Dalier Sylw: a potted history |
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Dalier Sylw is based in Cardiff, the capital of Wales. Since its founding in 1988 Dalier Sylw has earned a reputation for staging new and challenging work of high standard, and is now recognized by audiences and practitioners as Wales' leading Welsh language company. Initially set up to promote new plays by contemporary authors in the Welsh language, and to provide a context in which these playwrights could develop a body of work for the theatre, the company has developed to commission plays in English as well as performing bilingual work, reflecting the bilingual nature of the Welsh nation. The company's work is not characterized by a single style or approach; working with a core of six writers over the years has produced new work in various genres as well as translations of classical and contemporary European texts, and each text has dictated its own production style. Dalier Sylw seeks to examine and challenge the parameters and received notions of text-based theatre. Productions, both touring and site specific, are mounted in a variety of spaces which have included main stage and studio theatres, specially converted warehouses, clubs and community venues, and on one occasion a 16th century Tudor mansion, a production which was awarded the first Barclays New Stages Award for Innovation in 1990. The company performs 3 or 4 productions a year, the majority directed by the company's Artistic Director, Bethan Jones, with one production a year set aside for a guest director. There is no resident company of actors, but over the years a core group who regularly work with the company has emerged. Although the company style is characterized by its variety, continuity is ensured by the presence of the Artistic Director, who was herself a founder member of the company. The company regularly visits schools and colleges to work with students and provide valuable 'hands-on' experience for the study of set texts. Since 1994 Dalier Sylw has been developing international links with individual directors and companies involved with new writing, and is particularly interested in work with minority and indigenous monitory languages |
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