News Release
For immediate release
Saturday 2 May 2015
Unique public performance held in the ruins of ancient
Welsh Castle
Last night (Friday 1 May) Wales Millennium Centre presented a unique public performances in
Castell y Bere, Abergynolwyn as part of Ar Waith ar Daith, a journey of Welsh myth and magic.
The performance Spinning a Yarn was set within the grounds of the 13th century castle, Castell Y
Bere and was created by outdoor arts experts Walk the Plank for Wales Millennium Centre. Over
100 local people and visitors attended the event which was described as an emotional
performance which took place in the shadow of Cadair Idris.
A second performance of Spinning a Yarn will take place tonight (Saturday 2 May).
Ar Waith Ar Daith is an epic artistic journey across the length and breadth of Wales to mark the
10th anniversary of Wales Millennium Centre, the national centre for the performing arts. It will
culminate in a spectacular performance outside Wales Millennium Centre in Cardiff on Saturday
12 September 2015.
This performance was the culmination of the second Lloyds Bank Awen School, training outdoor
art professionals for the future.
The five month long journey launched with a torch lit lantern parade, created by Walk the Plank
together with artists and trainees from the first Lloyds Bank Awen School, in Caernarfon on 26
March 2015.
Graeme Farrow, Artistic Director at Wales Millennium Centre, adds: “One of our key ambitions at
Wales Millennium Centre is to inspire the whole of Wales and to facilitate the burgeoning
creativity of our nation. With Ar Waith Ar Daith - a journey of Welsh myth and magic we are
bringing Wales Millennium Centre out of its iconic building and gathering up the artistic energy of
Wales into our furnace of creativity. I hope this unique event in the special environment of Castell
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y Bere connects people with the fiery excitement of live theatre that you can taste all around
Wales, as well as whetting everyone’s appetite for the finale at the Centre in Cardiff on Saturday
12 September.”
The journey arrived in mid Wales when Walk the Plank took up residency in the 13th century
castle, one of the last surviving Welsh built castles, founded by Llywelyn Fawr / Llewellyn The
Great. The event was held in association with Cadw, Wales’ national heritage organisation. Ffion
Reynolds, Heritage and the Arts Engagement Manager said: “Cadw sites can be furnaces for
creativity and imagination and this latest leg in the epic journey of Ar Waith Ar Daith across Wales,
created by the outdoor arts experts, Walk The Plank, is another example of that. We are pleased
to be working in partnership with Wales Millennium Centre and Walk The Plank on this project on
the performance at Castell y Bere which I am sure will inspire imaginations about the past and
performance arts.”
20 artists and creative practitioners, many drawn from the local area, worked together with
storytellers and musicians who work with the traditional tales and songs of the bards in Wales
today. They worked within the ruin of the castle for a week, come rain or shine, against the
backdrop of Cadair Idris. This landscape provided the creative inspiration for the second Lloyds
Bank Awen School training school in outdoor arts.
Over 100 audience members attended and were joined by legends from the time of Taliesin told
in shadow play, music and fiery installation, as storytellers spun tales of witches, magic potions
stirred by farm boys in giant cauldrons, hares and hounds, fat black hens and the birth of the
bard himself. You can also follow this journey via the website www.arwaithardaith.com
Talking about the challenges of siting a training school and presenting a performance to the
public in Castell y Bere, Liz Pugh, Artistic Director for Walk the Plank, says: “For anyone who
knows Castell y Bere, you immediately understand why Llywelyn Fawr sited his formidable castle
there – it’s remote and difficult to get to. We have to thank Cadw and various local people for
supporting us in using the inspirational site for a week long training school which culminated in
public performances.”
“We were off grid, and in a very beautiful but challenging environment at Castell y Bere. The
practicalities of this venue mean that this was a once in a generation experience for audiences –
and the sheer beauty of the place made for a truly magical event.”
Follow the #Awen2015 journey
www.arwaithardaith.com
@arwaithardaith
www.facebook.com/arwaithardaith
Lloyds Bank Awen Schools
A key aspect of Ar Waith Ar Daith is the development of adventurous training in outdoor arts for
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creative practioners in Wales through the Lloyds Bank Awen training schools. Taking place across
three sites in Wales, the schools reflect different aspects of ‘place’ and heritage in Wales and
take their inspiration from different artistic traditions. The schools are supported Lloyds Bank,
Gwynedd Council and the Arts Council of Wales.
