News 21/03/2023

Ar y Dibyn is back with new sessions as part of Pijin | Pigeon

Image of 5 people of varying ages sat around a table together

Under the auspices of our Lead Artist Iola Ynyr and a new group of artists, a group of participants from the Maesgeirchen area of Bangor – each one of them living with, or affected by, addiction – have come together to be part of a series of creative workshops. To us as a company this project is very close to our hearts, and we are delighted to see it continuing.

On this occasion, we are merging the workshops with activities relating to our next production, Pijin | Pigeon, and Bethan Marlow – the playwright who has adapted the novel for the stage – has been working with the participants during their most recent sessions. With the workshops taking place very near to the slate-quarrying village in which the play is set, the experience has been a special one for our participants and artists.

Woman leans against a black iron gate in the doorway to a building. She is smiling and is looking off camera.

As part of the sessions, the participants are given an opportunity to respond openly, and by creative means, to extracts of Bethan’s script. Seeing the participants responding to her work, Bethan said:

"I’m a firm believer that everyone has the right and the talent to have creative opportunities. Creating a safe, accessible and non-judgemental space, such as Iola has done in Ar y Dibyn, is a basic element if we are to try to reach out to vulnerable people in our community to offer those opportunities. Playing a very small part in the workshops has been a great pleasure for me. Such a talented and supportive crew. There are some very creative and unique voices that deserve to be given a platform so that they may be heard."

Since its inception in 2020, the Ar y Dibyn project has provided an opportunity for those affected by addiction to respond by creative means to their feelings and experiences. Through the medium of art, speaking and writing the participants have, over the past 3 years, created powerful and eye-opening pieces of work. Some of this work can be seen on the Ar y Dibyn project page.

An elderly man sits on a low brick wall outside a community centre.
Group of people sat around a table with pens and paper in front of them. Almost everyone is smiling with their mouths open and they all look towards each other.
Woman sits outside on a wooden bench. The sun is shining and she is holding a pen in one hand while resting a notebook on her legs. She holds the pen to the paper and looks down.
Middle-aged woman stands against wall with a painted mural. Mural appears to show a pier, a river and a mountain range with greenery.
Woman stands under a trellis outside. She is smiling and looking off camera.

During this news series of workshops, the hope is to create a powerful piece or pieces of creative work responding to the themes in Pijin | Pigeon and to the life experiences of the participants. Iola Ynyr has been leading the project from the outset, and she considers it a privilege to see it continuing to develop:

"It is a pleasure seeing the project developing with Bethan Marlow’s creative contribution. Ar y Dibyn is a haven to process and imagine creative responses to life’s challenges, just as in the adaptation of Alys Conran’s novel. It proves that professional theatrical experiences can offer a broader creative capacity while maintaining various participatory elements. It’s important to acknowledge the creativity of those often on the margins of society, who provide a unique insight into life in Wales today. Many participants are returning to the programme for their third time and discussing the possibility of becoming mentors in the future.

We continue to welcome more artists who are developing their skills to support vulnerable participants with the courage and ambition to produce work of a high artistic standard. Taking creative risks is celebrated within this supportive and caring Welsh-language environment that offers valuable experiences to the participants while also emphasising the importance of the artist's well-being to experiment with their work.

 

The project is a testament to Theatr Genedlaethol Cymru’s commitment to offering long-term participatory opportunities to people and communities affected by addiction and establishing well-being through creativity and the arts in an inclusive and muscular way."

Group of people sat around a table. One woman is particularly in focus and she is staring at something in front of her and smiling. There are pieces of paper and pens on the table in front of them. On the walls around them there is various colourful pieces of graffiti.

Joining with Bethan and Iola will be the artist Iestyn Tyne, the counsellor Carwyn Jones and the translator Lowri Gwyn – and the whole team will be working together to ensure that the room is a safe and open place where all the participants will be supported to allow them to express themselves in whichever way feels most comfortable for them. We are also incredibly proud to have our producer Nia Skyrme on the team who has been coordinating the project since the start.

Woman sits on a low table with interpreting equipment in front of her. She has a pair of headphones with an inbuilt microphone.
Man stands under a plastic canopy outside. He is leaning on a blue painted metal rail behind him

We are very grateful for sponsorship from the North Wales Area Planning Board for Substance Misuse that has enabled us to continue to develop the project and to build on the positive work accomplished thus far.

For more information about the project, click here to go to the Ar y Dibyn page on our website.

Young woman sits on a green plastic dinosaur with a long colourful tail. She has her arms wrapped around the neck of the dinosaur and looks down smiling.
Man in grey tracksuit stands outside in the doorway of a community centre. He is leaning against a black rail gate.
Group of people sat at a table. Focus is a middle aged woman who has a coffee cup and a piece of paper in front of her. She holds her hand up to her head, and she has a pen between her fingers. She is looking towards someone else on the table. The woman next to her is smiling and looking at her.

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