“Uchafbwynt Gwyl Beyond the Border oedd y perfformiad hwn i fi. Roedd ‘na egni go iawn rhwng y perfformwyr a greodd min ac awch i’r stori. Treiddiodd yr hanes yn ddwfn i mewn i’n cyrff mewn ffordd drydanol a theimladwy.”
“This performance was my highlight at Beyond the Border Storytelling Festival. There was a real fission between the three performers, creating an edginess to this evocative story that brought it right into our bodies in a way that was both electric and moving.”
Y Sioe
Hen chwedl Gymreig adnabyddus iawn yw stori Merch y Llyn. Mae’r sioe yn seiliedig ar stori Llyn y Fan Fach a byddwn yn ei pherfformio mewn ffordd hollol newydd. Rydym yn falch o greu’r gwaith hwn gyda nawdd Cyngor Celfyddydau Cymru ac mewn partneriaeth gyda Theatr Felinfach a Gŵyl Chwedleua Rhyngwladol Beyond the Border. Mae rhagor o wybodaeth am y partneriaeth ar waelod y dudlalen.
Rhan o sesiwn ymarfer yn nhŵr Castell Dinefwr yw’r fideo ar ben y dudalen hon.
Chwedl a Chorff Y mae’r corff dynol yn elfen sylfaenol y sioe hon ond does dim coreograffi ac nid dawnsio byddwn ni chwaeth. Defnyddiwn ddulliau hen ac arbrofol er mwyn chwarae gyda phresenoldeb cyrff y perfformwyr gan ddefnyddio’r gofod a gwrthrychau er mwyn dyfnhau effaith ac atseiniau'r hanes.
Dwyieithrwydd Nid perfformiad sydd ar gael mewn dwy iaith yw’r sioe hon ond sioe ddwyieithog. Felly byddwn ni’n symud o un iaith i’r llall er mwyn i Gymry Cymraeg, pobl ddi-gymraeg, lled siaradwyr yr iaith a dysgwyr gael dilyn yr hanes ac ymdrochi yn y chwedl heb ddefnyddio cyfieithiad dynol na thechnolegol.
Mewn arbrofion yn y gorffennol rwy wedi dod o hyd i ddulliau o blethu’r ddwy iaith at ei gilydd mewn ffordd sydd yn galluogi'r rhai di-gymraeg neu lai hyderus eu Cymraeg i ddilyn y stori a chymryd rhan lawn yn y sioe.
Byrfyfyrio Sioe adrodd straeon yw hon, felly does dim sgript. Mae’r un pethau yn digwydd i’r un cymeiriadau yn yr un drefn ym mhob sioe ond mae’r ffordd o fynegi’r stori’n wahanol bob tro. Datblygon ni sgiliau byrfyfyrio wrth i ni ymarfer er mwyn darganfod haenau ac atseiniau dyfnach. Mae’r geiriau, symudiadau a cherddoriaeth yn wahanol bob tro a bydd pob gofod a chynulleidfa yn ychwanegu at unigrwydd pob perfformiad.
Cerddoriaeth Er bod yr arbrofion cynnar, yn ystod fy nghyfnod Gwobr Cymru Creadigol, o blethu gwaith corff a chwedleua wedi gosod sylfaen cadarn i’r gwaith hwn sylweddolon ni fod angen cerddoriaeth ar y cynhyrchiad. Mae cerddoriaeth fyw fyrfyfyr yn rhoi haen arall i’r gwaith a gadael mwy o wagle yn y cyfanwaith er mwyn i’r dulliau arbrofol a chynnwys yr hanes atseinio gyda'i gilydd.
The Show
The story of the Lady of the Lake from Llyn y Fan Fach is one of the best known Welsh folktales. We will use this well-known story and perform it in a totally new way. We are pleased to be creating this work with funding from Arts Council Wales and in partnership with Theatr Felinfach and Beyond the Border International Storytelling Festival. There is more information about the partnership at the bottom of the page.
The video at the top of the page is a section of a rehearsal in the tower of Dinefwr Castle.
Story and Body Physicality is a core principle in this show. There is no choreography and it is not ‘danced’ as such. We will be using tried and trusted methods of physical presence and play between the performers using the space and objects in it to deepen the impact and resonance of the story.
Bilingualism Rather than doing a Welsh and English version of the show we will create a fully bilingual show. This means that we will move from one language to the other so that both Welsh speakers and non-Welsh speakers are able to follow and immerse themselves in the performance without the mediation of translators or technology.
In previous experiments I have found a way of using the two languages together in ways that allow learners and those who have some Welsh but feel under-confident speaking, to take full part.
Improvisation This is storytelling so there is no script. The same things happen to the same characters in the same order but the form and content of the show will change each time we perform it. We developed our group improvisation skills and protocols as we rehearsed in order to unearth new and deeper layers and resonances and each audience and performance space will add to the uniqueness of each show.
Music Although the original exploration that took place during my Creative Wales Award period led to ways of combining physical and storytelling performance we realised that the work needed live music. Live, improvised music gives another layer to the show and leave more space for the experimental methods and the story iteslf to resonate with each other.
