Welsh children’s theatre company, Theatr Iolo, have commissioned the writer as part of Playhouse, a UK wide project that offers schools brave and relevant new plays to perform at their local professional theatre.
Gary’s new play, Lia a’r Pelen Elefantsnot Enfawr (Lia and the Elephantsnot Ball), has been written for a cast of thirty children aged 9-11, and is based on Shakespeare’s King Lear. Featuring a big ball of ‘elephantsnot’, made from tiny scraps of blu-tack, the play explores friendships between a group of school children. Lia a’r Pelen Elefantsnot Enfawr has been developed in Welsh, alongside children from Ysgol Bro Teyrnon in Newport, who will perform the play at The Riverfront this July. It will also be translated into English, giving schools from across the UK the opportunity to perform Gary Owen’s work.
“Playhouse offers a unique opportunity for young people to perform plays written by the UK’s best playwrights. We’re thrilled to have worked with Gary to commission Lia a’r Pelen Elefantsnot Enfawr for Playhouse 2024. It’s incredibly important to us to commission new plays in Welsh, and giving children the opportunity to perform relevant plays written by a playwright like Gary is a phenomenal experience for them.” Lee Lyford, Theatr Iolo Artistic Director
Playhouse Cymru runs annually in partnership with The Riverfront Theatre and Arts Centre in Newport, working with schools in the South East Wales region. The teachers from the schools that take part are offered four plays to choose from with, at least one of these plays offered in the Welsh language. Playhouse also supports and mentors teachers to help them become better theatre directors, as well as providing a supportive environment for both them and the children involved in the project.
Playhouse Cymru is part of a wider UK collaboration between Theatre Royal Plymouth, York Theatre Royal, Bristol Old Vic and Theatr Iolo. These organisations work together to commission professional playwrights each year to write short plays specifically for large casts of young people to perform. Previous writer’s include Julia Donaldson, Mike Kenny, David Wood, Philip Ridley and Alun Saunders.
The schools taking part in Playhouse Cymru 2024 will perform at The Riverfront on 8 and 9 July at 7pm. Tickets are available to buy from newportlive.co.uk or by calling the Box Office on 01633 656757.
Schools in South East Wales who are interested in taking part in Playhouse Cymru 2025, can email hello@theatriolo.com or visit theatriolo.com/playhouse for more information.