“Just get up there will ya!” one boy shouts to the other. Is he really going to climb that ladder without anyone holding it? Is that actor about to defy gravity and climb a ladder without any support?
This is one of the last scenes in the play ‘Tafliad Carreg / Stones’, and after an energetic three quarters of an hour in the company of these two actors it’s impossible to know what will happen. ‘Tafliad Carreg / Stones’ by Arad Goch Theatre Company is a play where it’s impossible to second guess the action. The audience is central to the piece and goes on a rollercoaster ride with the two teenage main characters.
“BOYS ON DEATH CHARGE” was the news headline that spurred Zeal Theatre from Australia into devising the show in the first instant. In the play the two boys find themselves facing a manslaughter charge after kicking stones from a bridge over a motorway.
Since the play was created in 1996 it’s been performed in schools, festivals and theatres around the world and translated in to 20 different languages. Arad Goch’s ‘Tafliad Carreg / Stones’ makes this true story a very welsh tale, everyone knows boys like these.
Tom Lycos, who devised the play along with Stefo Nantsou, flew over to Wales from Australia especially to direct the play. A very happy co-incidence is that Tom was born in Aberystwyth and has relatives in Rhuthun.
Without a doubt ‘Tafliad Carreg / Stones’ is one of the most popular plays for young people today. Rhodri Trefor and Iwan Charles move swiftly from one character to the other to create dynamic, visual and physical theatre.
So, how would you find the boys – guilty or not guilty? Come and see for yourself.
The tour starts on the 21 of September and ends on the 24 of October, 2009. Visit www.aradgoch.org for the tour listings.
