The Last Post/Yr Utgorn Olaf

'The Last Post/Yr Utgorn Olaf' was a community play commemorating the First World War staged by Head4Arts in October 2017. This devised performance involved over 150 community performers. It toured to four venues across the Eastern South Wales Valleys area (The Met in Abertillery, the Congress Theatre in Cwmbran, The Red House in Merthyr Tydfil and Blackwood Miners’ Institute). The performance 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 informed by historical information. The script, music, choreography and film featured in 'The Last Post' were entirely created by participants with the support of an artistic team, making the piece a community play by enabling as many people as possible to take part. This led to a 'core cast' who appeared in all shows, accompanied by performing groups local to the individual venues, to make each of the performances unique. These projects were made possible through the support of Lottery Funding from both the Heritage Lottery Fund and Arts Council Wales.