‘Pontypool’ cast announced as Wales Millennium Centre extends run

A new stage adaptation of a cult horror story is being extended due to popular demand at Wales Millennium Centre, as they announce the cast of their newest production that arrives just in time for Halloween.

PONTYPOOL will now play at Wales Millennium Centre’s Weston Studio on 30 October – 16 November 2024, giving audiences another week to see the play after previews quickly sold out.

Playing washed-up radio DJ Grant Mazzy is Lloyd Hutchinson, who is known on screen for Bad Sisters and the Romeo & Juliet TV film, as well as previous roles in the National Theatre’s Dear England and Aaron Sorkin’s stage adaptation of To Kill A Mockingbird in the West End.

Joining him are Victoria John (PLAY, The Other Room) as Rhiannon Briar, Mazzy’s producer; Mali O’Donnell (Nye, National Theatre/Wales Millennium Centre) as Megan Davies, their studio technician; Ioan Hefin (Branwen: Dadeni, Wales Millennium Centre/Frân Wen) as Dr Harry Phillips; andCarwyn Jones (Dim Diolch, Frân Wen) as on-the-ground reporter Ken Loney.

Cult story

PONTYPOOL is based on the cult horror story by Tony Burgess that turned the zombie genre on its head. Set originally in the Pontypool of Ontario, Canada, this new adaptation by Welsh writer Hefin Robinson sees terror unfold through the eyes and ears of radio broadcasters in the eponymous Torfaen town.

The description reads: “Radio DJ Grant Mazzy was once king of the airwaves, but his big mouth and even bigger ego have reduced him to a washed-up star. Forced to leave the national stations behind, he finds himself at Beacon Radio, Pontypool’s little-known station in the South Wales valleys.

“On a snowy St Dwynwen’s Day, Mazzy and his team settle in for another breakfast show of news, weather, traffic and call-ins. But things take a disturbing turn when muddled reports come in of an outbreak of riots and babbling crowds in the town.

“Panic spreads. Terror closes in. Can Mazzy remain on air to make sense of it all, or will Pontypool fall silent?”

Graeme Farrow, Chief Creative and Content Officer of Wales Millennium Centre, said: “The prospect of transposing a cult horror story called Pontypool both to Wales and to a modern age was irresistible. We’ll explore how we use language, sensationalism, and the search for truth amid a climate of fake news and conspiracy theories. It’s more than a little terrifying but great fun at the same time.”

Tony Burgess’ best-selling 1995 horror novel Pontypool Changes Everything was later released as the 2008 cult horror film and radio play Pontypool, with the latter serving as the basis for Hefin Robinson’s new stage adaptation.

Hefin Robinson said: “To reimagine Tony Burgess’ wholly original and startlingly vivid Pontypool for the stage has been a treat. Not only has it allowed us to translate the tension and scares to a live theatre experience, but the new Welsh setting has brought with it the heart and humour of this particular small-town community.

“The opportunity to write a horror thriller that explores language, bilingualism and culture from a Welsh perspective has been especially exciting. I can’t wait to start terrifying audiences this autumn.”

PONTYPOOL is directed by Dan Phillips with immersive sound design by Ben Samuels, and produced for Wales Millennium Centre by Pádraig Cusack. The company also includes set and costume designer Cory Shipp, lighting designer Simisola Majekodunmi, composer Nicola T Chang, movement and intimacy director Lucy Glassbrook, make-up and special FX designer Marcus Whitney, casting director Hannah Miller CDG, and dramaturg Stewart Pringle.

Tickets are available for the extended run at www.wmc.org.uk/pontypool.