Y Tîm
The Team
Ddawnswraig, perfformwraig ac athrawes o’r Ffindir yw Eeva-Maria Mutka Sylfaeonodd hi Studio Penpynfarch ger Llandysul lle cynhaliwyd ymarferion y siow. Hyfforddwyd yn LAMDA, Llundain, 1989-92. Mae’n gweithio gan amlaf ar y cyd ac, ar hyn o bryd, mae’n gysylltiedig â: NORTH -Hidden Behind the Darkness gyda Gaby Agis & Titta Court, Pneuma gan Miranda Tuffnel, Sylvia Hallett a David Ward, yn ogystal â chreu ei gwaith ei hun.
Eeva-Maria Mutka is a Finnish movement artist and teacher. She founded the Penpynfarch Studio near Llandysul where the show was rehearsed. She trained at LAMDA, in London, 1989-92. She works collaboratively - currently involved in : NORTH -Hidden Behind the Darkness with Gaby Agis & Titta Court, Pneuma by Miranda Tufnell, Sylvia Hallett and David Ward - and makes her own work. Since 2003 Eeva-Maria and her husband,
Y mae gan Michael Harvey dros ugain mlynedd o brofiad fel storïwr, arweinydd gweithdai a chyfarwyddwr ym myd y chwedl. Mae wedi teithio’n helaeth trwy Gymru a thramor ac enillodd Dyfarniad Cymru Greadigol yn 2011. Mae yn gweithio ar ei liwt ei hun a gyda’r cwmni cynhyrchu chwedlau cyfoes Adverse Camber gan gynnwys y sioeau Hunting the Giant’s Daughter a Breuddwydio Cae’r Nos/Dreaming the Night Field. Y mae Michael yn enillydd Gwobr BASE (British Awards for Storytelling Excellence).
Michael Harvey has over twenty years experience as a storyteller, workshop leader and director in the field of storytelling. He has toured throughout Wales and internationally and was awarded a Major Creative Wales Award in 2011. He works as a freelancer and with the storytelling production comany Adverse Camber touring the shows Hunting the Giant’s Daughter and Dreaming the Night Field. Michael is a BASE award winner (British Awards for Storytelling Excellence).
Dramatwrg y sioe hon, y mae Miranda Tufnell yn ddawnswraig, awdur ac arweinydd gwaith symud a’r dychymyg yn ogystal â bod yn athrawes Alexander a therapydd cranio-sacral. Y mae wedi arddangos ei gwaith mewn orielau a theatrau trwy’r DU a thramor ers 1976 yn ogystal â datblygu gwaith celf ac iechyd o fewn yr GIG mewn meddygfa deulu yn Cumbria a llefydd eraill. Y mae llyfr When I Open My Eyes: Dance Health Imagination (2017) yn olrhain hanes y gwaith hwn. Mae hi’n gyd-awdur dau lyfr am ffynhonellau corfforol creadigrwydd Body Space Image (1990) a A Widening Field (2004) gyda Chris Crickmay.
Miranda Tufnell, the show’s dramaturg, is a dance artist, writer and teacher in movement and imagination, as well as an Alexander teacher and cranio-sacral therapist. She has been showing her performance work in galleries and theatres across the UK and abroad since 1976, as well as developing pioneering arts and health work both within the NHS for a GP surgery in Cumbria and independently within the UK. Her latest book When I Open My Eyes: Dance Health Imagination (2017) documents this work. With Chris Crickmay she co-authored two books on sourcing creative work,Body Space Image (1990) and A Widening Field (2004).
Cyfansoddwraig a cherddor yw Stacey Blythe sy wedi performio trwy’r DU a’r UDA. Y mae hi’n cyfansoddi ar gyfer WNO max ac yn perfformio gyda’r grwpiau gwerin Ffynnon ac Elfen. Mae hi wedi cyd-weithio gyda nifer eang o artistiaid gan gynnwys Maria Hayes (celf), Patrick Jones (barddoniaeth), cerddorion (Dylan Fowler, Rajesh David) a storïwyr (Nick Hennessey) a’r cwmni cynhyrchu chwedleua Adverse Camber.
Composer, performer, and multi instrumentalist, Stacey Blythe has performed all over the UK and America. She is a regular composer for the Welsh National Opera's MAX department. She performs with the folk groups Ffynnon and Elfen. She has worked with many different artists including Maria Hayes (visual art), Patrick Jones (poetry) , musicians (Dylan Fowler, Rajesh David) and storytellers (Nick Hennessey) and the storytelling production company Adverse Camber
Llyn y Fan Fach
Yr Amserlen
Perfformiwyd blaenwelediad y sioe yng Ngŵyl Chwedleua Tu Hwnt i’r Ffin ym Mharc Dinefwr diolch i grant oddi wrth Gyngor Celfyddydau Cymru.
Rydym wrth ein boddau bod Cyngor Celfyddydau Cymru wedi penderfynu ariannu’r sioe a byddwn yn teithio i theatrau o hydfref 2024 ymlaen. Crëwn fersiwn Cymraeg/Ffrangeg er mwyn teithio i wledydd Cymraeg eu hiaith.
The Timeline
The premiere of the show was performed in the Beyond the Border International Storytelling Festival in the grounds of Castle Dinefwr thanks to an Arts Council Wales Grant.
We are delighted to say that Arts Council Wales has decided to fund the show and we will be touring from the autumn 2023. We will also be making a Welsh/French version to tour to Francophone countries and communities.
Llyn Nantlle Uchaf, Gwynedd
