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 June 26, 2016 at 1:57
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One story that should be looked at is that of Count Louis Hamon, Cheiro, and his uncanny ability to predict his clients future.
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I have read the outline on the piece for Helen Duncan, the spiritualist, and I am not convinced by events depicted. Fakery was obviously involved with many and they preyed on distressed peoples' anguish. There may have been some benefit to people, but these people heard and saw what they wanted to see. Indeed, how can you convince someone they have not spoken with a lost companion if that is what they wish to see.
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Nothing of Importance by Bernard Adams is another important book.
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Comment by Glyndwr Edwards on June 20, 2016 at 7:22
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Haig's diaries were published during the 1950s and his response to the deaths of thousands of men showed the prevailing attitude. A documentary about the Battle of the Somme was made by the BBC in the 1970s with Leo McKern and has never been seen since.
A good book on the war is Six Weeks by John Lewis-Stempel. The title refers to the life expectancy of an officer on the Western Front.
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I read a good article today I thought would interest you. It was about JRR Tolkien's service during the Great War and The Battle of the Somme. It appears Sam Gamgee is based on the British soldiers and their sterling character. The casualty figures take some understanding over the fifteen miles of the line of attack. Over 19,000 killed on the first day, 38,000 wounded. It appears 30,000 bodies were never recovered after the battle ended.
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Sounds interesting what you are doing.
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What you mentioned is of relevance. I do recall, sometime back now, Steve, who was in a local writers' group penned a version of the story that was set up the valley. It was uncompromising, making good use of his local knowledge, but he could get no interest because it was not a fashionable subject. It was the usual rubbish being spouted by those who know better. I have finished collecting the stories from local people and their honesty was surprising. A compelling look at the 1940s and 1950s in Wales. Some stories will not be used because of the sensitivity of the subject matter. I could not be more delighted.
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I thought that would have been of interest. The same applies to all the good books that have been written over the years and the television companies show little interest. How far can you go with a police, or hospital drama, before it becomes repetitive. The only way to get a commission today is if you write a cop drama or the regurgitation of Jane Austen. That's what I call boredom. There are far better writers in the preceding years than she will ever be.
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I read the story years ago in a book by Jonathan Goodman. I cannot remember the title. Walton's death was unusual and people are reluctant to speak of it today in Lower Quinton. If anyone could have solved the man's death, it would have been Fabian. I do not know if the story has been dramatised.
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I read a good article today about the ritual murder of Charles Walton at Lower Quinton, investigated by Fabian of the Yard. The background to the story is disturbing. No murderer was apprehended. Has anyone based a play on this macabre event?
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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