National Theatre Wales to go gigging with Gruff Rhys

http://www.guardian.co.uk/stage/2013/jan/24/national-theatre-wales-gruff-rhys

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They have staged Aeschylus in the Brecon Beacons, and transformed the whole of the town of Port Talbot into the scene of Christ's Passion. Now National Theatre Wales has announced its next step: a new work co-devised by the former frontman of the Super Furry Animals, Gruff Rhys.

It takes as its subject the aristocratic, radical Italian publisher Giangiacomo Feltrinelli – famous for discovering and publishing, in the teeth of communist opposition, the manuscript of Dr Zhivago, for befriending Fidel Castro and Che Guevara, and for being willing to take on Lampedusa's classic novel The Leopard. He died mysteriously when attempting to blow up an electricity pylon, as part of an ultra-left Italian political group,

The work – somewhere between concept album, gig and play-with-songs – is co-devised by the playwright Tim Price, the author of The Radicalisation of Bradley Manning. The pair will collaborate with hip-hop producer Boom Bip and director Wils Wilson.

According to National Theatre Wales's artistic director, John McGrath, the show, titled Praxis Makes Perfect, will open in May in a secret location in Cardiff, and then pop up "at music festivals and music venues around the UK. We are known for doing site-specific shows; in this case the site is a music gig and there will be all the excitement of mixing that with theatre."

Rhys was attracted to the idea of writing a biographical show – which will also have a life as an album – after reading Senior Service, a memoir of Feltrinelli by his son, Carlo. He said: "A lot of the songs in the show are based around the titles he released as a publisher from the 1950s to 1970s. I suppose the ultimate goal of the show is to make people read more books." The creators hoped, he said, to shake up the notion of the gig "which can be extremely predictable. Part of the feel of it is that at the beginning it will seem like a concert given by a synth duo – but then we will put the audience through a lot of unpredictable experiences."

The company – which, like the National Theatre of Scotland, has no home building – will also take up residence on the island of Anglesey for the month of June, the highpoint of which will be a show by Hugh Hughes – the popular Anglesey comic character both resembling, and created by, Anglesey native Shôn Dale-Jones. There will also be a "DIY festival weekend," according to McGrath, in which all-comers can turn up and ply their art.

Other highlights of the company's third season include a month's residency in a miners' institute in the Rhondda village of Treorchy, with an autobiographical play by Rachel Tresize, who grew up there. Cardiff Castle will be the setting for their first Christmas show – an adaptation of the fairy stories written by former Python Terry Jones for his daughter – and the company will venture outside Wales with a residency in Tokyo, premiering a new play, The Opportunity of Efficiency, by Alan Harris in Japanese.