The Prince of Wales, a new play by Jon Tregenna, performed by Llanelli Stage Company and Llanelli Youth Theatre, Stiwdio Stepni at Ffwrnes Theatre, Llanelli. (running through to Saturday night, November 18).
It’s got history, humour and high jinks.
And the end result is slightly hysterical in a highly amusing way.
The new play from Buggerall author Jon Tregenna is a fast-moving, cleverly-staged development of a radical idea.
What if there is a descendant of the last great Welsh king, Llywelyn Ap Gruffudd?
Will it be the end of the Prince of Wales, Prince Charles?
Will it spark a constitutional crisis?
There’s razor-sharp humour in sackloads played across a backdrop of serious themes about Welsh nationhood, friendship, mistaken identity, love, passion and the consumer culture.
Throw in a few swipes about a pretentious arts and media culture and you have a bubbling Welsh cocktail which fizzes and delights through one long act with multiple scene changes.
The Welsh love their heroes – and the discovery of a descendant of Llywelyn Ap Gruffudd living secretly in a West Wales town sparks a whole host of questions for the nation.
Have the Welsh people been waiting for the day when a great nation will rise again?
Is the 2017 ‘Llewellyn’ up to the job of being a new hero?
How has the secret of his identity been preserved by the shadowy group of colourful Druid-like Elders?
(Elders, by the way, who are described by play director Chris Rees as a cross between Hot Fuzz and The Vicar of Dibley.)
The Prince of Wales is an irreverent dance through some very hot topics.
It’s occasionally frantic, but it’s very funny.
Tickets are available from the Ffwrnes Theatre box office, or online at – http://www.theatrausirgar.co.uk/en/shows/the-prince-of-wales
Video clip of director Chris Rees talking about the play
https://youtu.be/GmVacAJ1y5s
Video clip of writer Jon Tregenna talking about the play
https://youtu.be/FHjJxKdq7dE
By Robert Lloyd
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