MAGS
***
Sherman Theatre, Cardiff, Tue 12 Nov
The dynamic combination of Welsh and English is swiftly becoming a mainstay of new theatre in Wales. Recently, productions such as Hela have made inventive use of bilingualism in order to interrogate the country’s social and cultural identity. Similarly, the bilingual play Mags – which returns to the Sherman Theatre – combines both languages in order to reflect the fragmented identity of its central character, as she struggles to secure a sense of belonging in the world.
Produced by former Company in Residence, Cwmni Pluen, the play blends different languages in an organic rather than jarring relationship. Anna Ap Robert reprises her role as Mags – a woman caught in a tortured contemplation of her own past. Linguistically isolated, Mags speaks almost entirely in Welsh, while the audience’s non-Welsh speakers rely upon a cast of supporting actors to chart her psychological landscape and interpret her story.
Despite its use of language, however, the play privileges physicality and aestheticism over narrative and thematic substance. During the rehearsal period, writer/creator Elgan Rhys and director Gethin Evans chose to explore ideas physically and musically before introducing text to their actors. As such, cast members occupy the space as a pulsating collective, moving their bodies in a series of fluid sequences, a web of arresting visuals and live music by Casi.
Seren Vickers delivers a particularly memorable performance, expertly harnessing raw and choking emotion to deliver the play’s most technically striking moments. She embodies her role with a passion unmatched by the rest of the cast.
Unsuspecting audiences may well be wooed by the play’s technical beauty and stellar acting, though its underlying narrative is comparatively unconvincing. The main thematic threads – belonging, identity and connectedness to society – aren’t tied together in the play’s final moments. A letter from Mags’s past lover, imbued with a promise of significance for the audience, fails to isolate the play’s core message and instead relies upon a forced metaphor which left me feeling cheated.
Nevertheless, Mags emerges as an experimental blend of visuals, music and dance which transcends a scattered and otherwise unremarkable narrative.
words JOSEPH DRAPER
Mags is at Sherman Theatre Studio until Fri 15 Nov. More info here.