Chapter Arts Centre, Cardiff
Fri 27 Jan
Actor, writer and winner of Wales Theatre Awards’ Best Actor in 2015 – Daniel Llewelyn-Williams tours his one-man-show, fresh from award-winning Fringe performances in Hollywood.
Llewelyn-Williams plays a young Newport man, telling his story of childhood hero-worship and shared community tragedy, as he’s forced to grow up in the gritty, industrial South Wales of the early 1900s.
A Regular Little Houdini is as much a show about Newport’s historical past as it is about Harry Houdini. Llewelyn-Williams’s young character’s idolisation of the famous magician takes place at a time of Edwardian Newport’s changing face, a time when Houdini actually visited Newport.
The actor-writer captivates his audience for the whole hour, whether as Alan, the adolescent young magic fan or at times when he slips into the voice of the famous escapologist himself – a showcase for Daniel’s acting skills.
With just him onstage and almost no props, he makes great use of lighting to emphasise the story – as the young showman’s own amazement (his word for Houdini-style stunts/tricks) is told the spotlight shrinks into a metaphor of claustrophobia.
As educational as it is informative – I was unaware of Newport’s industrial tragedy, not to mention Houdini’s visits to the city – A Regular Little Houdini is an hour of all the emotions.
A Regular Little Houdini is touring the UK throughout the Spring.
words CHRIS WILLIAMS
Info: here.