Arch conceptualist of contemporary Welsh theatre Shôn Dale-Jones has a new show, Still Floating, which questions its own right to exist. If you’re intrigued by such a notion, well so was Buzz’s Hari Berrow, who found out more from Shôn.

Shôn Dale-Jones’ latest play Still Floating is a reflection on the way we create meaning, both between each other and as a nation. A sequel-not-sequel to his 2006 show Floating, the show self-consciously explains to the audience why it shouldn’t be staged.

“Still Floating is about the island of Anglesey floating away from mainland Wales,” Shôn Dale-Jones explains, “and it was suggested that that would be a really great metaphor for living in post-Brexit Britain. I wasn’t completely convinced that that was the right story to tell. So, I ended writing a show where I talk about what’s happening at the moment alongside Anglesey floating away. This new show sort of plays around with the idea that there are so many stories on the go that it’s hard to know which is true.”

The realities of Dale-Jones’ life, as well as the current political climate, come to the fore throughout his storytelling, but particularly in Still Floating. “The things that were preoccupying me found their feet in the show,” Dale-Jones reflects. “My mother was beginning to talk about the possibility of euthanasia, whether or not that was a realistic possibility and what that meant for her, and for us as her children.

“My wife also comes from Switzerland originally, so ever since Brexit we’ve been having an ongoing conversation about what it’s like living in Britain. The horrible truth of it is that people who don’t sound British, their relationship with the country changed after 2016. It’s been quite a challenge, to be honest – how to make ourselves feel at home here. So those things found their feet, and then I did a lot of writing and improvising with John Biddle, who is a wonderful composer and musician, and started bringing some of the narrative to life using music.”

Biddle and Dale-Jones have worked together for a number of years. During the pandemic, they began collaborating remotely. 

“We’ve both found not being in the room together actually surprisingly creative. I might say to him, ‘make something that lasts two minutes that captures the feeling you might get if you watch a whale bursting through the surface of the water’, and he’ll go away and make that music. Meanwhile, I’ll be writing something about friendship. Then we’ll glue those things together and nine times out of 10, in this strange way, they work – better than if you try to make something very deliberately for the theme itself. There’s a bigger interplay between the words and the music.”

The beginning of Still Floating is improvised in conversation with the audience each night. Shôn Dale-Jones suggests that there’s more need now than ever to engage empathetically with your audience. “When I’m doing the show, I feel my relationship with the audience is a continual negotiation. I meet [them] when they come into the theatre – stand by the door and welcome them in – so by the time the show starts, I’ve said hello to every member. That feels important to me – I’m gauging how the audience feels.

“For a while now, there have been two texts happening in the performance for me. There’s the text which is written and prepared, and the other text that happens on the night. I think, when the shows work well, the audience engages because they feel they’re directly involved, and the show is properly delivered in the moment every night.”

Shôn Dale-Jones hopes Still Floating will encourage his audience to reflect on the connections in their lives. “I hope [the audience] come away with deeper desire to connect to each other. That obvious thing – that thing we need reminding of – that we’re all in a different place in our lives; and the care we want to receive, we also need to give.”

Still Floating, Torch Theatre, Milford Haven, Wed 22 Mar.

Tickets: £10. Info: here

words HARI BERROW