And every so often I find something. Washed up on the shore. Something lost. Something old. Something broken. Something in need of repair. And I’d bring it back here. I’d bring it home.
With their first foray into new writing, Chippy Lane Productions present the world premiere of BLUE – the debut play of young Welsh writer Rhys Warrington. BLUE shines a light on the current state of innumerable families across Wales, one of the most pressing issues facing the UK as vital medical and NHS services are cut. It focuses on the negative impact on those struggling to care for the vulnerable without funding.
One evening in Carmarthen, an old acquaintance comes back into the lives of the Williams family, forcing them to face their reality as a family that feels trapped, isolated, and unsupported after their recent loss. This powerful and thought-provoking play explores the concept of ‘home’, the intricacies of grief, and asks how can you grieve someone who is still alive but no longer present?
BLUE’s incredible cast features Nia Roberts (The Crown, Netflix; The White Princess, Starz; Hidden, S4C/BBC Wales, Pobol y Cwm, S4C), Sophie Melville (Iphigenia in Splott, Sherman Theatre, National Theatre, Edinburgh, New York; Blackbird, The Other Room; The Divide, Old Vic; Low Level Panic, Young Vic; The Missing, BBC). Joining them are Jordan Bernarde (The Sea Plays, Old Vic Tunnels; Crazy Gary’s Mobile Disco, Waking Exploits; The Passion, National Theatre Wales; Da Vinci’s Demons, Starz; The Hanged Man, BBC) and Gwydion Rhys (The Village Social, National Theatre Wales; To Kill a Machine, Scriptography; Hinterland, Hidden, BBC).
2
Director Chelsey Gillard comments, BLUE follows in the footsteps of big, classic American texts by putting a family in crisis centre stage as they tear themselves apart. Our production, however, is set in the very here and now of Wales. Across our nation families are struggling to provide care for older relatives. The financial and emotional strain of that is one I am sure many of us are all too familiar with. Rhys Warrington is making a stunning debut as a writer as his words sensitively explore how each member of this family is changed forever by the effects of dementia. I’m very proud to be part of the team bringing this story to Welsh audiences.
BLUE is generously funded by Arts Council Wales. The production is also supported in kind by Chapter, Dementia UK, Older People Wales, Tŷ Hapus, and David Wilson Photography.
