Last night The Riverfront Theatre and Arts Centre premiered their co-production, Bitcoin Boi in front of a sell-out audience of the general public and an exclusive invited audience of friends of The Riverfront and many professionals across the arts community.
The guests were greeted upon arrival with drinks, nibbles and a Bitcoin Boi welcome pack before Newport Live’s Head of Theatre, Arts and Culture, Gemma Durham, gave a welcome speech. Gemma congratulated the creators of the production, Hannah McPake and Catherine Dyson and thanked all attendees for their support. Gemma expressed the passion that the team at The Riverfront have for developing the arts within Newport and continued to explain their new programme ‘Reflekt’, which aims to promote and increase the attendance for innovative theatre.
Reflekt is a new programme that aims to curate a range of performances that are a mix of inspiring, emerging or challenging work that seeks to further develop the arts and culture audience within Newport. The Riverfront aim to use their new programme to support the arts scene within Wales and provide a platform for artists and theatre companies. The first Reflekt brochure will be in circulation in September and will contain a range of performances all of which aim to encourage the audience to ”Reflekt”.
The Riverfront Theatre felt that Bitcoin Boi was the perfect production to launch their Reflekt project for many reasons but primarily because the co-production is a perfect example of the type of theatre Reflekt aims to support: innovative theatre written, created and performed by Welsh talent.
‘Bitcoin Boi was inspired by a legendary local news story about the accidental loss of a fortune. We wanted to make a piece about the questions this story prompted. In developing the show, we spoke to experts in the fields of cryptocurrency, finance and insurance. We found ourselves in many strange and unexpected places - the gold rush, pirate ships, and sinister crypto utopias amongst them. We realised how incomplete our understanding of the monetary systems that shape all our lives is. We were intrigued by people offering alternative ways, by how quickly ideals can become corrupted, and how inequality and our desire for a better life is manipulated to divide us. We hope that Bitcoin Boi leaves you considering some questions yourself: What do we value? What should we throw away? And does everything sound better in Pirate? Enjoy the show!’ Catherine Dyson and Hannah McPake, creators of Bitcoin Boi.
‘I am so proud of the work that the team here at The Riverfront have produced with Catherine, Hannah, Dyfan and the rest of the Bitcoin Boi team. Everyone has worked incredibly hard and I think it’s fair to say, it shows. It’s a phenomenal piece of theatre and I’m overjoyed that we have been able to be a part of it. I’d like to say a big thank you to everyone involved in the show but also to everyone who has come to support us. We look forward to presenting more amazing performances and work as part of our programme ‘Reflekt’. As a team, our aim is to continue our work to build relationships, support artists and develop the arts within Newport and Wales.’ Gemma Durham, Head of Theatre, Arts & Culture for Newport Live.
Bitcoin Boi will be performed at The Riverfront on Friday 28 at 7.30pm and Saturday 29 at 2.30pm and 7.30pm.
The Riverfront Theatre and the creative team behind Bitcoin Boi would like to thank the Arts Council of Wales for their funding and support and making the production possible.
