Ammanford’s Glowyr Theatre welcomes Novello & Son

NOVELLO & SON TAKE CENTRE STAGE AT AMMANFORD’S GLOWYR

Ammanford’s Glowyr Theatre is setting the stage for an evening of drama and song as Novello & Son arrives on Thursday 30^th June at 7:30pm as part of its Welsh tour.

Written by Pembrokeshire’s Arnold Evans and starring Rosamund Shelley, accompanied by Gavin Roberts, Novello & Son explores the life of Ivor Novello’s formidable mother, Madame Clara Novello Davies, and her intriguing relationship with her world-famous son.

Set in 1938, the play finds Madame Clara in her seventies, painfully aware that the world is besotted with her son, Ivor, and that her own musical achievements have been forgotten. With their relationship at (yet another) crisis point, Clara comes to the awful realisation that her acclaimed son no longer needs her as much as she needs him. Novello & Son sees Clara sing Ivor’s best-loved songs, trying to confront the painful events that shaped her remarkable life and complex relationship with her son, in this funny and poignant drama.

From a humble Welsh home, Clara Novello Davies became the doyenne of choral singing in Wales and gained a world-wide reputation as a choir mistress and singing coach. Her Royal Welsh Ladies Choir won international prizes, sang for royalty and routinely shared the stage with the likes of Adelina Patti.

Clara’s fame was nothing compared to that of her son, Ivor, who became a star of the silent movies and the West End stage. He wrote, produced, and starred in a string of spectacular musicals, including Glamorous Nights and The Dancing Years. Many of his songs remain popular to this day, such as Keep the Home Fires Burning and We’ll gather Lilacs in the Spring.

Tickets for Novello & Son at the Glowyr Theatre in Ammanford are priced at £12.50 (£10.50 concessions) and can be booked online at www.theatrausirgar.co.uk or with the Box Office on 0345 226 3510.