BLUE Chapter, Market Road, Canton, Cardiff, Wales, CF5 1QE Tuesday 5th – Saturday 16th February 2019 P

Image  courtesy of David Wilson Photography.

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), and 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).

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.

Performance Dates Tuesday 5th – Saturday 16th February 2019 Tuesday – Saturday, 7.30pm 7th, 9th, 14th, 16th February, 2.30pm BLS performance, 12th February, 7.30pm Q&A talkback performance, 13th February, 7.30pm

Running time 1 hour 20 minutes

Age Recommendation 14+

Location Chapter, Market Road, Canton, Cardiff, Wales, UK CF5 1QE

How to get there Chapter is situated in Canton, behind Cowbridge Road East, between Llandaff Road and Market Road. Bus numbers 17 and 18 buses (Chapter Arts Centre stop) from Cardiff Central, and Chapter has its own car park.

Box Office Tickets are available priced from £14 (£12 concession) from thee box office, (0)29 2030 4400 or online at www.chapter.org/blue

Twitter @chippylaneprod, @chaptertweets, #ChippyLanesBLUE

In this crazy modern life where we lurch from high-pressure work to frantic leisure, no-pain-no-gain workouts, and don’t-forget-the-social-media-photo, we sometimes forget about that little person inside us.

Which is why we need to schedule ‘me’ appointments.  Yes, actually put them in our diary, because if we don’t, we won’t.

Mindfulness means switching off your phone, TV, Spotify etcetera, sitting comfortably and using the following simple routine.

You just need yourself for this, but Scentered Aromatherapy balms can really enhance the experience and help you focus, particularly if your brain is still in overdrive. They are 100% pure sticks of moringa mixed with shea butter, each containing up to 25 essential oils and botanicals. The first thing which hits you are the amazing smells – they are quite addictive.

Make yourself comfortable – if it’s easy, sit in lotus, but if your hips are screaming, use a floor cushion against a wall, or a firm chair. Mindfulness isn’t a competition.

Now choose the Scentered aromatherapy balm which best suits your needs – your choice includes Be Happy, De-stress, Focus, Escape and Sleep Well. Dab it on your pulse points – temples, neck and wrists – and inhale long and deep, noticing your tummy rise and fall.  Count your breath 1 in, 2 out, 3 in and so on until you reach 20.

As you focus and observe your breath, relaxation will melt through your body. Notice how you feel – really feel. Any pain? Any tension? What thoughts are coming into your head? Just notice and let them go.  Then back to your breathing.

This will take about a minute – surely you can find a minute for yourself? And if you want to make more time, your whole being will thank you.

Scentered are committed to using only the finest natural ingredients and therapeutic grade essential oils. Each balm has been tested and retested for quality.  No parabens, petrochemicals, synthetic fragrances, colours, or other nasties are used.

Visit the Scentered website for a list of their essential oils, and how they can help mind, body and spirit. The balm sticks, beautiful scented candles and gift sets can be purchased there too.

By Dr K Thompson, author of From Both Ends of the Stethoscope: Getting through breast cancer – by a doctor who knows

http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B01A7DM42Q http://www.amazon.com/dp/B01A7DM42Q

http://faitobooks.co,uk

Note: These articles express personal views. No warranty is made as to the accuracy or completeness of information given and you should always consult a doctor if you need medical advice.

Incognito Theatre Company, winners of the Les Enfants Terribles’ 2018 Greenwich Partnership Award, will be making their debut at VAULT Festival with Tobacco Road from 13^th to 17^th February.

Image courtesy of Tim Hall

Based in the murky underworld of 1920s south east London, in the shadow of the Great War, this unique gangster story explores the stories never told in history books with every character being based on a real person or people.  By shining a light on gang activity, this fast-paced production investigates how young people find themselves embroiled in gang culture while exploring the necessary violence of an implacable female gangster rising through a male-dominated society.

Five resourceful young men and women try to find fame and wealth even as staying alive poses problems in a cutthroat society of thugs and conmen. Incognito’s explosive physical choreography takes the audience on a fast-paced and thrilling journey from pickpocketing in murky back streets to fixed boxing matches in dark basements.

Every character is based on a real person or people. Elsie and Freda are inspired by the ruthless female gang, Alice Diamond and her followers. Tommy Carlisle is based on the bare-knuckle boxers of Lambeth, Alfie on the thousands of young men left deeply tormented by the effects of World War I, whilst the ambitious Felix is inspired by the bloodthirsty young men who were driven to succeed by their unerring determination.

Interrogating a strait-jacketed experience of gender, this thrilling production considers the complex and impossible standards of traditional masculinity while exploring the necessary violence of an implacable female gangster rising through a male-dominated society.

Tobacco Road is a magnified examination of the real people who forged a life for themselves in a world that had scorned them as disposable. By shining a light on gang activity, Tobacco Road investigates how young people continue to find themselves embroiled in gang culture and why it can sometimes feel as though there is no other option.

Performance Dates Wednesday 13th – Sunday 17th February 2019 Wednesday – Sunday, 6.15pm Saturday matinee, 3pm

Running time 60 minutes

Location VAULT Festival, Network Theatre, 246A Lower Road, London SE1 8SJ Box Office Tickets are available priced £15 from vaultfestival.com

Twitter @incognito107, #TobaccoRoad

Ages 14+, mild swearing and use of strobe lights

, 418 St John Street, London EC1V 4NJ Tuesday 8th January – Saturday 2nd February 2019

Liv Warden’s debut play at the Old Red Lion explores a different perspective of the Time’s Up movement. The provocative and timely Anomaly will star Natasha Cowley (Othello, Shakespeare’s Globe; Connections 2018, National Theatre; The Last Days of Anne Boleyn, The Tower of London) and making their professional theatre debuts Alice Handoll and Katherine Samuelson.  Post-Weinstein, Anomaly is a story that is ready to be told.

It’s 6am.  News has just broken that Phillip Preston, media mogul and film-industry powerhouse has been arrested for assaulting his wife.  His three daughters, who lead separate lives, are left with the fallout.  As they battle the world’s press, the board members of Preston International and each other, they soon find themselves not only fighting to save the Preston dynasty but to protect everything they know to be true. What happens when a family, under the most intense scrutiny of the public eye, is faced with unbearable pain?

In our Kardashian-soaked culture of sensationalism, victims’ testimonies are finally being taken seriously. This play is not about men like Harvey Weinstein. Anomaly is not about the perpetrator or the politics of he said / she said. It’s about the furore, the collateral destruction and the family stood by the right hand of the accused. It’s about children carrying the black spot of their parent’s name. Anomaly is a war cry for the women who have been left to pick up the pieces.

Alice Handoll (Polly)

Image courtesy of Alishia Love

Katherine Samuelson plays Penny

Image courtesy of Samuel Black

 Natasha Cowley plays Piper

Image courtesy of Ruth Crafer

Performance Dates  Tuesday 8th January – Saturday 2nd February 2019 Monday – Saturday, 7:30pm Saturday and Sunday, 3pm

Running time   75 minutes

Twitter @ORLTheatre, @WildChild_UK, @LiviaWarden, #Anomaly

Location Old Red Lion Theatre, 418 St John Street, London EC1V 4NJ

Box Office Tickets are available priced £17 (£15 concessions). Available from Old Red Lion Theatre Box Office and www.oldredliontheatre.co.uk or 0333 012 4963.

Ages 14+