January creativity in Wales and London!

It's something of a tradition for Adverse Camber to head out of seasonal slumbers straight into creative work at the start of the New Year. This year, we're working on two projects at the same time, in London and Wales, with an array of talented artists and creatives - exciting times! In Wales, we are dodging the wind and sandswept sea front at Aberystwyth and (with the help of extra heaters!) forging the beginning stages of a new piece drawing on the Fourth Branch of the Mabinogi, working with Michael Harvey, Lynne Denman, Stacey Blythe, Director Paula Crutchlow and Producer Naomi Wilds. Aberystwyth Arts Centre offers a brilliant atmosphere in which to generate work, with its open spaces, galleries, different sized performance spaces with audiences constantly milling between exhibitions, shop or cafes  and a gorgeous open vista looking towards the sea.  We're very grateful for the Arts Centre's support of this creative period of working, along with our other partners Felin Uchaf and Peter Stevenson. [gallery columns="4" ids="2990,2986,2994,3006"] The story of the Fourth Branch of the Mabinogi is set largely in North Wales and is the last in a sequence of four Welsh legends which were captured in various medieval manuscripts and published as The Mabinogion.  The story is opening up new vistas for the artists to explore - the connected landscapes of the underworld, North Wales and the cosmology associated with Mabinogi characters.  Along its twists and turns, the story includes a high quota of magic, chiefly conjured by the trickster Gwydion.  Alongside creative work, our partners are working hard with us on plans to fully commission a bilingual and potentially all-Welsh language version of the piece for future touring. [gallery columns="4" ids="3006,2998,3010,3074,3070,3066,3058,3062"] Meanwhile, in the metropolis of London, creative work on a handpicked selection of stories and music from The Shahnameh: The Epic Book of Kings with Xanthe Gresham-Knight, Arash Moradi, Kate Higginbottom, Claudine Scheer, Gethin Stacey and Louisa Davies is reaching its conclusion, with clothes fittings and lighting discussions ahead of a first outing in Cambridge on Saturday 30 January, thanks to a partnership between Cambridge Storytellers and Cambridge Junction. Buy your tickets here! Later in 2016, Adverse Camber will be celebrating ten years of producing tours, commissioning shows and building great partnerships with some of the most exciting artists working in storytelling and music today.  We're looking forward to sharing our creative journeys with you this year!