National Theatre Wales

In Penygroes

The Weather Factory

December 2010

NATIONAL THEATRE WALES
and FEVERED SLEEP
with GALERI

Creative director and Co-Designed by
DAVID HARRADINE

Co-designer
ALI BEALE

Lighting Designer/Decor
JO MANSER

Sound Designer
JONY EASTERBY

Film/Sound
MARK WEBBER

Produced in association with FUEL

About the production

In December 2010, National Theatre Wales partnered with the visual theatre company Fevered Sleep inviting the weather in from the cold.

A series of magical installations at a house in Penygroes, Gwynedd, took guests on an adventure through the four seasons that make up the local climate. The Weather Factory recreated a years worth of weather from the Snowdonia area, in one ordinary, yet extraordinary location.

You can view feedback from the audience here.

Community

Sorting out

We'd been sorting out all the stuff in the house, and I came across a big pile of very old school ex… by David Harradine

What the critics said

The Guardian
"each room delivers a consistent surprise"
Read the full review here

Western Mail
"another example of how NTW are pushing theatre boundaries"
Read the full review here

The Observer
"imagination is stimulated, curiosity aroused... an atmospheric pleasure"
Read the full review here

Programme

A programme accompanied 'The Weather Factory' with a statement from the director, and personal statement in Welsh from Elen ap Robert of Galeri Caernarfon. You can read the digital version here

Video archive

Another chance to take a journey into Cynwyd, Penygroes, where National Theatre Wales and Fevered Sleep invited the weather in from the cold in December 2010.

David Harradine, Director

I first started thinking about the weather in north Wales last summer, when I was travelling around the country on a research trip, looking for ideas for a project for National Theatre Wales. I had planned to climb Snowdon to look at the quality of light at the summit, but my climb was called off because of heavy rain. The next day I’d arranged to visit South Stack lighthouse on Anglesey. It was evacuated because of extreme winds. I felt as if the weather was playing with me. Then I found a newspaper clipping about a couple in west Wales who had witnessed a ball of lighting in their front room. It suddenly became clear – like a landscape appearing through mountain fog – that I should make a piece about the weather. We then spent a long time looking for locations, and visited everything from airfields to factories to underground tunnels, and finally houses. I remembered all the times I’d looked out of my window before leaving the house, as well as that story about the couple that was visited by lighting, and a home seemed like the ideal place to make the show.

I’ve met a lot of people through the project, people who have told me all sorts of stories about the weather. When I go to the Co-Op in the village, we always chat about how it’s doing outside, and recently, about how cold it is. The weather brings people together.

Fevered Sleep

An associate company of the Young Vic, Fevered Sleep has built an international reputation for devising bold and experimental work that is both playful and profound. Recent projects include commissions from Brighton Festival, Sadlerís Wells, Siobhan Davies Dance and the Young Vic.

As well as work for adults, Fevered Sleep creates captivating and critically acclaimed shows for children, including The Forest, Brilliant and And the Rain Falls Down (touring in spring 2011).

www.feveredsleep.co.uk

Galeri

Galeri Caernarfon Cyf is an independent and private company, which is limited by guarantee. The company was set up to meet the following objective:

“To pursue sustainable projects in a creative way in order to realise the
cultural, economic and environmental potential of the local community
and its environs”

The company is not a part of any local authority or any other organisation.

Since it began, the company has grown from strength to strength and is now responsible for establishing and implementing numerous projects and schemes within the local community. The Trust's busy work programme includes property development, implementing Adwy Cyf schemes (Agency role), setting up and managing SBARC!, Galeri's Arts Project and owners of Galeri, the brand new £7.5million Creative Enterprise Centre at the town's Victoria Dock in 2005.

www.galericaernarfon.co.uk