PERFORMANCES FOR THE CURIOUS | STAGE PREVIEW
As the centenary of the Suffragettes is honoured across Britain, the Wales Millennium Centre’s spring programme is inspired and led by female artists. As it presents Performances For The Curious, the spring 2018 season of contemporary performances, the emphasis is put on the experiences of women in Wales.
Fri 16 Mar sees Rachel Williams’ one-woman show help kick off the season, with the dancer and actress giving insight into her life as a West End performer. We also see Welsh culture mix with contemporary too, with shows such as Connie Orff (Fri 18 May), introduce a bilingual look at Welsh LGBTQ life as a drag artist; and Alaw (Fri 23 Mar), showcasing three musicians with a passion for the music of Welsh tradition re-imagining melodies with a contemporary twist. Opera’r Ddraig (Fri 13 Apr), Nyrsys (Tue 17 Apr) and Dwy (Wed 18 Apr) are all Welsh-developed productions worth a watch.
Music and theatre also take centre stage this season, with Dave Jones (Fri 4 May), Snowpoet (Sat 12 May) and Elaine Delmar (Sat 24 Mar) being the main musical performances, whilst Hello La Voix (Fri 20 Apr), Amusical (Sat 21 Apr) and Cabarela (Sat 28 Apr) combine music and theatre to create refreshing performances which are unmissable.
Comedy is a big inclusion in the spring programme, with a large majority having women take centre stage – such as Appropriate Adult (Sat 17 Mar), Adele Is Younger Than Us (Fri 27 Apr) and the popular Fleabag (Thu 26 Apr-Sat 5 May), a theatre adaptation of the BAFTA award-winning television programme. This year’s comedy shows seem remarkably insightful and contemporary, aided by the fact that they are frequently female-led in an industry where women are still underrepresented at the top-end.
There are also grimier, more hard-hitting shows available: Unexploded Ordnances (Tue 27 – Sat 31 Mar), Sisters (Fri 20 Apr) and Cathy (Mon 23 Apr), all of which which offer tougher insights into more controversial topics, including women’s rights, nuclear apocalypse, and homelessness.
Performances For The Curious, Wales Millennium Centre, Cardiff Bay, until Sat 19 May. Tickets: £5-£15. Info: 029 2063 6464 / www.wmc.org.uk
words TIRION DAVIES