The word ‘Awen’, which means Inspiration, is taken from part of Gwyneth Lewis’ inscription on
Wales Millennium Centre: creating truth like glass from the furnace of inspiration. The Lloyds
Bank Awen training schools are a wider legacy for Wales Millennium Centre’s 10th anniversary
programme, and part of the Centre’s remit to nurture creativity right across the Welsh nation.
After Castell y Bere the final Lloyds Bank Awen School, takes place in Newport. ‘The Earth
beneath our Feet’ in Newport, South Wales, on Saturday 30 May, is inspired by the industrial
heritage of South Wales, is linked to the Maindee Festival and forms the finale of the Big Splash
festival.
Tickets for tonight’s performance are available from The Deco Shop, Machynlleth / Magic
Lantern Cinema, Tywyn / Railway Inn, Abergynolwyn / Tŷ Siamas, Dolgellau / Post Office and
Tourist Information Centre, Aberdyfi. For more info, call Sarah Morton on 07775 781897 or
email info@arwaithardaith.com
Follow the journey at #Awen2015 / www.arwaithardaith
-ENDSFor interview opportunities and image requests please contact the Wales Millennium Centre
Media Office: Nia Jones, PR Manager 02920 63 6403 /nia.jones@wmc.org.uk Or Rachel Kinchin,
Marketing and Communications Manager for Ar Waith Ar Daith
rachel.kinchin@walktheplank.co.uk
Notes to Editors
Wales Millennium Centre
•
Wales Millennium Centre is an iconic arts venue and a cultural destination,
opened by Her Majesty the Queen on November 28, 2004
•
Its founding mission was to bring the best of the world to Wales and to showcase
the best of Wales to the world and bring the best of the world to Wales
•
Built at a cost of £106m, its construction was funded by Welsh Assembly
Government (£37m) and the Millennium Commission (£31m), and is recognised
as one of the most successful Lottery funded Millennium projects
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•
The Centre receives £3.6m per annum in public subsidy from Arts Council of
Wales, 19% of its total income
•
It has been described by Lord Lloyd Webber as the best theatre built in the world
in the last 50 years
•
On its 7.5 acre site in Cardiff Bay, the Centre has a 1900 seat lyric theatre, named
after its founding patron Sir Donald Gordon, designed for opera, large scale
musicals, ballet and contemporary dance
•
Other performance spaces include a 250 seat studio theatre, a dance house and
350 seat recital hall, BBC Hoddinott Hall
•
Wales Millennium Centre is also home to eight other cultural organisations:
Literature Wales, BBC National Orchestra of Wales, Hijinx Theatre, National Dance
Company Wales, Touch Trust, Ty Cerdd, Urdd, Welsh National Opera
•
For further information about the Centre please visit: www.wmc.org.uk.
•
The Centre’s news releases can be found at: www.wmc.org.uk/press
•
Wales Millennium Centre is a registered charity, number – 1060458
Walk the Plank
Walk the Plank are outdoor arts experts, who create powerful events with mass appeal. From
international stage to village square, their specialist team develop remarkable moments that
enrich the lives of their audience through shared experience - encouraging a sense of place, a
feeling of pride, and well-being.
The organisation empowers artists and communities through creative development, transforming
people and the places in which they live through opportunities to engage with accessible, artistic
excellence. Walk the Plank’s work includes the opening ceremony of Turku’s 2011 European
Capital of Culture in Finland and The Return of Colmcille – a landmark event for the first UK City
of Culture Derry-Londonderry.
Walk the Plank is a registered charity and is part of Arts Council England’s National Portfolio.
www.walktheplank.co.uk
Lloyds Bank Awen Schools
The Lloyds Bank Awen Schools are the Wales Millennium Centre’s series of three intensive 6/7
day residential training schools for aspiring arts practitioners. Delivered by Walk the Plank
between March and May 2015 at three locations across Wales, Lloyds Bank Awen Schools are for
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creative practitioners who want to gain valuable skills, inspiration and experience to support their
work in outdoor arts and the public realm.
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