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April 21, 2021 • 14 mins
an interview with Welsh actor Ioan Hefin talking about small school closures in Carmarthenshire

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Episode Transcript

Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
And with the Welsh actor Joan Heaven and you may
have seen him recently in the Pemirashure Murders as a
defense barrister questioning John Cooper played by Keith Allen. Jo
Are welcome to Clanelli Online. Great watching you on that.
You were very serious and you've been in other things
as well. I know you were in the Hinterland as

(00:20):
well for acting at the moment during the pandemic.

Speaker 2 (00:24):
How is it?

Speaker 1 (00:25):
You know you're unable to travel, you're an able to
get parts, you don't have a studio in your home.
How are you coping? What are you doing?

Speaker 2 (00:34):
Yeah?

Speaker 3 (00:34):
It's been a bit of a sort of a big
change for everyone, hasn't it? And for me personally, twenty
twenty was going to be one of those years that
looked very, very promising. I had five theater contracts back
in December of twenty nineteen.

Speaker 2 (00:50):
It looked as if twenty twenty was full until the following.

Speaker 3 (00:53):
Year, and normally in acting you only work three months
in advance. So it was an exceptional year and it
turned up to be an exceptionally in a different way.
Luckily we finished filming Pembrokeshire murders on the thirteenth of match.
I remember it well because the final day was in
the court and then we had a rap party and

(01:13):
I stayed up in Cardiff and walking around Cardiff on
the fourteenth of match, the day that the World Scotland
rugby match was canceled, and it was a little bit
like the world has changed, you know. The Scottish supporters
were drunk, hungover, unhappy, desolate, a little bit like seen

(01:33):
from an apocalyptic film.

Speaker 2 (01:35):
Really, so you knew the world was changing.

Speaker 3 (01:38):
But you know, and I think for me personally as
it is for a lot of people that have had
their livelihoods changed.

Speaker 2 (01:44):
I'm not working on the frontline of the NHS, you know.

Speaker 3 (01:47):
I don't have the turbulent, incredible stress and term on
that other people have gone through. Yes, it's been a
complete change, but let's put it in context. And even
though you said, you know, it hasn't finished completely. There's
been some work that I've completed, mostly sort of research
and development for future work.

Speaker 2 (02:08):
And the incredible.

Speaker 3 (02:10):
Thing about that is some of those projects have now
had nine months of incubation at a time where they
can invest really in looking at the scripts and the
quality and the ambition and the intent of that production,
and there are some really exciting productions waiting there to
be unleashed. When all this, you know, and it's going
to take a long time for the audience to get

(02:31):
the courage and the confidence to go back.

Speaker 2 (02:34):
To see something.

Speaker 3 (02:36):
And when they do, I hope it's going to be
celebratory and something that has a chance to put everyone
in that frame of mind. One of the Ranti productions
I was working on was a musical, and even though
I've missed text and drama, hearing incredible vocals in a
live space really reaches the path that nothing on Zoom

(02:57):
or catch Up or Netflix can do. And I think
when we get that back we would start to celebrate.

Speaker 2 (03:02):
And smile again.

Speaker 1 (03:04):
It is, as you say, it must be a scriptwriter
filmmakers sort of delight almost there are positives in amongst
all this negative, and I imagine we will see a
dearth and not a death. I would imagine we see
a sort of a flood of documentaries, films, fly on
the wall, all sorts of things, books, essays written now
on this pandemic, which has been extraordinary in so many

(03:29):
different ways.

Speaker 3 (03:31):
Yes it has, and as you said, you know, it's
sort of what disappeared.

Speaker 2 (03:35):
We had some of the things coming. I managed to
do some work for the Royal Opera House. They produced
a new opera.

Speaker 3 (03:41):
They had to scrap every opera they had planned for
five years. One of the projects they had was the
first opera commissioned in hyperreality.

Speaker 2 (03:51):
So it's all done within a computer environment.

Speaker 3 (03:54):
And yes it does have a live element because for
all these numbers of the time where the virtual reality
go and they are immersed in the opera, they.

Speaker 2 (04:03):
Are actually inside it. So it's going to be really
interesting to see how these things pan out and what
the other side of it's going to be. It's a
time for everyone to reflect, isn't it.

Speaker 3 (04:12):
And you know, for many families with tragic circumstances, yes
we will have a chance to look back. But I
think one of the things we've done as a creative
industry is be very good at adapting. And we've all
had to adapt and change and find out the ways
of working, and invest in home studios and home audio
equipment and do other things that have just tied us over.

