Robert Lloyd - a Sir Gar Blog of random news . . . and some Clecs!

The Prince of Wales, a new play by Jon Tregenna, performed by Llanelli Stage Company and Llanelli Youth Theatre, Stiwdio Stepni at Ffwrnes Theatre, Llanelli. (running through to Saturday night, November 18). It’s got history, humour and high jinks. And the end result is slightly hysterical in a highly amusing way. The new play from Buggerall author Jon Tregenna is a fast-moving, cleverly-staged development of a radical idea. What if there is a descendant of the last great Welsh king, Llywelyn Ap Gruffudd? Will it be the end of the Prince of Wales, Prince Charles? Will it spark a constitutional crisis? There’s razor-sharp humour in sackloads played across a backdrop of serious themes about Welsh nationhood, friendship, mistaken identity, love, passion and the consumer culture. Throw in a few swipes about a pretentious arts and media culture and you have a bubbling Welsh cocktail which fizzes and delights through one long act with multiple scene changes. The Welsh love their h...

Llanelli Youth Theatre's forthcoming production of Arthur Miller’s The Crucible takes place at Stiwdio Stepni, Ffwrnes, Llanelli, next month. Llanelli Youth Theatre are renowned for their imaginative and highly innovative productions, being readily accessible, highly stimulating and visually entertaining for all ages allowing audiences to experience, celebrate and comment on the world in which they live. In a small, tight-knit community, personal grievances collide with lust and superstition, fuelling widespread hysteria. Miller’s timeless parable attacks the evils of mindless persecution and the terrifying power of false accusations. Both a gripping historical play and a timely parable of contemporary society, The Crucible is arguably the most important play written in the 20th Century. The Crucible runs nightly from Thursday 10th – Saturday 12th November at 7.15pm with a Saturday matinee at 3pm.

Buggerall, written by Jon Tregenna and produced by Llanelli Youth Theatre (with Llanelli Stage Company) at Stiwdio Stepney, Ffwrnes Theatre, Llanelli. To begin at the beginning, it's a silent cobbled street mile better than watching dancing JCBs! Llanelli-born Jon Tregenna has dug a long and deep trench to strike the rich legacy stream left behind by Dylan Thomas. There are gems here that have been carefully polished since Buggerall was first launched in 2003. This latest production brings the story bang up to date in 2016 - a world where selfies rule and the village rugby team drowns in a sea of drink. The question is: if Dylan Thomas was still alive, what would he make of a modern-day seaside village in Wales? "The butchers, the bakers, the walking stick makers; high class drapers and watch repairers; men selling fish out of wheelbarrows around pubs with snugs, and tapping barrels for free beer and grinning; and quarrymen quarrelling and old sea dogs with sa...