New collaboration between National Youth Theatre Wales and Hijinx Academy as part of Maniffest season
Members of Hijinx Academy and National Youth Theatre of Wales (NYTW) recently returned to live in-person theatre devising, as they co-created a new inclusive work in partnership.
Coming together in-person for the first time since the start of social distancing restrictions, the 8 young people took part in a four-day project full of creativity and stagecraft. Under the guidance of Ben Pettit-Wade (Creative Director, Hijinx), cast members developed an original piece of theatre based upon the ideas and stories suggested by the members themselves.
Ahead of the residency in Carmarthen’s Canolfan S4C Yr Egin, cast and creative teams came together online over Zoom to experiment, explore, and develop new ideas for the piece. To ensure the safety of all participants and staff, the project was fully compliant with social distancing and public health guidance at the time, with regular testing, social distancing and additional cleaning measures in place throughout the project.
This new R&D work, called Maniffest/Hijinx, is the latest project as part of NYTW’s Maniffest season, a year-long exploration of youth identity and democracy in a modern Wales. It is the first step in a new way of working for National Youth Theatre Wales, combining live in-person theatre and online activity, enabling young people to collaborate with others across the country.
On collaborating with Hijinx Theatre, Dafydd Evans, member of National Youth Theatre of Wales said:
“My experience on the NYTW / Hijinx residency was one that will stay with me for a long time. The process of creating the piece of theatre was so enjoyable; the improvisations that our sharing eventually consisted of were so much fun that I think we often forgot that they were going to be part of the sharing. I learned so much about how theatre can be created in an alternative way to pen on paper, and how it can be interactive and immersive for an audience. I have formed great new relationships with members and staff from NYTW and Hijinx, and I can’t wait for the next opportunity for us all to meet again.”
Hijinx Academy member Gareth said:
“Actually meeting and actually working together in person, after months of being on Zoom, was just... there are no words to express how I feel because, it was just amazing.”
This year’s Maniffest season is a series of productions setting out to show what empowers young people, and to showcase Wales as young people see it in the 21st century – a vibrant, diverse and bilingual country with a strong artistic voice.
Other highlights of the Maniffest season include:
Maniffest 16/17: A series of short films featuring original monologues by NYTW members, created by playwrights around Wales in response to 16- and 17-year-olds being eligible to vote for the first time. The first four films are available to watch here: amam.cymru/maniffest
Maniffest at Theatr Clwyd: A brand new bilingual digital theatre production presented online, written by Hanna Jarman and co-produced with Theatr Clwyd.
Maniffest / Mindset: A digital collaboration between NYTW and Solomonic Peacocks Theatre, Malawi, exploring how young theatre-makers from different countries can come together and create theatre using their mobile phones. This work is delivered in partnership with British Council Wales.
As a season, Maniffest will help give a voice to all communities, reflecting the diversity of young people in Wales. This will include presenting theatre in both English and Welsh. As Wales begins to recover from the impacts of COVID-19, the projects are planned to be feasible both digitally and in person, depending on public health advice in place at the time.