The Valleys are Coming. So when do they Arrive?

I’ll be the first to admit that I was originally very excited to hear that MTV were focusing their new programme on The Valleys.

 

I thought it would be great television. I know my own town, Maesteg, holds some very interesting characters, many of which have influenced my own writing over the years. After hearing a number of stories about a friends ageing mother, I believed they were far too comical to keep to myself. After arranging to meet and chat with the lady herself, I created the character of Dilys, the main protagonist for my Valleys based play, Baby Steps. When her mother recently passed away, Mrs King told me that she was so grateful that I had written the play, as she felt that a part of her mother would always be alive whenever her story came to life on stage. It was one of those moments that made me feel as a writer, that I’d served a purpose.

 

Which sadly, leads me on to MTV’s The Valleys, whose own purpose seems to have got lost somewhere along the way.

 

 There’s a very marked difference between highlighting interesting characters because they have compelling stories, and that of simply exploiting communities with a camera crew. My hopes of seeing beautiful scenic shots of rolling Welsh hillsides and familiar landmarks were sadly replaced by the grubby interior shots of Glam nightclub and the cast’s apartment. Unfortunately, even in the dwelling, it appears to be the unmade bed in ‘the cwtch’ getting the most airtime. 

 

Many have said the television show will promote a negative view of the Valleys. Personally, the antics on Geordie Shore have never made me assume all Geordie’s replicate this behaviour, and I like to think that the general public have enough sense to realise it is a show fuelled by a camera crew. The real inhabitants of the valleys don’t act like a bunch of sheep, nor do they necessarily have them tattooed on their vaginas.

 

I don’t have a problem with easy viewing television, and don’t wish to slate The Valleys because of the way it’s portraying the cast. I can’t deny that I have pockets of friends that act in a similar manner to the characters on screen, and try to take everything with a little bit of tongue in cheek – despite it being the most foul mouthed scripting I’ve ever heard.

 

The problem for me lies in the fact that MTV have somewhat portrayed their advertisement in a way that would make viewers believe the show is indicative of Valley life. That’s why most of the South Wales communities tuned in to the first episode, hoping to see their home towns and dialect on television for the world to see. The programme delivered something very different.

 

They told us “The Valleys are coming.” So when do they arrive?

 

All we see a bunch of stereotyped personalities inside four walls being ploughed with alcohol. They could have been anywhere, so why say it’s the Valleys?

 

There’s a lot of good in South Wales. A real sense of pride and community. They may have ignored our beauty, culture and history but as they say, they can take away our pride (and I know, they’ve certainly tried) but they can’t take away our spirit. The one thing MTV have managed to fleetingly capture is the determination of the young cast in order to succeed. There is a belief in something better, and strength to continue against all odds.

 

Which, despite all else, is completely, and utterly, Valleys.









*Want more? Head to Dirty Protest, Cardiff to see my 10 minute play in response to MTV's The Valleys. Follow on twitter for more info!*


Next blog: 24 Oct

So, are you a writer?

It was such a long and difficult battle between pride and self doubt that it actually took me a while to get the words out. It was silly really, looking back at how worked up I was over it. But sometime last April, I realised it was actually preferable to refer to myself no longer as a 'student bum', as I have done for so many years - but to instead reveal I am a writer.

I was terrified that someone would laugh at me and call me a fraud, like it was something I wasn't allowed to do because I wasn't good enough yet, even though it's something that I've always done.

In my earliest childhood memories where I recall school bus trips to farms and coal mines, I think of all of us piling onto the bus in single file. Jammed into cramped rows of scratchy seating, which would irriate the skin near my knees if my skirt wasn't long enough to pull down and cover it. I'd peer over the shoulder of the person in front and try to catch a glimpse of whatever text they were reading. Then I'd try to guess which novel it was from.

I'd rarely take my own on trips, although I favoured Enid Blyton enormously. Instead, I'd have a pen and paper and would make up my own tales, with a particular fondness for the extended adventues of a little mouse named Malcolm. When each story was over, I'd whip out my colouring pencils and illustrate the damn thing. By my own admittance, I was one freaky five year old.

