Gavin Skerritt
A New Vision
It is a good thing to see that Theatr y Maes gives a platform to a variety of theatrical productions during this year’s Eisteddfod week.
The theatre’s preparation started on Monday with a very different show, being a puppet show called Y Weledigaeth, performed by Gavin Skerritt.
An actor, not a puppeteer
As Gavin Skerritt had such an important role in the production with the puppets themselves, here we had an actor as well as a puppeteer. This was quite a challenge as the actor had to portray the story without drawing too much attention to himself. Gavin Skerritt was dressed in black with his face painted white. He therefore appeared as a kind of shadow as opposed to a mortal being. As opposed to a conventional puppet show which had a visual appeal for the audience, this show also appealed to our aural sense.
The ability to create sounds
Sound and music was a major part of this performance. The actor himself created most of the sound effects. He had an unbelievable ability to create the sound of the wind blowing, the sound of water as well as creating animal noises and singing folk songs. Gavin Skerritt is obviously a very accomplished actor and this was clearly seen in the theatrical performance he gave us as a narrative to the show. His diction was clear and his face portrayed much as he told the story. The show narrated two stories, and therefore the drama between the puppets happened at two levels.
Music creating feeling
The show started with animal noises, primarily cows, and music that created a folk and dignified atmosphere. This created the impression that we were to expect a story from the fables. And a tale of folk atmosphere we received, as we saw two puppets, a young man and a dignified young lady in a long white dress. The young man was obviously trying to win the love of the young lady, and endeavoured hard to win her. But this was not an easy task, as the young girl was not yet ready to yield. This story reminds us of the fable Llyn y Fan Fach and Gavin Skerritt himself said that the story had been an inspiration to him as he devised the show. On another level, there is a different love story. One character of this story is a girl in welsh costume. She is standing on a silver teapot, and we see her sighing. Then a seaman, a man by the name of Jack, appears from within a tea caddy. We see that he is drunk. This is a very comical scene as he falls from the boat on to the shore. On the shore, the girl that is Myfanwy sees him and they both fall in love. The next thing we see is two other dolls gossiping, and discussing Jack and Myfanwy. We come to realize that the two had to get married as Myfanwy is expecting a child. The women are in their element discussing this, as if they are delighted to see Myfanwy suffer.
A sad story
Later the actor suggests to us that Jack drowns a sea, and that Myfanwy herself mourns him. This is a very sad story, and the music reflects this. This story reminds me of Dan y Wenallt, the excellent play by Dylan Thomas. The society is very similar to that play, the ladies delighting in the pain and grief of their friends, and all happening in a village by the sea somewhere in South Wales.
This was indeed an experimental production and this experiment definitely worked. I went to the theatre expecting a visual performance. But there was much more than this here. The music and background noises made the performance an exceptional aural experience as well. This was not a superficial show for recreation, but a production that showed thought and imagination. It was not a light show, full of fun, as you would expect from a puppet show, but a show narrating a very sad story.
Leaving a great deal to the imagination
The script was very economical. The actor did not reveal too much to us and left a great deal to the imagination. Therefore, if I were to watch this production again, I would see far more elements in it than it was possible on the first viewing. Gavin Skerritt said that he had used images from Welsh poetry in the work. In the first story he used the image of a full moon, which appears in a poem by Saunders Lewis. In the second story he used the image of the world face down which happens in a very famous poem by Gruffydd ab yr Ynad Goch as he portrayed the state of the nation after the death of llewelyn ein Llyw Olaf. This is the significance of turning the puppets faces down after Jack’s death. But I must admit that had not noticed these elements. Gavin Skerritt himself admitted that he did not expect the audience to notice all these things the first time. We would have to see the production more than once in order to fully appreciate it.
Careful movements
As well as an economical narrative, the actor’s movements around the stage were carefully planned. Everything happened on time and there was an excellent rhythm to the whole production. Every movement, sound effect and word had its proper place in the show and was extremely disciplined as in a dance. Lastly I must praise the set created by Gavin Skerritt himself. Gavin Skerritt used everything for a purpose, a piece of bread portraying the full moon, tea leaves portraying earth falling on Myfanwy’s body. I am delighted that I had the opportunity to see this unique performance. It is good to see that experimental productions like this are being produced in Welsh.
A special response
Gavin Skerritt has traveled the length and breadth of Europe with the show, and has received an excellent response. He performs the show in Welsh and it is interesting to see how the show appeals to a foreign audience who do not understand the language. This of course is proof of the success of the show. This clearly shows that the actor, through the use of puppets, movement and sound effects can portray the story to a wide audience.
Catrin Jones (BBC Wales)