April 2011
In Port Talbot
The Passion
NATIONAL THEATRE WALES and
WILDWORKS
Creative Director
MICHAEL SHEEN
Co-Directors
BILL MITCHELL and MICHAEL SHEEN
Script and Novelisation
OWEN SHEERS
Copies of Owen Sheers' "The Gospel of Us" are available from National Theatre Wales' shop.
You can also purchase Passion merchandise, including clothing and bags, at porttalbot-passion.com
About the Production
In a spectacular finale to its triumphant launch year, National Theatre Wales joined forces with Michael Sheen and WildWorks for a one-off ground-breaking theatre event that placed the Port Talbot community at its very heart.
Taking inspiration from one of the defining narratives of our times, this riotous contemporary re-telling of the Passion story took place across the town, with the people of Port Talbot as its cast, crew and heros.
Supported by over 1,000 community volunteers the production celebrated a town and its people bringing over 22,000 people to the town.
During the weekend a group of community bloggers updated audiences beyond Port Talbot via a designated online world at port-talbot.com.
The project was supported by The Laura Ashley Foundation, Costain and Arts & Business Cymru.
drama at its very best – creative, ambitious, raw, passionate and relevant. Above all, it was also accessible and inclusive.
Syfrdanol… cwbl anhygoel… campwaith
touching, transformative… a triumph
****
The most extraordinary piece of community-specific theatre I've ever beheld... transcendent.
a once-in-a-lifetime experience
[a] breathtaking act of theatrical magic
Nowhere in these isles can have seen anything like The Passion in many a long year
one of the outstanding theatrical events not only of this year, but of the decade
transforming and uplifting… Port Talbot's future starts the very second The Passion ends.
*****
Cast
Matthew Aubrey
Nigel Barrett
Jordan Bernarde
Di Botcher
Darren Lawrence
John-Paul Macleod
Rhys Matthews
Francine Morgan
Kristian Philips
Kyle Rees
Michael Sheen
Hywel Simons
David Rees Talbot
Gerald Tyler
Matthew Woodyatt
Supported by over 1,000 volunteer cast members, local groups and individuals.
Creative Team
Creative Director
MICHAEL SHEEN
Co-Directors
BILL MITCHELL AND MICHAEL SHEEN
Script and Novelisation
OWEN SHEERS
Co-Designers
BILL MITCHELL AND MYRRIDIN WANNELL
Costume Design
MYRRIDIN WANNELL AND SUE HILL
Costume Supervisor
JO NICHOLLS
Project Associate
ADELE THOMAS
Community Director
MERCEDES KEMP
Musical Director
CLAIRE INGLEHEART
Performance Directors
SUE HILL AND STEVE JACOBS
Sound Designer
MIKE BEER
Lighting Designer
PAUL JARVIS
Camera
SIMON CLODE
Legion AV Design
JON STREET
Casting Director
SAM JONES C.D.G
Production Team
Producer
LUCY DAVIES
Production Manager
SARAH COLE
Stage Manager
MATTHEW NORTH
Deputy Stage Manager
DONNA REEVES
Assistant Stage Manager
KEVIN SMITH
Community Stage Managers
IAN ABRAHAM
GEMMA THOMAS
Location Managers
HUW DARCH
JANE LALLJEE
JOM MAYER
RUTH OLIVER
ALISON PALMER
Health & Safety Manager
MICK BOWLES
Design Assistants
LUCY BIRBECK
REVA CALLAN
SEAN CROWLEY
CAI DYFAN
HOLLY PIGOTT
TESSA SILLARS-POWELL
RUTH STRINGER
ELLIE WILIAMS
Costume Assistant
KATE BOHIN
Make-up
ELEN THOMAS
Fight Director
KEVIN McCURDY
Dawn Dance Choreography
SEAN TUAN JOHN
Michael Sheen
"Having been working on this project for over two years now, I can say without any reservation, that it is a true honour to work with the people of Port Talbot. Every day, something is revealed about this place that stops me in my tracks. The enthusiasm and support has been tremendous already, but perhaps more than anything, it is the constant reminder of why I wanted to do this project in the first place - the spirit of compassion, the feeling of community, the passion of a people in a town that refuses to be overlooked or passed by.
So often, our town is looked down on or dismissed, sometimes by ourselves even. I hope that The Passion will be an opportunity for the world to see what is revealing itself daily to all of us fortunate enough to be a part of this adventure, - that Port Talbot is an example of what is best about us, what is most deserving of celebration and shows us that miracles are happening among us every day, if we have but eyes to see and ears to hear. "
WildWorks
WildWorks is an art led international theatre company founded in 2005 by Bill Mitchell to focus on site-specific events. WildWorks makes landscape theatre, large-scale spectacular performances and artworks that grow out of their locations.
The WildWorks approach to place and community is distinctive. The meaning of the work develops from research, from chance encounters, from probing the feelings, thoughts, stories and memories of people. This is the creative heartbeat, found by attending carefully to the place, the genius loci, and working in a spirit of mutual hospitality with the people who inhabit the physical space.
