Graig Du Theatre Players
Information
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 Josh Edwards on March 16, 2016 at 9:53
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The other quote that is little mentioned today concerns Robert Graves and the incident he mentions in his autobiography. He was curious, rather than frightened, when he saw the ghost of Private Challoner who passed the window of C Company's billet at Cuinchy. Graves was convinced it was Challoner, who was killed at Festubert the previous May. He ends the story by saying ghosts were numerous in France at the time.
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I have found another useful book about Welsh beliefs and folklore. It was written by Mary L.Lewes and is entitled Stranger than Fiction. The stories are very unusual and worth looking at. Even George Borrow is mentioned on his travels and an incident that happened to him. She certainly knew the background to many curious tales and it is surprising the book is so little known.
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Comment by Glyndwr Edwards on March 13, 2016 at 9:51
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Thanks, Josh. I have read this, plus others by Lewis Spence.
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Here's another book well worth looking at. The Mysteries of Britain by Lewis Spence. There's a good story on what happened with the destruction of the Cistercian monastery at Penrhys and the idols that were burnt in London.
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It's a pity I was not paying you a commission, Josh. I will have a look at these.
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Here's another mystery from the 1950s that intrigued people. The Joyita, captained by Thomas "Dusty" Miller, who was born in Cardiff, was found abandoned off the coast of Samoa, with the captain, crew, and passengers missing.A number of theories were suggested for the abandoned vessel, but they came to nothing. The story was widely reported by the world's press.
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I have found another story that is interesting. It concerns the racecourse gangs that operated on the racecourse at Ely, a murder trial at Pontypridd, and a prosecuting defence that included Matabele Davies, the old magistrate at Porth. I will send you the details.
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Comment by Ann Stelling on March 5, 2016 at 9:45
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Thanks for the reply.
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I have had a chance to look at the play, Ann, and it is a delicious black comedy. I like the idea of Boris Karloff and Bela Lugosi, projectionists in the Sound Room of the Afterlife, discussing their lives and the film stars of yesteryear making unexpected appearances. I will be in touch soon. I do not understand why Lucy should want to change the ending of the play.
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Glyn, have you had a chance to read my play Mr Pratt Entertains yet? Lucy has asked me to tell you to disregard the current version of Justine's Wish as she is not happy with the ending.
Pages (108)
- Brook Cottage, Dinas.
- The Dinas Pals'1914.
- Death of Arthur Rees, Appletree, Dinas. 1908.
- Boot Inn, Dinas.
- Dinas Road before the clearance.
- The Prince of Orange pub, Dinas Road
- The Last houses to be demolished in Dinas.
- Inkerman Street, Dinas. "Concretes"
- Bethania Chapel, Dinas Road.
- Gwillym Pen Pwyll's"Ragamuffin Tales"
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