Speaker 1 (04:36):
Let's just start at the beginning, as they say, go
back a bit, just tell us a little bit about
your child, how you got into this and you know
what was like, where did you grow up? Was it
in Mandigarek? Could really where were you born?

Speaker 2 (04:48):
I was born?

Speaker 3 (04:49):
Yeah, I was actually born in here Guelvor, well not
born in Hilgbora. I was born in Clanechi, but we
lived in here Guelvor the concul of states, the school,
and we were two doors away from a certain Ray
Ravel and his family. So obviously that was the core
of everything that happened. And if you were in Manidegareg

(05:11):
at that time, you.

Speaker 2 (05:12):
Had to be a member of the band, the Brass band,
which sadly disbanded in the eighties.

Speaker 3 (05:18):
But it was a phenomenal education and such an enlightening
experience to join the band at seven years of age
and then to be a part of this incredible movement.
And if you think about the bands that were in
the area, you know you had Flan signed bands, you
had Kidweli band, you had a report band which Silver Way.

(05:41):
So all these communities based on workers and miners and
tin workers and general sort of mostly working class people
would come together and play well py recipients antser remember,
was one of the first things you know, and then
you had sort of all the reps to us suddenly
opening up and for them to learn an instrument to

(06:03):
learn and music during.

Speaker 2 (06:04):
The time when how did they do this?

Speaker 3 (06:06):
And then how did they have the ability to work
the shifts that they did to come back and have
a you know, the literal sort of gardening and enjoy.

Speaker 2 (06:15):
A point of view and go to band practice three
nights a week.

Speaker 3 (06:18):
I have no idea, but anyway, that was a big
part of my life and it sort of ended up
with me going to Cardiff to study music. Actually I
was a didn't do any drama in school, didn't do
any acting obviously because it wasn't a part of landscape.
Whether I would have enjoyed it, I'm not sure, but
you know, I ended up going into acting ironically through music,

(06:40):
and the band is the pivotal factor in that, and
I'm eternally grateful.

Speaker 1 (06:45):
We seem to be going through a sort of a
golden period for Welsh acting, Welsh Welsh films, Welsh locations,
and then this hit obviously, but after this is maybe
you know, it tips back to where we can go
out and we've got people can mix again. Do you
think that will continue? Is Wheels really up there now

(07:06):
in the spotlight and you know, punshate its weight in
the film industry, drama industry, writing, location industry.

Speaker 2 (07:15):
Yes, without the doubts, And I think it's the biggest thing.

Speaker 3 (07:18):
I mean, I look back at my career and irrespective
of what I've worked on, the two biggest changes for me,
I think aid the fact that I managed to work
every single year and get some sort of income from
acting since I went professional or serfing boid in nineteen
eighty six, you know, and in that time there's been
an incredible change. When I first started, the only things

(07:40):
that I can remember being filmed in ways are two
things the.

Speaker 2 (07:43):
Life and Times of Lloyd George and District Nurse.

Speaker 1 (07:48):
No.

Speaker 3 (07:48):
I remember being on set of District nurs and everybody,
as far as the cast primarily were based in London.
The crew, none of them came from works. We didn't
have that expertise in sort of location planning or set
design or sound or camera or costume or makeup or
any of those facilities. We just didn't have any ways.

(08:12):
And if you fast forward that to where we are now,
and one example that I keep going back is I
worked for Gareth Evans was an incredible director and the
first thing he'd actually worked on the Raid in Indonesia, ironically,
which is a cultur film globally, and it's not i
mean even in the English language. It's in Bajazi Indonesia.

(08:35):
But to work with him on his first Welsh product
back in Wales, which was the apostle for Netflix, and
to look around and the majority i'd say sixty or
seventy percent of the crew were Welsh, Welsh based, Welsh
trade and at the top of their game internationally, you know,

(08:57):
and even most of them buy linguals. So to be
on this project or sort of project for Netflix in
the English language with that Welsh sense of community, I
think had an impact on the final results, and I
think it does.

Speaker 2 (09:10):
It's tangible.

