Theatre Presentation ~ “Carwyn”

‘Carwyn’ is a brand-new one-man show starring Simon Nehan that attempts to unravel the enigma of a multi-layered man. A man ahead of his time. A man who was alone in a crowd. A man uncomfortable in his own skin. A man of whom it is said very few truly knew him, knew what made his heart beat and his mind tick. In his 53 years Carwyn James made an incredible, indelible impact on the country of his birth. A man who adored sport, culture and politics, a man who adored Wales. A man of contradictions, with a career that took in teaching, broadcasting, coaching, and espionage.
Throughout his life the beauty of the words of the ancient poets and playwrights were as important to him as the ebb and flow of the rugby ball. A man whose crowning achievement was delivering, to this day, the only Series victory against New Zealand for the British and Irish Lions in 1971.
Carwyn James died alone in an Amsterdam hotel room in January 1983. This play returns to this room and allows this unique man to have one final opportunity to look back over his short but eventful life. Carwyn James deserves to have his story told on stage. Writer Owen Thomas and Director Gareth John Bale, the writer and star of ‘Grav’, will remind Wales of one of her lost sons who contributed enormously to our sporting, cultural, political and intellectual life.
Featured Artists
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Actor Simon Nehan trained at the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama. He is an Associate Artist of Theatr Clwyd where his credits include: Curtain Up, Under Milk Wood, Rape of the Fair Country, Bruised, and Memory (which toured to New York in Spring 2007).
Other theatre credits include: Carwyn (Torch Theatre), We’re Still Here (National Theatre Wales), This Incredible Life (Ffwrnes Llanelli), Routes (Wales Millennium Centre), Blasted (The Other Room, Cardiff), The Merchant of Venice (PAC theatres), Robin Hood (Riverfront Arts Centre), Cardboard Dad, A Christmas Carol, Deluge (Sherman Theatre), Pinocchio (Pukka Theatre Company), The Seagull, Kebab Shags (Bristol Old Vic), A Child's Christmas in Wales (Theatr na nOg), The Canterbury Tales, As You Like It (Mappa Mundi), Acqua Nero (Sgript Cymru), Cinderella, Aladdin & Dick Whittington (Regent Theatre, Stoke), and Sleeping Beauty (New Victoria, Woking).
Television credits include: Hapless S2, The Crown (Netflix); The Pembrokeshire Murders (ITV); The Snow Spider (BBC); The Windsors, Ordinary Lies 2, Cuffs, Atlantis, Casualty, Merlin, Stopping Distance, The Bench, Score, Kardomha Boys, Holby City, Doctors and The Aberpandy Files (BBC1); The Comedy Show, Nuts and Bolts (HTV Wales); Bay College (BBC2); Tracy Beaker: the Movie of Me (BBC/CBBC); Birdsong (Working Title/BBC) and Talking to the Dead (Sky).
Film work includes: Prizefighter (Camelot Films), Loki’s Game (Trickster Films Ltd), The Cleansing (Tornado Films), The Rebels (Tornado Films), Svengali (Working Title), The Killer Elite (Ambience & Mascot Pictures), Made In Dagenham (Number 9 Films), The Shouting Men (Away Days) and Me and Orson Welles (CinemaNX).
"Carwyn" a one person play that explores the life of the former British and Irish Lions coach, Carwyn James.
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Writer Owen Thomas is an award-winning Playwright whose previous plays include ‘The Wood’ and ‘Grav’ for the Torch Theatre, Milford Haven, where he is also proud to be an Associate Artist. ‘Grav’, has toured widely, enjoying successful runs in London, Washington, New York, Edinburgh, and a special showing for the Welsh National Rugby team prior to their Six Nations game against England in February 2019.
His breakthrough play ‘Richard Parker’ was critically acclaimed at the Edinburgh Festival, going on to win ‘Best International Show’ at the Hollywood Fringe Festival, Los Angeles in 2012. In 2019, ‘West’, his first American commission, premiered in Milwaukee, to a standing ovation. ‘West’ toured Wales in Spring 2020 including performances in London and New York. ‘An Orange in the Subway’, a play about homelessness, was performed at the Vaults Festival in London in 2020 and was nominated Best Show.
Other recent stage plays include ‘The Night Porter’ (RCT Theatres) and ‘Benny’, (Chapter Arts Centre).
During lockdown he wrote a series of radio plays for RCT Theatres and ‘Isolationship’, an online play as part of ‘Bale and Thomas’. He also wrote ‘Who Runs Towards a Fire’ and ‘Peerless’ for the Sherman Theatre, Cardiff, and was commissioned to write a film, ‘When the Night Fell’, for Theatr Brycheiniog.
His first screenplay was for the film version of ‘Grav’ for S4C. Directed by Marc Evans (Director: The Pembrokeshire Murders – ITV1) the film was screened nationally on September 12th, 2021, to critical acclaim. The film was nominated for Best Film in the 2022 Celtic Media Awards. Owen was nominated as Best Writer at the BAFTA Cymru Awards where ‘Grav’ won the BAFTA Cymru Award for Best Film.
Owen’s most recent play, ‘Carwyn’, about the life of Carwyn James, was produced by the Torch Theatre in Spring 2022 before touring extensively all across Wales. It will be touring again some time in 2023.
Owen has recently been named the inaugural English language Writer in Residence for the Brecon Beacons National Park and his new play written in response will premiere at the Hay Festival in 2023.
Director Gareth Bale is an experienced actor and director. He trained at the Welsh College of Music and Drama. As a director Gareth has directed Carwyn for The Torch Theatre. He has worked as director for Bale and Thomas on West, The Night Porter, Benny, Richard Parker and Robert Golding. He has directed Miss Julie, Dau (an adaption of Jim Cartwright’s Two) and two Welsh language pantomimes for RCT Theatres.
He was Artistic Director of Cwmni Theatr 3-D directing Epa yn y Parlwr Cefn, Abigail’s Party, Richard Parker, and Don’t Dress for Dinner among others.  Gareth has been an assistant director on numerous productions for BlackRat Productions and RCT Theatres. He has also lectured and directed at several colleges in South Wales.