Acclaimed playwright Gary Owen behind new Welsh fantasy audio drama

Molly Stubbs

A new Welsh-language audio drama inspired by mythology and aimed at pre-teens and learners will launch at Tafwyl Festival this summer.

Theatr Iolo’s Annwn is a “spellbinding” episodic audio drama for pre-teens and Welsh learners written by acclaimed playwright Gary Owen.

The award-winning writer’s work includes Violence and Son (Royal Court) and Iphigenia in Splott, which won the James Tait Black Prize for Drama.

Theatr Iolo Artistic Director & Chief Executive Lee Lyford told us: “We are thrilled to present this new digital audio work by master playwright Gary Owen.

“It demonstrates our commitment to the Welsh language and young people, whatever stage of their learning journey; and our commitment to the power of storytelling in many forms.

“Especially written for this digital audio format, Annwn can reach many ears not only in Wales but beyond, to Welsh speakers everywhere.”

Created specifically for pre-teens aged 9–12 and second language Welsh speakers, Annwn follows Mia lives in Cardiff with her free-spirited mum.

After lockdown ends, they move to a remote caravan in West Wales in search of peace, but soon find strange sounds and figures appear in the surrounding forests at night.

Mia soon discovers they are caught between two factions of the mythical Tylwyth Teg, who are divided between the dreamworld of Annwn and a damaged Earth.

When Mia is drawn into Annwn, she must decide whether to stay in a perfect world or return home and face reality, danger and chaos.

Seren Hamilton, who plays Mia, made her professional debut in Owen’s Iphigenia yn Sblot at Sherman Theatre. She has since developed her own writing and performed in new work including Riot Street and Girls On Top.

Glesni Price-Jones, Producer, Theatr Iolo said: “Annwn is a bold and imaginative audio drama that brings fantasy into a contemporary world young audiences can really connect with.

“It has been a joy to develop a story that is accessible to teenagers in Welsh medium education while still rich in atmosphere, tension and adventure.

“We are thrilled to be launching it at Tafwyl before releasing it widely for families and young people to enjoy.”

Writer Gary Owen added: “I decided I would try and write a story for children who speak Welsh as a second language. 

“I’d try and write in a fairly simple, conversational Welsh that reflected the kind of Welsh I heard my children and their friends speaking. So hopefully I’d come up with a story second language children would understand relatively easily. 

“But while the language would be simple, there’d be enough grit in the story that it wouldn’t come across as childish to older children.” 

The free podcast will be released weekly beginning 21st June after Tafwyl festival in Cardiff 21 June, where Seren Hamilton who plays Mia will do a live reading and writer Gary Owen and director Branwen Davies will be discussing the Podcast. 

Davies is a playwright, theatre maker and dramaturg, currently running the Urdd Youth Theatre. Former Literary Manager at Sherman Theatre, her work spans new writing, translation and dramaturgy across leading Welsh companies.

Downloads will be available via Apple Podcasts, Spotify and all other podcast platforms via the Theatr Iolo podcast feed.

For more information about Theatr Iolo and their productions for children, visit their site here.

theatriolo.com