Upstairs at the Pen and Wig

Reality Theatre was born a year ago out of an idea, a script and a strong sense of social justice. After spending time in the local hospital with my now late mother, and witnessing the plight of many vulnerable and elderly people there, I promised myself I would tell their stories.

We wanted our audiences to come along and watch a pub theatre performance in the same way they might go and watch a band or a stand-up comedian

It was prompted by one lady with Alzheimer’s who would trick visitors into helping her in her attempt to escape the ward. I wanted to tell her story, or more accurately my interpretation of her story, and so Waiting for Harry was created – a stage play about Lilly, living with Alzheimer’s in a care home, waiting for her deceased husband to return home.

However, an idea, a script and good intentions are not enough and I found that there are very few avenues into the creative industry, with little scope for a new and unknown writer.

A performance base

Taking advice from a playwright, I decided to go it alone and took the enormous step of leaving a long and established teaching career to set up a small theatre company, armed with a group of brave and enthusiastic actors and pretty much nothing else.

We were fortunate to be offered a venue – the upstairs function room of the Pen and Wig in Newport, a wonderful old public house dating back to the 1600s. This has remained our base – a space in which to meet, rehearse, workshop ideas and perform.

Newport is an industrialised city with a working-class population. It already had two main providers of theatre: the Dolman, a large amateur theatrical company, and the Riverfront, a council-run arts and theatre centre.

We wanted to move away from the perceived elitist reputation of theatre and appeal to a different type of audience: the pub-goer rather than the existing theatre audience. We wanted our audiences to come along and watch a pub theatre performance in the same way they might go and watch a band or a stand-up comedian. In other words, as part of an entertainment scene rather than as an artistic or cultural experience.

Real productions

To date, we have put on three productions. Waiting for Harry is based upon issues within the care system; Halloween Nightmare is an experimental piece that used music and horror to represent a psychotic episode; and My Condition and Me is an adaptation of the Halloween play, showing what life can be like for someone with mental illness.

The narratives for the plays were based upon research taken from a mixture of case studies, observations, secondary research and experiences of the cast and team.

The response has so far been very positive, with audience numbers ranging from 90 or more, which packs out our small venue, to about 20, smaller and more intimate. Audience demographics tend to vary, depending upon the social issue being presented. Waiting for Harry attracted a more mature crowd, whereas My Condition and Me interestingly had a male-dominated audience, likely due to the topic of male mental illness.

Our current production in development, Stand by your Man, to take place in May, is based upon the controversial issue of domestic violence, incorporating a gendered and inter-generational perspective to what is primarily a male-dominated performance.

Storytelling nights

Along with our quarterly social dramas, we have also added monthly storytelling nights with the aim of offering a platform to new and local talent. For a small fee, writers and artists can submit work to be performed by our actors or narrated, Jackanory-style, and afterwards receive written review sheets from the live audience.

These nights seem to have taken on an almost comedic, cabaret-style life of their own, providing a relaxed and varied platform upon which the audience can view alternative types of arts and theatre. This has developed and reinforced our aim of providing pub entertainment and attracting new audiences to the world of staged drama.

Knowing the audience

During this busy and exciting first year, one of the most important lessons we have learnt is to know our audience. This has had an impact on marketing and promotion, the area where social media has been of most benefit. Building up a fan-base and recognising the loyalty of an audience is vital. After all, it is the audience that can make or break a production, which is why their engagement with the company and its services remains at the forefront of our business approach.

Moving forward, we are currently expanding our management board to include local pub and venue proprietors, in a scheme to further develop and promote the arts and entertainment scene in Newport. Our future goal is to make the town a storytelling entertainment centre within South Wales, producing original, realistic and accessible narratives in a variety of forms for those without a voice or a platform.

Julie Benson is Artistic Director of the Reality Theatre.
realitytheatre.co