Riverfront steps into limelight

As the £16 million venue steps into the limelight like a a vivacious young starlet there will be thunderous applause and much jostling to drink champagne from her slipper.

The bitchiness and backbiting which is an intriguing feature of arty circles is hardly discernible. That will come later.

Nicolas Young, whose job it is to hold the new arrival's hand at the same time making sure all eyes are upon her and that she remains the centre of attention, is a philosopher by background. He has a plan, and intends to stick to it.

"The worst thing you can do is to try to appeal to everyone in the same yearly programme," he says. "But if you put on 12 productions, each of which appeals to a certain part of the audience, you have more chance of getting things right."

In a world in which monumental egos compete for the limelight and in which rejections can mean resounding thumps as teddy-bears land in corners, Nicolas Young, 43, is a worldly-wise denizen.

"At Winchester where I was chief executive of the Theatre Royal which is only slightly smaller than the Riverfront, I got used to turning people away who I didn't think were quite right for us," he avers.

"We are never going to be able to have the entire Royal Shakespeare Company here for instance, but the Riverfront is ample for the high quality productions that are tailored for venues in the 400 to 800 seat range."

The old Grand Dame of Newport stagecraft is, of course, the Dolman Theatre owned by Newport Playgoers, which coalesced around acting figures such as Basil Rathbone before the last war and is a formidable figure which the newcomer must court.

Up until a couple of weeks ago there had been no formal contact between Mr Young and the Dolman but semi-official communiques from both camps were that the old trouper and the new arrival are able and willing to share the billing.

A shared ticketing system by means of which Dolman-goers will be able to buy tickets at the Riverfront for amateur productions is not the least of the benefits the established theatre expects to see.

"We are amateur and the Riverfront is for professional productions and we expect to dovetail nicely" is the quote one hears from both sides and, indeed, no whisper of dissent can be detected.

Which is not to say that spats will never occur. Katherine Jenkins, the Welsh singing sensation, is billed for the opening night appearing with the Royal Philharmonic and the Greater Gwent Youth Choir for renditions of middlebrow appeal. What follows is a cocktail which has Bradley Walsh the comedian, Shakespeare's Tempest, a play by Frank Vickery, an evening with John Sergeant the seasoned television political journalist and a pantomime.

While all of the former will be welcomed without objection, it is yet to be seen what Newport's pantomime society will think of a newcomer treading on its territory.

One playwright and actor who has been watching the Riverfront with interest is Adrian Ross, who has links with the Dolman, Cardiff University's lifelong learning department and with Newport council.

"The Riverfront is a superb development which will bring middleweight productions to the city but perhaps more importantly from the point of view of home-grown culture, will provide another studio theatre.

"It will chime in beautifully with the Dolman which has its own ethos and its own specialities," he concluded.

What is generally overlooked is that the Riverfront arts centre will not be all theatre. There is space to hang paintings and place sculpture which will be of considerable interest not only to Newport's museum and art gallery but to the emerging commercial scene.

Janet Martin is owner of the GPF Gallery in George Street, which has re-positioned itself from a picture-framing business to become the main commercial gallery in Gwent which has an attached artists' colony in Robbin's Lane due to open in a few weeks.

The Riverfront, she says, can only add to Newport's buzz.

"There is no threat. Quite the opposite. It is a boost to all the arts.

"You have the Dolman and the Riverfront close together and ourselves within easy walking distance and there will be things happening at the Provisions Market.

"Interest in one part of the arts scene raises interest in all. Two ice cream sellers on the beach sell more ice cream than one."

With such artists as Mark Williams, the highly accomplished young landscape painter who specialises in mildly surreal Newport scenes and old stagers such as the maritime art specialist Phil Muirden on her books, the Riverfront will make a handy and relevant extra-mural location.

A joint exhibition of their river scenes would be perfection.

The biggest thing Riverfront has going for it is the city itself. Other cities have tried to re-invent themselves as 'cultural venues' but their attempts have whiffed of blatant social engineering. Newport is bursting with artists, actors, writers, sculptors, poets and musicians of varying qualities but all dying to find a focus. Precisely because of their general irreverence and unruliness this throng will not allow the Riverfront to become a mere showpiece.

Of course, the critics will be circling. Just like when anyone new is introduced into a previously cosy circle, people are effusive but at the same time warily weighing up the likely clout of what might be an ally or an opponent.

It is only when the newcomer puts a foot wrong and shows the first sign of faltering that the fans stop fluttering and the stilettos are produced.

Bloodlettings in the arts world, when they happen, tend to be spectacular and fought with a feline intensity.

But hey! That's show business.