Time for a new Dirty Protest

Dirty Protest stages a new production on Thursday

ALWAYS willing to put a plug in for like-minded independent spirits (and mates), WalesHome.org has heard that an imminent production from the critically-acclaimed Dirty Protest theatre company is about to hit town this week.

Entitled Dirty Protest Presents…..Out With The Old, the new production features five writers, including Skinsscribe Lucy Kirkwood, named by The Independent recently as the UK’s Brightest Young Stage Writer, along with one newcomer. It shows at Cardiff Arts Institute this Thursday (February 18).

In keeping with the company’s tradition of short and engaging, each play must be no less than three minutes and no more than 10 and had to be written within four weeks.

Curated by award-winning playwright Chloe Moss, Out With the Old played to a sell-out house at Camden’s Roundhouse in December. Established writers joined newcomers from the theatre’s new writing course. The Cardiff performance will feature one of the newcomers, Melissa Manteghi who, since writing for Dirty Protest, has begun talks with a national theatre about further writing commissions.

Melissa and Lucy will be joined by Rebecca Lenkiewicz  - the first woman to have an original play on the National Theatre Stage – Collette Kane, Chris Thorpe, and Chloe Moss. The night will be directed by Dirty Protest’s Mared Swain and the National Theatre of Wales’ Mathilde Lopez.

Dirty Protest’s Claire Hill said, “These plays were seen by a sold out London audience in December and since then we have been dying for our loyal Welsh audiences to see the plays. So it is great to be able to bring them to the Cardiff Arts Institute this week with a new Welsh cast which includes Matthew Bulgo, Erin Richards and Helen Rosser Davies.”

Since launching in 2007, Dirty Protest has quickly become a strong presence in Cardiff nightlife and the Welsh theatre scene. Sell out performances in Milgi, nightclub Ten Feet Tall, the Sherman theatre and performances at Latitude Festival, Wales Millennium Centre and Clwb Ifor Bach led to The National Theatre of Wales’ Artistic Director John McGrath calling the company “one of the most dynamic initiatives in theatre at the moment – a mad, messy collective of writers and theatre artists with something worthwhile to say”.

Writers, actors and directors that have worked with the not-for-profit company include award-winning playwrights like Ed Thomas and Gary Owen, Doctor Who/Torchwood’s Helen Raynor and Duncan MacMillan, SlungLow’s Matthew David Scott. Newcomers include Rhiannon Boyle, Alex Vlahos, Elen Moore and Ross Southard.

Doors open at 8pm. Tickets cost just £4. For more information, visit the company’s site, @dirtyprotest on twitter or find them on Facebook.