Speaker 3 (09:12):
You can almost feel it on screen, you know, that
sort of co sort of working together because you have
that identity of who you're with. And if you look
at what's happening now with Hinterland, initially was filmed back
to back and obviously by the time it reached through
the permutations, I think I've seen about five different edits.
By the time you reach Netflix, it doesn't have any

(09:32):
Welsh language left in it. So when we come to
Hidden or Christ we didn't have back to back for
every character. Some characters spoke well, some characters didn't speak lush,
so obviously the language that they spoke depended on the
scene and the company that they kept. So when you
get to that sort of international profile or platform, there

(09:55):
is Welsh language to be heard and I think we
need to be absolutely proud of that anymore, not high
behind it.

Speaker 2 (10:01):
You know, the days of when people used to.

Speaker 3 (10:02):
Say have you been on Popolo come was absolutely the
definition of a Welsh actor, but there was almost like
a belittling element to the question sometimes as well, whereas
now Poblo com is an incredible achievement. You know, it's
the longest running soap opera behind the Coronation Street. And
not just that, but everything we do as an industry
within Wales has a sense of identity with the webs

(10:25):
language and without the webs language right now, and I
think we can be extremely.

Speaker 2 (10:29):
Proud of that.

Speaker 1 (10:31):
Historically, though, the arts have always been the poor relation,
not heavily invested in schools, cutting the sort of art department,
colleges cutting the art department. Are you sort back involved
with that? Now in sort of inspiring people in giving
some talks and encouraging the art within the school and
educational settings. And what are you doing if you.

Speaker 3 (10:52):
Are Yeah, I'm not doing anything directly or sort of
consistently with an education anymore. I had times at college
your Car, and I had times at University of Wills,
Trinity Saint David. Education has been through a lot of
challenging times. I am doing some online sort of talks
this week ironically to college Herodigion and call Exiugal and

(11:15):
I think it's important because one of the reasons that
through Big Ideas Wales, which is a fantastic initiative again
by the Welsh Senate, and I think within that, I
think we have the ability to look at one important
factor that I feel is important to deliver out.

Speaker 2 (11:34):
I'm talking a lot about being an entrepreneur.

Speaker 3 (11:36):
It's a buzzword today and I've been sevon ployed for
thirty four years, so I have an experience of that world.
But I think there is a danger in education for
people still to confuse being an entrepreneur with being wealthy
or being famous, or being rich or being well known.
And I think to be an entrepreneur is in its

(11:56):
true sense much simpler than that. It's about how do
we apply yourself to something, to do the work we love,
you know, and whether we make a fortune from it is.

Speaker 2 (12:08):
Not the goal.

Speaker 3 (12:10):
Earning a living from it possibly is, but being involved
with it most definitely is. And how you have that
ability to create work anyway and have that richness that
the ads can bring into our lives.

Speaker 2 (12:23):
You know, I just can't look.

Speaker 3 (12:24):
Back at my life anymore and think that I would
change anything, and all the things that the ads are
brought into me is something that is absolutely priceless. And
if I can pass that on to other people and
share some of that, then yeah, I think that's.

Speaker 2 (12:39):
More than what I should be doing, because I think
we've reached that. I know as well when it's paid
back time.

Speaker 3 (12:44):
And if I think but some of the people that
helped and supported me, I am now hopefully in that
position where I can help and support others as well.

Speaker 1 (12:52):
Just finally, then we know that the Welsh are very
good at storytelling. We love our drama, we love the
gossip and so on. Is there then, looking to the
future for you know, a part for you to play
in gathering those stories? Maybe a bit more writing, scriptwriting
and film production and drama production. Is that somewhere where
you're heading where you'd like to be.

Speaker 3 (13:16):
I've done some writing in the past, but I think
I'm just really enjoying the acting at the moment.

Speaker 2 (13:21):
And you are right, perhaps I've reached a different age,
you know.

Speaker 3 (13:24):
You know, you go through the different assimilations of the
characters you play. I don't think it's a coincidence that
you know I played I've reached the court, and they
say when you reach the court, you are of a
certain age. As a defense barrister in permoscial murders, I
played a judge in The Accident for Channel four, and
I was a court clerk for Demand Deguir for ESCA THEREC.

(13:49):
So we go through these spaces in life that reflect
the age we're at, I guess, and I'm.

Speaker 2 (13:55):
Not sure about writing in the future.

Speaker 3 (13:57):
I really admire your writers, you know, if you think
about working in isolation and how difficult that is without
a confidante or somebody to pass an opinion or support
or help. Actors depend on the team, and I think
I really enjoy that environment at the moment. For the future,
who knows, you

Speaker 1 (14:17):
Know, Heaven varhiged our publock
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