The first week of {150} rehearsals ended with a cast and crew visit to The Royal Opera House Stores in Aberdare, where the production will take place. The word 'Epic' was brandished around quite a bit as we took in the site and listened to the plan. It was uttered in response to the size and scale of the building, with reference to the undertaking of the performance and the incredible detail of the research, planning and preparation, and also, and most importantly, with regards to what the pioneers who sailed on the Mimosa 150 years ago did. They left their home and their lives in pursuit of a dream of a new Wales. They were promised a fertile valley, ideal for farming, both arable and livestock, but were met with a desolate and arid landscape with no sign of life for miles around. (A bit of an aside, but there has been a fantastic programme on BBC Wales with Huw Edwards where he visits Patagonia, tells the story of the pioneers and meets their descendants, asking questions about what remains of the culture their forefathers traveled all that way to protect.- Well worth a watch!). The Welsh were forced to live in caves on the beach where they landed for the first 4 months, but with ingenuity, perseverance and faith they began to tame the land. They irrigated the river by creating a canal system that carried water to the surrounding valley making the land fertile. They managed to grow wheat for which they won prizes in the US and Europe. They built a railway. They suffered many years of hardship in pursuit of their dream, and ultimately they achieved it. They literally created a new Wales within the barren desert plain. It's a fantastic story with stories that have become legend within it. It's a tale of adventure on truly 'Epic' proportions. What better place to tell that story, than in a place where imagination is harboured. As we walked through the stores the bays are full of set, brimming with possibility, the imagination can truly run wild. As Marc Rees spoke to us about the different scenes you could feel the buzz of the cast and crew. We are apart of what has been a near 4 year process, each of us coming in at different stages, the sense of anticipation and excitement of what we will achieve was fervent. As we gazed out at the end of the tour, onto the surrounding hills of Aberdare full of expectancy for the show ahead, I began to wonder is this even slightly akin to the hope the pioneers felt when they set off for Patagonia? to create a Wales away from Wales, and what a crushing blow when they arrived to the desert plains rather than the fertile valley they had been promised. What they achieved was incredible, their love for their culture was so strong they went to the most extreme lengths to ensure it survived. They are now a part of our history and I am proud to be Welsh because of them.
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