Output details

The Wizard the Goat and the Man Who Won the War

The text is unpublished, so the submission consists of the finished script of the play as it was performed. The Wizard the Goat and the Man Who Won the War was written and directed by Swansea’s D.J.Britton for BAFTA-winning actor Richard Elfyn. It aimed to engage a post-devolution Welsh public in the political, cultural and philosophical issues raised by the Lloyd George legacy, and to investigate small-scale touring theatre in Wales without the costs of major institutions. It toured remote locations and larger towns, achieving unusually high audiences, extending its reach through a BBC broadcast on the 150th anniversary of Lloyd George’s birth. Its compositional methodology tested incidents from literature-based research against various performance techniques – including song, dance, courtroom drama, stand-up and Music Hall. These were shaped into a psychological analysis which found favour with critics and audiences. Audience trials were central to the research, encouraging early public involvement. The success of this approach created interest among arts funders. Arts Council of Wales gave £4,600 towards the first national tour and has provided £20,000 for Britton and his collaborators to pursue the same methodology with another play. Wales Arts International gave £1,495 towards a Singapore performance. The play was short-listed three times in the Wales Theatre Awards 2013 (best script, performance and production). Critics were united in their acclaim, noting its performative strengths and sense of engagement. One commented that the script “does what theatre can do and journalism cannot. That is to depict complexity and paradox”. Another highlighted its use of “beautiful and succinct metaphors and allegories” in achieving this. • Public performance record: 1) Trial reading, Lloyd George Museum, Llanystumdwy November 2008. 2) Prototype performance, Dylan Thomas Centre, Swansea November 2010. 3) First tour, November 2011, venues throughout Wales. 4) Second tour, November 2012, Singapore and Wales. 5) BBC Wales broadcast, January 2013. 6) A further UK/international tour is planned for 2014 to mark the start of WW1.