TOP 100 SCIENCE SITES
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| Putin visits site of Russia's new launch center By NATALIYA VASILYEVA 2010-08-28T19:39:55ZMOSCOW (AP) -- Russia will launch its manned space missions from a new center in the Far East in 2018, Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said Saturday, as the country seeks greater independence for its space program.... hosted.ap.org |
David Attenborough in conversation with Richard Dawkins From mayflys and digital dinosaurs to life on Mars and pre-Cambrian fossils, David Attenborough and Richard Dawkins leave no stone unturned as they discuss the state of science guardian.co.uk |
Archaeologists find theater box at Herod's palace By AISHA MOHAMMED 2010-09-21T22:21:49ZJERUSALEM (AP) -- Israeli archaeologists have excavated a lavish, private theater box in a 400-seat facility at King Herod's winter palace in the Judean desert, the team's head said Tuesday.... hosted.ap.org |
Space double: Astronaut twins to join up in orbit By MARCIA DUNN 2010-10-10T03:35:47ZCAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) -- The stars may have finally aligned for the world's only space sibling team.... hosted.ap.org |
National Theatre Wales at one 窶 too young to master Welsh? Wales's new company has already set tongues wagging. But is it time it took on the bilingualism debate that divides the nation?What difference can a national theatre make? If the success of Wales's new nationwide institution is anything to go by, its impact can be huge. Seven shows in, all but one National Theatre Wales productions have sold out, critical interest in Welsh drama has never been higher and it has already put on one five-star spectacle in the form of The Persians. It has a first-rate team of creatives and has unearthed a wealth of new talent, but it is the theatre's remit 窶 to "map" Wales theatrically, unite its theatrical community and engage new audiences 窶 that has focused the company into such a game-changer for Wales. As Michael Billington commented on this very blog: "In redefining what a national theatre means in this day and age, it is raising our awareness of Wales itself."Curious, then, that the company has achieved all of this without ever really engaging with the Welsh language. In a country where one in five is bilingual, it seems like an extraordinary oversight. NTW has created relevant, community-focused and critically acclaimed work 窶 but, in terms of Welsh language, its first-year programme barely contains so much as a bore da ("good morning"). This, in a country where everyone has an opinion on an interminable bilingualism debate, is quite an achievement.There are some very good reasons for NTW's approach to Welsh, as John McGrath, the company's artistic director, points out. "My job is to create a fantastic national theatre based on the brief I've been given," he said. "And the mission I've been given is to produce work in English in Wales." What's more, he added, "I think we need to be conscious of the fact that there's another [national] theatre company".Ah yes 窶 the other, Welsh-language, national Theatr Genedlaethol Cymru, which produces a mix of original and adapted Welsh theatre from its base in Carmarthen and has been without an artistic director since March. If this division of theatres seems superfluous 窶 why not have one bilingual theatre? 窶 it isn't all that uncommon. Belgium, Greece and others have multiple national theatres to represent different identities.In Wales, it's tempting to suspect that a single, bilingual national theatre would suffer from the bureaucratic balancing act that goes hand in hand with equal treatment of English and Welsh. And perhaps it's suicide for a creative company with limited funding to get bogged down in the language question and the political and ideological baggage that comes with it. You can't blame them for being apprehensive.The problem is that the divisive approach of having two theatres appears to have stalled NTW's exploration of bilingual identity 窶 surely a topic this company should relish. You can't help but wonder whether the theatre could, given the opportunity, produce a definitive bilingual play as powerful as, say, Brian Friel's Translations. One of this year's outstanding Welsh productions was Dafydd James's play Llwyth, a poignant meditation on a generation of gay men in Cardiff. Despite being a lazy monoglot myself, I saw this as a clear example of how bilingualism can enhance a play and engage (rather than alienate) its audience.Interacting with the Welsh language could be about more than just box-ticking for National Theatre Wales. It could be key to producing a definitive Welsh play by exploring what it means to be a part of the bilingual communities that make up more than a fifth of the Welsh population. Our new national theatre's first-year programme has set tongues wagging. Perhaps now its time for them to speak a different language.TheatreWalesLanguageguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds guardian.co.uk |