The Independent doesn't review Welsh productions in Wales. But times do change, people can make choices but they need the language of alternatives. The case for writing as the human voice that inhabits these wastelands is made by the American poet Adrienne Rich. It is no accident therefore that Rich associates political apathy with a decreasing facility with words. If this is the case for poetry how much more so is it with theatre, the dialogic space where, as Dic Edwards is fond of saying, conflicting voices are framed in debate.
Moves are afoot for change.
And not just in Wales. Though I don't agree with everything that Michael Billington says, it's interesting that he should review Kay Adshead's The Bogus Woman and Timberlake Wertenbaker's Credible Witness as examples of a wider return to political theatre. This was a production which enabled students to think about the nature of history and the purposes to which historical narratives are put. Directed by Andy Smith, this was a beautiful production, self-consciously playing with and subverting the comforting modes of costume drama. There were some wonderful tableaux, frequently underlit for extra effect, carefully chosen music to destabilise and offset the dramatic narrative and performers whose disciplined stillness commanded attention.