socially relevant themes with both humour and heart. Triongl is the work of three women: Valmai Jones, Rebecca Knowles and Rebecca Smith-Williams. Whilst working together as actors they discovered a creative chemistry and a shared passion for social engagement within the arts that resulted in them forming the company. The wide range in their ages and backgrounds combine to create a pretty unique style of performance and together they create and perform theatre of social relevance, humour and humanity.
Another benefactor of the scheme is Common Wealth, an artist collective based around socialist politics who create site-specific theatre events that encompass electronic sound, new writing, visual design. Their work is very political and contemporary, based in the present day, the work carried out is made to be relevant and addresses real and current issues.
Peilot. Info: 029 2030 4400 / www.chapter.org