What occurs in a town when the UK’s most discussed artist secretly places an artwork on a garage door without prior notice?
Season’sGreetings, createdbytheanonymousartistBanksy,emergedinPortTalbinDecember2018,closetoChristmas,whichattractedaninfusionofvisitorsflockingtothenarrowbackalleyswherethepiececommentingonthetown’snotorioussteelindustrywasnowlocated.
The illustration spans two adjacent walls forming a right angle, depicting a boy gleefully frolicking amidst what appears to be a snowy scene—yet upon turning the corner, one realizes that the “snow” is actually ash drifting down from a blazing trash bin, mirroring the constant billows of smoke rising both day and night from the nearby steel mill.
With this occurrence—and the broader narrative of the town’s destiny—now adapted for theatrical performance,
Port Talbot Gotta Banksy
, relying solely on transcriptions of the townspeople’s reactions.
Tracy Harris and Paul Jenkins, playwrights based in South Wales, previously collaborated on a project employing the same method ofverbatim dialogue, which was collected from young individuals involved in their production. They sought inspiration for yetanother endeavor utilizing this approach.
When they heard about the Banksy and went to visit, a chance conversation with a fellow director who said “someone should write a play about this” gave Paul “one of those lightbulb moments,” that the material might be right under their noses.
Neither expected that their initiative to record the reaction to a single incident would evolve into a six-year passion project capturing the conclusion of a century-old lifestyle for a working-class neighborhood.
Paul commented about Season’s Greetings: “It was an exquisite work of art, and we understood that the residents of Port Talbot not only appreciated it but truly adored it and embraced it wholeheartedly.”
“We were at the site every day, talking and listening to the community’s opinions and feelings and responses to the Banksy, what they thought about the theme of it, the pollution, steelworks, all of that. And it just started there.”
A version of the play might have taken place sooner, but then “COVID intervened.”
“And then by a stroke of luck or genius, the story kept developing,” said Tracy.
There were the twists and turns with the artwork itself – first it was protected by security at the site, then bought by an English art collector to go on display in the town, with a promise it would always remain there.
That failed to happen and the piece was finally removed to an undisclosed location in England in February 2022.
But the other story which weaved into and over the Banksy was the devastating news that steel production as it had existed for most people’s lifetimes would end.
And it was only when the works’ blast furnace got switched off in September 2024 that Tracy and Paul finally decided it was time to stop gathering interviews and devise the play.
Over the course of six years the pair collected more than 100 hours of recordings that they have managed to boil down to a two-hour play.
“As a result, it has become such a universally relatable tale now, far exceeding our initial expectations,” said Tracy.
Paul added: “When we started, we thought it was going to be a story about the Banksy, the first Banksy in Wales and what people thought of it.
Of course, it has increasingly focused on the theme of the Banksy artwork, which highlights the pollution caused by the steelworks. Then, with the potential threat to the steelworks, it has transformed into a stark portrayal of that community and their strength.
At Christmas, they received a Banksy as a gift, but it was later removed. Currently, their industrial heritage spanning 100 years, particularly the blast furnaces, has been shut down. Although ideally this could evolve into producing green steel using an electric arc furnace, right now those blast furnaces remain inactive.
There’s an overwhelming feeling of doubt looming over the community. While the contamination, which was emphasized by Banksy, has been eliminated, it resulted in countless job losses within the town.
Each statement made onstage is an exact replica of words uttered by actual individuals. Six performers embody the characters of Tracy and Paul’s repeated encounters through the years along with numerous additional personas.
Despite this, their lines aren’t memorized; instead, the actors receive them via headphones as they speak.
The tale is told in chronological order but from a wide range of differing perspectives, with some news reports and headlines added to help the audience understand the latest development where necessary.
One of the people represented in the show is a steelworker who’s started spray painting, highlighting a type of transformation that has occurred within the town even as it faces the consequences of the loss of its industrial heritage.
Tracy said: “Port Talbot’s become the street art capital of Wales suddenly. Even though it’s a sad story, it’s also a story of hope because [the people] do bounce back.
“They’ve decided to make the town a colourful town and start spray painting everywhere.”
“As a result of Banksy’s influence, we have seen a flourishing street art scene emerge. Numerous local artists have surfaced, transforming countless walls into vibrant showcases of extraordinary artwork,” notes Paul.
“The colour of the town has changed. It’s gone from being a grey, industrial town where the skies are full of smoke all the time to being a really colourful town.”
Conducting the research for the play assisted in giving a platform to individuals who “rarely get a chance to speak,” yet it also exposed them to the extensive array of artistic talents present throughout Port Talbot.
Tracy highlights that the beauty of this play lies in its portrayal through the lens of an entire community, giving voice to individuals whose perspectives typically go unheard. These people wouldn’t usually have the opportunity to share their personal experiences with the artwork and explain its significance within their town.
Sometimes their descriptions can be quite poetic.
At the beginning of the process, Paul mentions that they initially thought they might need to add connecting lines themselves to tie different parts of the narrative together. However, they discovered that their interviewees had seamlessly integrated these connections on their own.
The residents of Port Talbot are fantastic narrators. I can’t quite pinpoint why – perhaps it’s something inherently Welsh, or maybe it’s specific to Port Talbot – but they excel at sharing their tales,” he remarks.
Tracy adds her input: “They said everything perfectly; it feels as though it was written. You might think, ‘how did they express it so accurately?’ It’s precisely what we hoped they would convey.”
Port Talbot Gotta Banksy is at the Sherman Theatre, Cardiff, from 2-10 May and then on tour to Port Talbot, Swansea, Milford Haven and Wrexham.
- What to do if you wake up with a Banksy on your wall
- What information do we have regarding Banksy?
- They employed Banksy for £50 only to have their mural painted over afterwards.
- Banksy acknowledges the recent “snow” piece as his own creation.
- An overview of Port Talbot’s steelworks through the decades
- How Banksy ignited a passion for color in a steel town
- Mum writes play about battle for son’s support