As the characters walked onto the stage at the start, they were very focused. The lights didn’t dim until a word was spoken, this was different from other performances.
The set was just a raised triangle centre stage and this did not change throughout the performance. The actors always used all the space given. They even went under and around the ramp for certain characters e.g. the children. There was also a small table and a chair at the front were Matthew Rees (first voice) sat.
The lighting used was very effective in my opinion especially at the beginning. Spotlights were used to set the scenes and worked very well and effectively. At the beginning the spotlights seem to focus on the person speaking and nothing else on stage was visible.
The costumes worn were never changed and somehow seemed to fit every character played. Women wore full, a lined skirts, all slightly different. Both men and women were dressed simply to fit all characters.
I thought the overall design worked well together. Simple set, simple costumes and limited music. Although the performance appeared to be very basic and simple the standard of the acting kept the audiences attention and was very impressive. It was clear that the performers were very professional.
Music was only used occasionally. However there was a lot of use of singing in the second half. When they were singing there was no music behind the voices.
One of the performers was Llinos Daniel. I thought she was very good with performing each character. She was very focused and never lost concentration. I was particularly impressed that she worked well in being in character for both a young child and an old woman. She was well cast in my opinion because she seemed to be able to take on any role with ease. Although all performers were professional, I thought that Llinos Daniel was the best because she was good at every role no matter how different they were.
Another performer was Nia Roberts. She was the second voice but also played other characters. Again she was also focused and stayed well in the character she was playing. She projected her voice really well and spoke clearly.
The actors helped me understand the characters relationships. When Phylip Harries was being made fun of as his character as a child he really made the audience feel sorry for him. When characters argued we could feel the tension between them.
The performance communicated clearly Dylan Thomas’s original intentions because every line was spoken as it was written. Nothing was cut out from it even thought I thought that maybe the performance could have been improved with some bits cuts out at the beginning and towards the end. I could understand the play and thought it was well written and the standard of performance by the actors and actresses was impressive.
My favourite part of the play was when all the characters were as children because I think it was a challenge for adults to play the role of a child. However, they showed off their skills as they proved they could perform as almost any role given. They had the mannerisms spot on as young children and they made the play funny by doing this. The part where the boys had to kiss the girls or pay a penny was done well and was obviously well rehearsed.
My least favourite part was the beginning because I think it went on for a bit too long and maybe lost the audiences attention. This could be because of the way in which the play was written and couldn’t be changed or maybe because there was no movement at all which is why people lost interest perhaps. Although I found this particular bit my least favourite I still think that the use of lighting focused on the Matthew Rhys’s face worked very effectively. This bit could have been improved by some movement or music.
In my opinion the performance was extremely good but the way it was written was a bit hard to follow and slightly confusing.
