OLION, the innovative trilogy, reimagines the ancient legend of Arianrhod from the Mabinogi, weaving her tale into a modern myth that spans live stage theatre, live open-air theatre on the streets of Bangor, and a digital short film.
Under the creative direction of Angharad Elen, Anthony Matsena, Marc Rees and Gethin Evans, OLION promises to be an experience that will give audiences a taste of something completely new, while remaining rooted in the literary greats of old.
With rehearsals starting in just a few weeks, Gethin Evans reflects on the creative vision for the epic 3-part production that explores the bravery of being an ‘other’ in an unforgiving world.
What first sparked the idea for OLION?
There was no exact start date - we didn’t go ‘oh, look, here's the next Frân Wen show’. Our partnership with GISDA and the Nabod project started two years ago. The young people involved in the project constructed a story, narratives and characters over 18 months and thematically were landing in a certain area.
Alongside this I was having conversations with artists about what they were longing for in terms of creative processes - scale, ambition, co-creation, and opportunities to work in new ways. And so we came to OLION, with the vision of offering artists and audiences something different.
How would you sum up OLION?
It's quite a big project to get your head around within 10 minutes. But that's my job, right, to communicate this in a very simple way. It is a story told in three parts that explores the idea and feeling of otherness in this world. And when you fear how the world may treat you because of who you are, is it better to stay in hiding or stand in the light of day and say ‘I am here and I will not hide’?
The first part is an epic Greek-like myth that starts in the depths of the Mabinogion, and Arianrhod’s story.
The second sees Arianrhod’s descendants, a community in hiding, come into our world today and ask our audience to consider how they would welcome and treat them.
And the third, taking the epic events of this myth and story and placing it in a single household; these stories don't just exist in our myths and legends, they are happening today in our world.
What is it going to look and feel like?
I’d describe it as a psychedelic adventure, an emotional sucker punch and a lot of fun. Visually, we are clashing the organic and the industrial and I want audiences to come out feeling a thrill, needing time to process and discuss, but to feel that there is something electric about this fusing of movement, music, design and rich text to have experienced.
PART I: ARIANRHOD [20 - 28 SEPTEMBER 2024]
PART II: YR ISFYD (The Underworld) [28 SEPTEMBER 2024]
PART III: Y FAM (The Mother) [OCTOBER 2024]