The Revlon Girl returns to Wales as Aberfan anniversary approaches

An award-winning play about women living with the aftermath of the Aberfan disaster is returning to Welsh stages as the country prepares to mark 60 years since the tragedy.

The Revlon Girl opens its tenth anniversary tour at Pontardawe Arts Centre on October 7, with performances across Wales before a run at London’s Park Theatre.

Written by Welsh playwright Neil Anthony Docking and directed by Maxine Evans, the play is set eight months after the disaster, which killed 144 people, including 116 children, on October 21, 1966.

It follows a group of bereaved mothers who secretly arrange for a Revlon representative to give them beauty tips in the back room of a local hotel.

Their meeting explores friendship, grief, guilt and laughter as the women try to find a way through life after the loss of their children.

The production began in Wales before travelling to the Edinburgh Festival and London’s Park Theatre, where it received an Olivier Award nomination.

It also won the Off West End Award for Best New Play and has since been performed by companies around the world.

Evans said: “Every single time we’ve performed this play, we’ve found something new.

“Just when you think you’ve found everything there is to find, you suddenly discover a new layer or an unexpected depth or a small, but profound detail. This time will be no different.”

The cast features Antonia Kinlay as Revlon, Charlotte Gray as Sian, Hedydd Dylan as Maralyn, Llinos Daniel as Jean and Mirain Haf Roberts as Rona.

Selected performances will be followed by discussions under the title Stay for the Conversation, giving audiences the opportunity to speak with members of the creative team and invited guests.

Docking will take part in the opening-night discussion at Pontardawe on October 7, reflecting on the inspiration behind the play, the story of Aberfan and the production’s journey over the past decade.

Remembrance

A separate event at Theatr Soar in Merthyr Tydfil on October 13, Aberfan: What Do We Remember?, will be hosted by Docking.

It will bring together scenes from the play with testimony, documents, photographs, archive material and music to explore Aberfan before, during and after the disaster.

The event will examine what was known, witnessed and said, as well as how the disaster has been remembered over the following six decades.

At Ffwrnes in Llanelli on October 14, director and actor Steve Elias will host a post-show discussion with Evans and members of the cast about returning to the production ten years after it began.

At Newport’s Riverfront on October 20, the eve of the disaster’s anniversary, Jayne Bryant MS will host a discussion beginning with her reflections on the play and the events that inspired it.

She will then be joined by Evans and members of the company to discuss themes including grief, recovery, motherhood, friendship and memory, before opening the conversation to the audience.

The tour visits Pontardawe Arts Centre on October 7–8; Neuadd Dwyfor in Pwllheli on October 9; Park & Dare in Treorchy on October 10; and The Metropole in Abertillery on October 12.

It continues at Ffwrnes in Llanelli on October 14–15; Ucheldre Centre in Holyhead on October 16–17; Blackwood Miners’ Institute on October 19; and The Riverfront in Newport on October 20–21.

The London run at Park Theatre begins on October 26.

Tour information and tickets are available at therevlongirl.com.