Culture

Welsh-language play to make historic Off-Broadway debut in New York

14 Aug 2026 3 minute read

Parti Priodas by Theatr Genedlaethol Cymru by Gruffudd Owen. Directed by Steffan Donnelly, starring Mared Llywelyn and Mark Henry Davies at the Sherman Theatre. Photo Mark Douet

Mark Mansfield

A Welsh-language theatre production is to make its Off-Broadway debut in New York following an award-winning run in Wales.

Theatr Cymru’s Parti Priodas (Wedding Party) will be performed at the Judith O. Rubin Theater on September 5, bringing the contemporary Welsh-language play to a New York stage for the first time.

Written by Gruffudd Owen, the production follows the tensions surrounding a wedding in rural north Wales and explores themes including family, belonging and rural gentrification.

The New York performance will bring a limited international tour to a close and comes after Parti Priodas makes its US debut at the North American Festival of Wales in Springfield, Massachusetts, earlier in the week.

Theatr Cymru says that appearance will be the first fully Welsh-language performance to headline the festival.

Steffan Donnelly, Theatr Cymru’s artistic director and director of Parti Priodas, said: “Premiering Parti Priodas Off-Broadway is a historic moment for our company.

“Taking Gruffudd Owen’s award-winning and brilliantly witty exploration of rural Welsh life from the fields of Pen Llŷn to the heart of New York City is a dream realised – proving that our local stories have a universal appeal.

“One of Theatr Cymru’s aims is to connect Wales and the world and following our performance at the North American Festival of Wales, we are excited to be celebrating contemporary Welsh voices in one of the world’s most iconic theatre postcodes.

“We cannot wait for American audiences to experience our language and the deep cultural resonance of this special production.”

From Pen Llŷn to New York

The New York performance will have a particular significance for playwright Gruffudd Owen, whose grandfather emigrated to the city almost a century ago.

He said: “In 1928 my grandfather, Solomon Owen, emigrated to New York for a time before the Great Depression forced him to sail back to Llŷn.

“Thank goodness he came home, because if he hadn’t, Parti Priodas wouldn’t exist, and Theatr Cymru wouldn’t be able to take this Welsh-language play to the world’s most famous city for one final party!”

The play itself began with two words Owen wrote in a notebook while taking part in Theatr Cymru’s New Playwrights course in 2019.

He added: “I never could have imagined back then that the story of a ‘mixed marriage in Llŷn’ would one day be shared on a stage in New York.

“It’s been one hell of a journey. I’d like to thank Theatr Cymru for showing faith in a new writer and for casting two such brilliant actors to bring the play to life.”

Parti Priodas was first performed at the Llŷn and Eifionydd National Eisteddfod in 2023 before embarking on a sell-out tour of venues across Wales the following year.

It went on to win a UK Theatre Award for Excellence in Touring in 2024.

Original cast members Mared Llywelyn and Mark Henry-Davies will return as Lowri and Idris for the international performances.

Before heading to the US, the production will be performed at the London Welsh Centre on August 27 and 28. It will then appear at the North American Festival of Wales on September 2 before its final performance in New York three days later.

The story will continue next year when Theatr Cymru tours Owen’s sequel, Te Angladd, around Wales in spring 2027.

Support our Nation today

For the price of a cup of coffee a month you can help us create an independent, not-for-profit, national news service for the people of Wales, by the people of Wales.