By Luisa De la Concha Montes Ôÿà Ôÿà Ôÿà Ôÿà The collective behind this performance, the International Contemporary Dance Collective (iCoDaCo) was founded in Sweden in 2012. The concept behind it is quite innovative; through the medium of contemporary dance, international artists come together each year to create a new narrative that serves as a symbolic representation of cultural exchange in our globalized world. Quench … Continue reading It Will Come Later | Review
“A few years ago a bunch of friends sat in a bar and discussed the possibility of screening some films from around in the world in Wales. A few of us had been fortunate to attend film festivals around the world, in Amsterdam, in Berlin, but also in Prizren and Jihlava – smaller places, difficult to reach but with a special atmosphere that was hard … Continue reading Wales International Documentary Film Festival 2019 is ready for action!
ÔÿàÔÿàÔÿàÔÿàÔÿà Words by Molly Govus Sitting in the Chapter Arts Theatre, I was immediately taken back to my GCSE drama days. The black wooden set blocks, the itchy fabric chairs and the smell of what I can only describe as an old school room. It was nostalgic to say the least, but there was something different about this set up to what I have previously … Continue reading Frankenstein | Review / Director Interview
ÔÿàÔÿàÔÿàÔÿàÔÿà Words by Manjeevan Kaur Athol FugardÔÇÖs The Island captures a bold image of apartheid in South Africa. The intricate relationship between John (Joe Shire) and Winston (Wela Mbusi) reinforces the perseverance of the human spirit in an impossible situation. Two political prisoners and vocal citizens for change find their personal freedom taken away. The result is profound strength and unity in the face of … Continue reading The Island | Review
Chapter Arts Centre‘s season last month, Girls Like Us,┬ágave us a ‘glimpse into the world of wartime propaganda filmmaking, … showing some of the best of British films that aided the war effort.’ Lucy Sanderson reviews the 1943 classic The Gentle Sex. – The irony of The Gentle Sex (1943) is palpable from the moment the cross-stitched film titles prelude the opening with the quote … Continue reading Review: The Gentle Sex
Our Carnal Hearts, Sunday 2nd April, Chapter Arts Centre, reviewer: Sam Walker GOLD. Always believe in your soul. You got the power to know. YouÔÇÖre indestructible. There was a point during Rachel MarsÔÇÖ performance where I found myself part of a choir singing Spandau Ballet with a bunch of strangers and not even feeling unusual. In her exploration of envy, and the honesty with which … Continue reading Review: Our Carnal Hearts, Chapter Arts Centre – Experimentica Season
Louder is Not Always Clearer, Saturday 1st April, Chapter Arts Centre, reviewer: Bob Wigin A man stands in front of the audience and begins to flail and jump, looking to the crowd for a response. Before long, he types outs sentences which are projected on to a large screen behind him. We learn that he is deaf. Louder Is Not Always Clearer is an impressionistic, … Continue reading Review: Louder is Not Always Clearer, Chapter Arts Centre – Experimentica Season
Class: The Elephant in the Room, Friday 31st March, Chapter Arts Centre, reviewer: Claudia Rutherford Influenced by the injustices circulating his political climate, Pierre Bourdieu proposed the theory that a ÔÇÿcultural capitalÔÇÖ exists within Western societies. It is one, he claims, to be systematically sought after, and promotes the idea that the culture enjoyed by the middle classes, is regarded as more valid than those … Continue reading Review: Class: The Elephant in the Room, Chapter Arts Centre – Experimentica Season
A sunny Sunday morning brimming with optimism didnÔÇÖt feel like the appropriate time to be watching Mohamed JabalyÔÇÖs harrowing film which follows an ambulance crew around the streets of Gaza City in summer 2014; but as the film progressed I realized there is of course never an ideal time to be so unapologetically presented with the images human despair that this film depicts. The documentary … Continue reading Review: Ambulance, WoW Festival
By The Time It Gets Dark follows the overlapping narratives of a group of seemingly separate individuals as their lives begin to weave together across the course of the film. An actor, a director, and a number of other characters ranging from a cleaner to a Buddhist, are all linked together across the structure of Thai society. As the director interviews actors in a … Continue reading Review: By The Time It Gets Dark, WoW Festival
