Graig Du Theatre Players

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Graig Du Theatre Players

The players are in the process of being formed. I will post further updates in the next few days. My intention is to form a community theatre group, with four probable performances a year, to encompass the work of playwrights in the Rhondda as a beginning. Original work will be encouraged. I would like to hear from any members, when I give out further information, if they would be willing to partake in the first staging. This will include actors, actresses, directors,who would be interested in supporting the idea to get valuable experience at the start of their careers. It would be a learning curve for me. I intend staging my play" Sorrow for my Sons" to publicize the group within the next few months. The full version of this play "Painting the Darkness" is to have a performance with the Fluellen Theatre in 2017. The play tells of the mysterious death of William Dillwyn Llewelyn, the eldest son of Sir John Dillwyn Llewelyn, who was found shot dead in the woods of the Penllergare estate on the afternoon of his engagement to Lord Dynevor's daughter in August 1893. The play explores the background to events, the inquest held the following day into his death, and William's friendship with J.Arthur Gibbs, the author of "A Cotswolds Village". I owe a huge debt of gratitude to the late June Lewis-Jones of Fairford, Glos, who helped me considerably with the three-act version of events. After answering my advertisement in her local newspaper, she was intrigued by my discoveries and, as she held Gibbs's diaries in her possession; she was also an author in her own right, she said she would aid me in any way as long as it did not jeopardize her work. June said that I had seen something in the unfolding events that no-one had realized before. Gibbs's strange requiem poem to his dead friend is well worth reading, as is his version, which I believe to be truthful, of the events that took place at Penllergare on the fateful day.

Location: Porth, Rhondda
Members: 10
Latest Activity: Dec 11, 2018

Discussion Forum

Street Singers of the Valleys. Gwillym Pen Pwyll.

The one regret my father had while growing up in Dinas was that he did not pay much attention to the stories that were being told. The stories he did tell me were fascinating to the say the least,…Continue

Tags: Du, Theatre, Players, Graig, Pwyll

Started by Glyndwr Edwards Nov 21, 2015.

Unknown Stories from the Rhondda.

Ebenezer Chapel, pictured above before its demolition in the 1960s, was one of the…Continue

Started by Glyndwr Edwards Nov 17, 2015.

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Comment by Glyndwr Edwards on January 11, 2016 at 10:10

I told you that you could change whatever you wanted. The idea was yours in the first place and I just gave it some structure. You have remembered my advice of show, don't tell. There was enough suggestion with the conversations to bring in the good suggestions you have made. I wonder how this will come into play when Bulwer-Lytton makes his appearance towards the end. I would give people the benefit of the doubt when it comes to what they know of history and belief. 

Comment by Josh Edwards on January 11, 2016 at 9:33

Thanks for the reply. I saw the story of "The Man in the Moon" and it is little changed from the original scenario, Glyn. There are one or two things I have altered with the film script of "The BloodStone". The classical allusions you mentioned in the script would not be work, believe me, because people do not read these days. More importantly, Tobias Ashworth's character is ambiguous and this is shown in the drawings I have completed. I have imposed the character of Merlin on him so he appears to be a reincarnation of this mysterious entity. This, I believe, would emphasize Tobias is controlled by his inner daemon at birth that is hinted at in a later passage. What this leads to is that he listens to what he believes are divine promptings and that he can see things no-one else can. His thinking is more attuned to the past when there were no modern trappings and he listened to the voices that may have been gods. Naturally, this enforces the other idea: men and women experience the world in a way that matched their beliefs. In Tobias's case, this would be the mysticism of the Celt! 

Comment by Josh Edwards on January 10, 2016 at 10:46

I have finished the puppetry figurines for "The Man in the Moon". The folding house works so far for the Joey Sampson scene. There may have to be a change in sequence with the man in the moon wanting to go to his sister's birthday party. Lincoln Cottage, where she lives, could easily be absorbed into the Sampson's garden when the shadows represent the moon. All in all, the action runs to a little over half an hour. The moral of the story is good and children should be surprised when it is revealed that the father was also afraid of the dark when he was Joey's age.

Comment by Glyndwr Edwards on December 23, 2015 at 2:08

Sorry I have not answered you. I have just come back from Norwich and I am off again soon. I will have a look at the storyboards after Christmas. Intriguing story you mentioned about Harry Price. Keep me updated on progress.

Comment by Josh Edwards on December 22, 2015 at 5:46

I thought you would have answered by now. Where are you? I saw on television last week that ITV are showing a film about Harry Price. Intriguing, to say the least! The one story they should have done was about the strange haunting in Sussex. Visitors to an old mansion would awaken in the night and find themselves being strangled. Any food left in the kitchen became rotten after a few hours. A priest was summoned to carry out an exorcism. An object, full of smoke. appeared, resembling a football, smashed through one of the bedroom doors, rolled downstairs toward the front doors, went across the front lawns, and disappeared into a lake. Some years later, the lake was dredged and three skeletons were discovered. There was no explanation for the haunting. Price was a curious character and it was Borley Rectory that damaged his reputation. I will have a look at the film out of curiosity. Get in touch soon!

Comment by Josh Edwards on December 21, 2015 at 5:08

There has been a good discussion on the ideas raised a few months ago. The storyboard for "The BloodStone" is nearly completed and I will show it to you soon. I forgot to mention what has happened to the story you mentioned about Dr William Price of Llantrisant.

Comment by Glyndwr Edwards on November 17, 2015 at 2:17

The group will shortly be open to new members.

 
 
 

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