Ad disclosure: We were provided with press tickets for the purpose of this post.
Last night we went to see the musical play Eye of the Storm by Theatr na nÓg at the Birmingham Hippodrome, and we were absolutely blown away.
Created and set in the valleys of South Wales, Eye of the Storm tells the story of young carer Emmie Price and her ambitions to escape her restricted life and study storms in Indiana, USA.
Struggling to balance caring for a bipolar mother on her own and her A level studies, Emmie has one last chance to stay on the Physics course she needs to complete in order to get a bursary to her university of choice. She hopes that by coming up with a winning invention for a science competition, that she’ll be allowed to pursue her dreams – and help beat climate change at the same time. The blend of social issues and science is really interesting – and the girls loved seeing a science experiment right on stage.
Eye of the Storm began life at a theatre workshop for young carers, and tells their point of view so perfectly in this production. The feelings of being trapped and silenced are conveyed in wonderful musical numbers, from both the point of view of Emmie and her big sister (“half-sister!”) Karen who escaped that life to save herself, leaving Emmie behind.
You see the guilt that both Angela (Emmie’s mother) and Karen feel for putting it all on Emmie’s shoulders, and Emmie’s guilt for wanting to get away. Angela wants to be better for Emmie’s sake, and they show you that struggle; her ups and downs, trying to do more for her daughter.
A live band shares the stage with the set, and the versatile cast members come and go from their instruments to their characters throughout the performance. The music, written by Amy Wadge, is catchy, emotional, and toe-tappingly good. It had me humming in the intermission and we have been listening to it at home this morning after buying the CD last night.
The cast were all excellent; I love how much they all put across so much of their characters personalities and feelings with their expressions and mannerisms throughout the play.
In particular Rosey Cale (Emmie) and Llinos Daniel (Angela) both gave a brilliant performance, and you could really feel their connection and The complexities of their interdependent relationship. Dan Miles was also a stand out performance for us as the eager & smitten school friend Lloyd, who just wants to help Emmie with her ambitions, and for her to notice him.
I definitely recommend Eye of the Storm for families and adults alike. The recommended age is 8+ and we took along our 6 (“and a half!”) year old Lydia – she’s fairly mature for her age though, and has experience of attending plays. Lydia’s review was to say “I loved it” about a dozen times on the way home, and Georgie said it was excellent.
There are some really funny bits, emotional moments, and uplifting speeches, and it had us laughing at times but sniffling at others. The way the story deals with the climate change crisis and the need for change and hope in tackling it was great and we left the theatre feeling inspired – and slightly guilty for wasting my Renewable Energy degree in my case!
Eye of the Storm is currently on a UK tour with three more stops to go, and you can find all the details on their website. The show was around two hours long, including an intermission.
Newport Riverfront – Tue 15 – Sat 19 Oct
Bangor, Pontio – Mon 21 – Wed 23 Oct
Aberystwyth Arts Centre – Thu 24 – Sat 26 Oct
