Fun-filled, accessible family show tackling children’s mental health arrives in Llanelli

This summer, dragons of all shapes and sizes will be appearing at Llanelli’s Ffwrnes (Stiwdio Stepni), as Taking Flight Theatre Company’s accessible family show, Mae Gen Ti Ddreigiau/You’ve Got Dragons comes to town on Saturday 13th July.

Mae Gen Ti Ddreigiau/You’ve Got Dragons is an inclusive and accessible take on Kathryn Cave and Nick Maland’s book adapted for the stage by Yoto Carnegie Medal award-winner Manon Steffan Ros (Llyfr Glas Nebo).

Do your worries ever reach dragon-like proportions? Then this poignant, insightful story about coping with your dragons and learning to face anxieties may be just right for you! With live, original music, this highly visual, sensitive production is a humorous and touching exploration of the dragons we all face. The show is also fully accessible, featuring creative captioning, British Sign Language and audio description.

Director, Elise Davison says:

“The book completely hit home with me, suffering from poor mental health throughout my life and having a child with anxiety, some of the scenes in the play really resonate.  For me it was about providing a vocabulary for parents and teachers to talk to children about mental health in a way that wasn’t scary and wasn’t taboo.”.

Taking Flight’s previous adaptation of You’ve Got Dragons toured England and Wales in 2019 and was shortlisted for a Fantastic For Families Award.

Executive Director Louise Ralph explained: “‘We had such wonderful feedback on our previous tours, families said that the original production worked for all generations and that their children were completely mesmerised. Parents are impressed that we are able to tackle the issues around childhood mental health with such a lightness of touch. Having the opportunity to work with a writer who is as respected and loved as Manon Steffan Ros to create brand new versions of the show in both Welsh and BSL AND English and BSL has been so very exciting.”

The cast members for Mae Gen Ti Ddreigiau/You’ve Got Dragons are: Alex Nowak, Amy Helena, Catrin Mai Edwards, Eben James and Grace O’Brien, and they are joined on stage by creative enabler Gethin Roberts. Taking Flight Theatre Company have an integrated casting policy which goes hand in hand with their belief in creating fully accessible and integrated theatre; employing the best creative talent, as such they often employ disabled, Deaf, hard of hearing, blind or partially sighted and neurodivergent performers, placing positive disabled role models centre stage.

Award-winning Taking Flight Theatre are taking this exceptional story on tour in production with Pontio and with support from Chapter Arts Centre.

Mae Gen Ti Ddreigiau/You’ve Got Dragons by Taking Flight Theatre will be appearing at The Ffwrnes, Llanelli (Stiwdio Stepni) on Saturday 13th July at 10am (Sioe Gymraeg | Welsh language) and 1:30pm (English language), and there will be a free creative workshop at 2:15pm (English). All performances are relaxed, and everyone is welcome to come along.

Tickets are ‘pay-what-you-decide’: £8, £5, £3 or £1, and can be booked online at www.theatrausirgar.co.uk or with the box office on 0345 2263510.

The show is suitable for young children, schools and families, and is fully accessible to Deaf, hard of hearing, blind or partially sighted people. All Taking Flight Theatre productions aim to reduce the traditional barriers to theatre enjoyment. This production has been created with financial support from Arts Council Wales, Colwinston Charitable Trust, The Gwendoline and Margaret Davies Charity, Garfield Weston Foundation & Tŷ Cerdd.