This one-man show written and performed by Newport actor Daniel Llewelyn-Williams is based on the experiences of his grand-father and father and their lives in the city’s docks.
It combines stories of the great escapologist Harry Houdini when he appeared in Newport, the opening of the Newport Transporter bridge and the Newport Dock Disaster of 1909 when, during the construction of the South Lock, the timbers supporting the hole into which the concrete for the Lock was about to be poured, collapsed killing 39 people.
It is told through the eyes of a boy who is obsessed with Houdini and the boy’s attempts to emulate his tricks using the materials he finds around him, thereby the specific story has wider context as it conjures up a feeling for what life was like at the turn of the 20th century in the Newport docks.
His ride on the Transporter bridge is the most vivid part of the evening and charts the journey from wild enthusiasm to near-disaster and terror with absolute clarity. Eventually he meets Houdini almost by chance and proves himself the equal of his hero.
Daniel’s ear for the speech of Newport dockers has been honed to perfection and is shot through with the spontaneous enthusiasm of a boy with a passion. His attempts at Houdini’s tricks often see him stuck in the mud and near to drowning and sometimes it feels as though the dock workers are in a similar position.
But there is something more universal at work about escaping from mud and the mundane life of the docks.
These are the stories of a working-class Welsh community and it is a real pleasure to hear these stories told but the ideas about escaping the grinding work of the Newport docks touch a universal theme.
It is also refreshing to hear the stories of an area of Wales so neglected in drama and writing yet one of the historic powerhouses of the nation.
More information and full tour details:
http://www.aregularlittlehoudini.co.uk
A young person’s review of the show:
http://www.asiw.co.uk/reviews/regular-little-houdini-daniel-llewelyn-williams-chapter