W├╣lu ÔÇô Review Directed by Daouda Coulibaly, W├╣lu follows the story of Ladji (Ibrahim Koma), a likeable Malian bus conductor turned drugs smuggler, in a desperate bid to better not only his life but also his sister (Inna Modja) who is forced to work as a prostitute In order to make ends meet. As this gritty narrative unfolds, we watch as he works his way … Continue reading Review: W├╣lu, WoW Festival
A Regular Little Houdini,┬áFriday 27th January, Chapter Arts Centre. Reviewer: Ellie Philpotts The art of theatre can be a tricky one to master. For many of us, just the concept of performing would be enough to break out into a cold sweat (then maybe into song once we overcame any initial stage fright). And thatÔÇÖs without everything else that goes into it ÔÇô design, choreography, … Continue reading Review: A Regular Little Houdini, Chapter Arts Centre
This year, the Iris Prize celebrates their 10th anniversary and the milestone of becoming a BAFTA recognised A list festival. The international LGBTQ+ film festival takes place in Cardiff on the 12 -16th October, and will include feature films, shorts and even live music performances and screening introductions from some of the directors. We’re giving you a preview of some of our top picks; you … Continue reading Preview: Iris Prize 2016
Il Gesto delle Mani, or Hand Gestures is a masterful documentary film from Franscesco Clerici that focuses on the creation of bronze sculpture. At the historic Fonderia Artistica Battaglia bronze foundry, we follow a Velasco Vitali sculpture through each step of the process. The understated documentary has no background music or voiceovers┬áexplaining the process; it simply watches with the audience in the ambient sounds of … Continue reading Review: Hand Gestures with Q+A at Chapter Arts Centre
As part of the BFI Love Season, Chapter Arts Centre in Cardiff have screened a choice selection of films spanning from ‘tainted love’ to classic romance. Quench reviews┬áa handful of these films. To find out which┬áexciting films Chapter are currently screening, and information on upcoming seasons, visit┬áhttp://www.chapter.org/whats-on/┬á. Brief Encounter (1945) As part of the BFI Love season, Chapter Arts Centre screened Brief Encounter,┬áDavid Lean’s 1945 … Continue reading Love Season at Chapter Arts Centre
EXPERIMENTICA┬áreturned to Cardiff this year for five days filled with live art, performances and interdisciplinary projects. As Chapter stated on their website ÔÇÿEXPERIMENTICA is entertaining, dangerous, confusing, life-affirming, playful, provocative, thoughtful, witty, engaging, irritating and everything in between.ÔÇÖ Here are a number of the performances that took part across the five day international festival. Review 1# (by Georgie Crespie) Across one day were the performances … Continue reading Experimentica15
When you think of Cardiff as a city you may typically associate it with patriotic red dragons, long-standing castles, fine architecture or, more infamously the renound chippy lane after a night out at Wednesday RetroÔÇÖs (AKA Caroline Street). However, it cannot be denied that WalesÔÇÖ capital is a Cultural hub┬áhere are some of the best cultural venues in Cardiff. Cardiff National Museum and Art Gallery┬áby┬áSadia … Continue reading Cardiff’s Cultural Venues
Here at Quench Culture we love a good offering of home-grown talent, and perhaps thereÔÇÖs no better than┬á’Parallel Lines’. Cardiff-based playwright Katherine Chandler created ‘Parallel Lines’ in 2012, and the following year it ran for fourteen nights at Chapter (arguably our cityÔÇÖs best venue for independent art and drama). Since then, popular demand has meant itÔÇÖs been re-adapted by Dirty Protest, an award-winning Welsh theatre … Continue reading Review: Parallel Lines, Chapter Arts
In todayÔÇÖs society, the concept of privacy seems to go amiss as social media, publications and news all focus in some way on the human form and how ┬áit appeals to audiences. Lucy Kirkwood (best known for her stunningly observed work as a writer on gritty teen drama Skins and Sky OneÔÇÖs The Smoke) writes NSFW. Kirkwood┬áprovides a┬ásnappy and shocking insight┬áwhich solely focuses on the … Continue reading Review: Not Safe For Work, Chapter Arts.
Described by Richard Linklater as the ÔÇÿpatron saint of independent filmmakers,ÔÇÖ Orson Welles stands as a formidable figure in the pantheon of all-time greats. As a director he changed the rules of filmmaking in a time when cinema was still a fledgling art form. In the golden era of Hollywood he was funding his own films and passionately fighting for creative control. Tragically, for many … Continue reading Orson Welles at Chapter Arts Centre
