We love our Welsh Voices 19/20 group. They’re an immensely talented group of 15 writers who will undoubtedly go on to do brilliant things. At the start of the year we’d challenged them to create monologue pieces for live performance at , before Covid hit and life turned upside down.
Not wanting to let good work go to waste we developed and made six of the pieces. As you’ll hear, the pieces subsequently shifted from outright comedies to encompassing a range of human emotion. They’re tales of loss, heartbreak, death and Bonnie Tyler – truly we blame Covid. Nevertheless they’re all thought provoking, life affirming and sure to make you smile and just a taste of what these six writers can do.
Listen to Would you Breastfeed a Potato?
Would you Breastfeed a Potato?
Written and performed by Faebian Averies
"Having worked in childcare for nearly a decade and being an aunt to a set of triplets, this is my bystander’s ode to parents everywhere.
'Would you Breastfeed a Potato?' tells the story of a woman who finds an abandoned baby. Instead of locating the mother, she keeps it, only to find out that there may have been a reason it was discarded in the first place."
Faebian was invited into Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ Welsh Voices following a showcase of her work with Chippy Lane Productions. Prior to the Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ Writersroom, Faebian had written a one act play, Detention, which received a five-star review on its opening night. Faebian has since had Detention Transferred, written for CLP’s podcast project and previewed her one woman show in London. During lockdown Faebian was invited onto a development scheme with Kiln Theatre and has had her work both longlisted and shortlisted by various companies. Most notably Faebian made the final 0.8% of applications for the Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ Comedy Room and has been longlisted for both Wales Writer in Residence and Masterclass at Theatre Royal Haymarket.
Listen to Jake Had Love
Jake had Love
written by Connor Allen and performed by Lloyd Everitt
"I wrote this piece after thinking how easy it would be to just splurge who you really are on a first date. Triumphs and insecurities. Lay it all out on the table and then you both know where you stand and if it’s something you want to pursue. But that would never happen. Would it?
Online dating can’t be that hard can it? Even for hopeless romantic Jake, who is still trying to get over his ex."
Since graduating from Trinity Saint David as an Actor, Connor has worked with many companies in Wales and beyond. He is a member of National Youth Theatre of Great Britain and was also the winner of TriForces’ Cardiff Monologue Slam. As a writer Connor has written for many companies such as Dirty Protest, National Theatre Wales and Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ Wales. Connor wrote Dom’s Drug Prayer for Sherman Theatre’s TEN / DEG series. He’s had an ACW funded debut play and two Literature Wales commissions. He’s also part of The Welsh Royal Court Writers Group.
Listen to 23.27
23.27
by Rhys J Edwards, performed by Siwan Morris
"Mari is a trainee-surgeon living with OCD. When a young boy suffers a cardiac arrest on her operating table, she battles to prove her condition is no barrier and desperately tries to save his life.
I was inspired by personal experience to write about Obsessive compulsive disorder and was particularly interested in writing a character that balanced their condition with working in high-pressured profession like medicine."
Rhys is a Cardiff-based writer who trained at RADA. In 2019, he was shortlisted for the Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ Wales Writer in Residence for his radio play Forget Her Not. His credits include: Forgetting Heledd (Camden Fringe Festival, 2019), Not John (RADA Festival, 2017), The Count of Monte Cristo (Edinburgh Fringe Festival, 2015) and the Radio Cardiff soap Sophia Square (2012-14).
Listen to Relight My Fire
Relight my Fire
written and performed by Sarah Louise Madden
"To rise from the ashes, Rhiannon must overcome her fear of being burnt and embrace the fire within.
Inspired by my own delightfully absent father, I wanted to explore how childhood demons can haunt our adult selves."
Sarah Louise Madden is a writer, actor and a recovering, secondary English teacher. She was long-listed for Wales Writer in Residence in both 2019 and 2020. This year, she was in the top 2% of entries for Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ Writersroom's Drama Room, the top 4% of the ITV Red Planet Prize and was a semi finalist in the Blue Cat International Screenplay Competition. She recently wrote for Sherman Theatre’s TEN series.
Listen to Rodri
Rodri
written and performed by Rhys Slade Jones
"Rodri's body doesn't quite fit. Rodri longs to live by the sea. Rodri is reeled into a spinning class and discovers that his legs are jelly. Literally.
The idea for Rodri came to me as I sweated and panted on the bank of the River Exe, after an afternoon of drinking at the beach and an ill advised spinning class."
Rhys Slade-Jones is an artist hailing from the south Welsh valleys. They create work that straddles craft, theatre and film. Balancing the line between the confrontational and the convivial, they make work that is fun, silly and full of heart.
Listen to Mandolin Gwen
Mandolin Gwen
written and performed by Remy Beasley
"This piece is called Mandolin Gwen. Gwen is a defiant, curious Welsh woman living in the 1700's whose bones and Bonnie Tyler are telling her there's more to life than living under patriarchal rule. And today is her wedding day. Or is it?
Mandolin Gwen was born moons ago when I was reading about Nos Calan Gaeaf which is historically seen as the first day of Winter in Wales. There was much superstition in the stories associated with single women being bad omens and tales of hags and witches. The story moved on but the character of Gwen stuck. A running theme for me, Gwen is a woman trying to liberate herself back to her wild, untamed ways."
Remy is an actor and writer, who trained at RWCMD. Since popping her cherry in 2016 for Welsh new writing company Dirty Protest, Remy has been developing work with numerous television production companies such as Sharon Horgan Merman, Ruth Jones at Tidy and currently has a development under option with Jax Media. Last year she performed her debut one-woman show ‘Do Our Best’ at Edinburgh festival, produced by Francesca Moody of Fleabag fame for which Remy gained rave reviews. From there she has had the opportunity to work on exciting projects including Mackenzie Crooks ‘Worzel Gummidge’ and this summer she wrote 'Unbound' for National Theatre Wales’ and Sherman Cymru's ‘Rituals’ project. She has been supported by new writing company Paines Plough and the inimitable Dirty Protest.