“Love us, or loathe us, men are everywhere. We have a habit of popping up, often unexpectedly, in your beds, wombs, wars, and conversations. You find us in your arms, nightmares and fondest memories. We come, for better, or for worse, in guises as disparate as grandfather and son, priest and lover, yet apparently we all hail from Mars. No wonder being a man is problematic; it’s dangerous, pressured, ridiculous, often funny, sometimes tragic, but is also capable of being something beautiful. “Muscle” is a richly textured fusion of theatre, dance, music and documentary that explores that complexity. Inspired by poignant interviews with males of all ages across Wales, performed by an eclectic all male cast, Muscle has been created by writer/director Greg Cullen, choreographer/dancer Phil Williams and composer Benjamin Talbott.”
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Cardiff’s latest theatrical sensations, Shock n Awe Performance Company, tour Wales this Spring with their Edinburgh Festival, Herald Angel Award winning show, “Muscle”. Despite being the company’s first show they’ve received four and five star reviews across the board, “Astounding!”, “Overwhelmingly beautiful”, “The comedy is rich and genuinely funny” are just some of the accolades this highly accessible, yet groundbreaking, production has received.
‘Shock n Awe’ consists of award winning playwright and director Greg Cullen and choreographer and dancer Phil Williams. Together they set out to research the lives of men in Wales, but were amazed by what they uncovered. “We interviewed every conceivable type of man, from gangsters to hippy farmers, from six year olds to eighty six year old. Once they started talking the most incredible stories poured out of them”. Hence “Muscle” became a multilayered collage of hilarious, tragic and inspirational true stories, which explodes on stage using dance, physical theatre, song, drama, comedy and storytelling of the highest order.
Phil Williams’ witty, moving and powerful choreography lifts these stories into another realm and has won plaudits from the toughest of critics. “He uses movement with the same gentle and exquisite skill that Cullen uses words”.
The all male cast play many parts, including all the female characters, but this is no drag act gone wrong. “We wanted to dump the myth that men can’t understand women. We’ve grown up with women, been raised by them and love them so why not play them with integrity? That’s not to deny that they are sometimes outrageous and funny, but then aren’t we all?” said Greg.
Young composer Benjamin Talbott from Mid Wales has written a score, which veers between symphonic Drum n Bass and traditional African song. “Benjy, is a brilliant young talent”, says Phil who also commissioned him for his original dance piece, “Embark” for National Dance Company of Wales in 2011. “He has incredible range and ability to create and shape music for both dance and drama, not only that but his various band projects, including “Benjy and the Greats” have been entertaining Cardiff and Glastonbury audiences since his arrival here three years ago”.
Theatre designer Angharad Matthews, a graduate of the celebrated course at the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama has rendered a beautifully simple set consisting of a series of fast moving screens upon which video projections are cast and actors are magically revealed. Given that the actors change characters swiftly her costuming is pared down, restricting the colour ways, but not the actors. “Muscle” is a celebration of acting so we trust the guys to convey the characters without having to resort to lots of props. Obviously this demands that we have actors of the highest calibre”.
Indeed the actors have proven their quality with three sell out runs at Cardiff’s Chapter Arts Centre before earning sensational four and five star reviews in Edinburgh. They are drawn from all ages and races reflecting the breadth of men interviewed. Veteran Hugh Thomas who began his career in Lyndsey Anderson’s “If” before a long career in Wales which included writing, directing and appearing in Pobol y Cwm, returned to the stage after a twenty three year absence with effortless ease. His story of a young boy’s first sexual fumblings is one of the highlights of the show. Nigerian born actor Sule Rimi is in sensational form playing on the one hand a Cardiff docks boy and on the other a valleys woman looking for a quickie! Dean Rehman’s Yemeni roots add insight to some remarkable stories including one from a Cardiff Taxi driver who spent every other month in the desert fighting Gadaffi. Such stories are common and go to prove, as Greg says, “That everyone has a story, there’s no such thing as ordinary.”