Porth y Byddar
The Welsh-language National Theatre Company bring a new Welsh-language production.
"the road to self-determination and the Welsh Assembly began at Tryweryn."
Fifty years ago, on 1st August 1957, the Parliamentary Bill to drown the valley of Tryweryn and provide a reservoir for Liverpool received Royal Assent.
Welsh protests were ignored. Thousands had marched in opposition to the scheme and 35 out of 36 Welsh MPs at Westminster voted against the Bill.
Capel Celyn village – school, post office, chapel, eleven farms and even the cemetery – was lost forever and the community broken up. The lake that was created in its stead remains a potent symbol, even today.
The imposition of Liverpool Corporation’s plan, in spite of all appeals, has become one of the landmarks in the development of the modern Welsh nation. It inspired political debate, aroused national feeling and passion, and splintered opinion in both Wales and England. As far as many observers are concerned, it marks the time when a new national consciousness was born.
These momentous events are the starting point for Porth y Byddar, a play by Manon Eames. The title derives from a Welsh saying that ‘the dumb will be long at the doors of the deaf’ and many of the people of Cwm Celyn and Wales felt that way on that day in 1957. This is the story of a lost community, and the events which led to its demise, seen through the eyes of those who lost, and those who gained.
This powerful new drama also considers the impact of the struggle between a beleaguered village and the might of a big city, supported by Government, and how it sparked a reaction which would change the fate of a nation.
A new play in Welsh by Manon Eames
Directed by Tim Baker
WITH ENGLISH SURTITLES
Tickets: £20, concessions £15.50, children £8
