Test Dept./Brith Gof - Gododdin (Act III) - Arddyledog Ganu

"Quicker to the field of blood than to a wedding. Quicker to a ravens' feast than to a burial..."

Gododdin, a Test Dept. collaboration with kindred spirits in the form of Welsh avant-garde theatre company Brith Gof. Performed in Wales, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands and Scotland, this was a dramatisation of the annihilation of a small Celtic army by the invading Angle's at Catraeth in 600 A.D. Using the poem Y Gododdin (the earliest poem in the Welsh language) as inspiration, it tells the fate of 300 Celtic warriors who set out to defend their homeland from 100,000 invading Angles around 600 A.D. They are only remembered through the survival of one epic poem. Defeat is never to be cherished but the glorious rendering of their account against an infinetely stronger enemy lessens the smugness of victory and lends dignity in retrospect to the vanquished. Culture then as now becomes a tool for survival.

A critically acclaimed spectacle using a huge performance space, a large cast, and specially designed set from Cliff McLucas (now sadly deceased). It premiered at the abandoned Rover car factory in Cardiff, transformed using 600 tons of sand, 50 trees, 30 wrecked cars and a set that flooded as the performance progressed. Brith Gof provided music and voice, accompanying their movement, while TD provided a blend of percussion and bagpipes enhanced with physical performance.