Saturday, July 07, 2012

Colin Wilson in Cardiff


In my youth if you hadn't read The Outsider (1956) by Colin Wilson you were considered hopelessly uncool and probably didn't even backcomb your hair. It was the kind of book one would ostentatiously read on the bus into town on Saturday afternoons. In 1978 Wilson published Mysteries, a non-fictional work which examined the relationship between paranormal phenomena (spoon bending, UFOs, demonic possession etc) and multiple personalities. A fan of the book was Dafydd Hughes, director of Cardiff's Red Light Theatre group. He approached Wilson about doing a collaboration. Wilson responded positively and came up with a script that was further developed by Red Light Theatre. The cast of Mysteries consisted of just four people: Juliette Mole, Alan Sanford, Pete Woolridge and Peter Neathey. The show was staged in 1979 at the Sherman Theatre (see ad) and Wilson came up to Cardiff to give an introductory talk. Apparently Mysteries was a psychodrama about a schizophrenic murderess caught in a sexual dilemma. Did anyone go? It sounds an absolute blast.