The Last Post
“The Last Post / Yr Utgorn Olaf” was a community play commemorating the First World War that Head4Arts staged in October 2017. This devised performance involved over 150 community performers and toured to four venues across the Eastern South Wales Valleys area.
The Last Post / Yr Utgorn Olaf was the culmination of over three years work during which Head4Arts delivered a series of arts and heritage projects that encouraged community members to remember those whose lives were affected by the First World War. Over 500 people were involved in this creative research, a process that highlighted the wide-reaching impact of the conflict and its significance in society one hundred years on.
This programme of work saw our heritage sector partners; National Museum Wales, Gwent Archives and Glamorgan Archives, work alongside professional artists to ensure the artwork produced was been informed by historical information. These projects were made possible through the support of Lottery Funding from both the Heritage Lottery Fund and Arts Council Wales.
The script, music, choreography and film featured in The Last Post were entirely created by participants with the support of a wonderful artistic team, making the piece a community play in its truest sense. We decided to devise the production in a way that enabled as many people as possible to take part. This led us to gather a “core cast” who appeared in all shows and were accompanied by performing groups that were local to the individual venues, making each of the performances unique.
The end result, was a thought-provoking and poignant presentation of life during the First World War that will inspire others to think about their connection to this pivotal time in our history.