But even so, being an early starter didn't mean I was actually any good at it.

When I made the decision to enrol in a Creative Writing MA at uni, it was because I knew I'd only ever really allow myself one shot to dabble in a career as a writer. I decided I'd give myself five years where either I put my name out there and got something back, or I'd wrap the whole thing up and continue to write short stories to myself about Malcolm on the Megabus.

In the early days, when I was first sussing out the scene, I often encountered writers who thought of themselves as tortured artists. No doubt about it, these people were a lot better at it than myself, but it always seemed such a shame to me when they talked about having no inspiration. No passion or desire to sit down and create something - they made it sound like such hard work. As if they were somehow being punished for being blessed with the gift. Or something.

I don't have a gift, but I'll be damned if that's going to stop me.

I write because it's fun. I amuse myself. But I do know I'm a long way away from being anywhere near a "good" writer. I realise it's a long process, and believe me, I'm working on it. I'd love for other people to enjoy my writing too, which is why I'm making an effort to put myself "out there" but hell, the day I sit down at a typewriter and bleed is the day I pack it in.

I don't mean that in the sense of meeting deadlines. I know they're difficult. I've had my days where I've considered balling it up and eating the script as opposed to re-drafting it. But it's a process I crave, and something I enjoy doing.

October has been a bit of an amazing month. I handed in my final dissertation and am going at full speed trying to get a completed novel written in the next six months. I've also had two opportunities to show my work in front of a live audience. The first was at a Scratch that Itch! NTW Event at Monkey, Swansea, and the other was actually today at theatre Na'nog, Neath. My fantastic month will then be topped off with a final performance being shown in Cardiff at Dirty Protest.

In rehearsal, I've often been warned not to tread on anyone's toes, and to remember that "you are the writer, so let the actors act, and the director direct."

I couldn't agree more.

That said, when you're working with such an amazing team, such as the people at Theatr Na'Nog today, it feels good handing something over and knowing that the end process is that the performance is going to be the best it possibly can be. It's not often I'm given the privilege to see people doing something they love, which also happens to be their job, and doing it really bloody well.

It was not a hard or ardous process. I didn't need to add anything, as everything I wanted to say was down on my script, and these individuals brought it to life in a way my solitary scratch marks on paper has never been able to...

And it's bloody brilliant, aye!

The best thing about live theatre, for me, is the immediate audience reaction. It's a feeling that leaves me buzzing for days, and ultimately craving more.

Now, when people ask me what I do, I leap at the chance to tell them I'm a BBC Production Trainee -- and not just because I don't have the option of 'student' to hide behind any more.

Often, people seem to think that because I've gone into production work, I'm suddenly no longer a writer, but that's not the case. I write because I have ideas. I have stories I want to share, and it doesn't matter how long I try to supress them, they find a way of getting out. Whether I'm scribbling whilst sat on the back of a motorbike, writing on receipts when I'm supposed to be tidying coat hangers in work, or trying to entertain myself on the Megabus.

I'm a story addict. Anyone's story. Yours, mine...I write because it's the most basic way accessible to me. With a pen and paper I can tell people about a whole different world!

But production brings it to life. And to me, that's a gift.

Not something I suffer or struggle against. Something I revel in. And a process I'm so proud to be a part of.

*Next Blog Update - 17th October, where I'll have started my first week training as a BBC Production Trainee in White City, London*

Quick Update

Hi everyone,

Thanks to all who are checking back regularly for updates.

September has been a month that has just blown me away - there have been lots of exciting goings on which have made it difficult to update, but now my dissertation is out the way (hoorah!) I'm hoping to bring out a new blog post every Wednesday, starting this week.

So once again, thank you to everyone for showing your continued support by checking the site. I have so much fantastic news to tell you all, I have a feeling this week's blog will be a long one! But over and out for now x