Heard the one about the Welsh comedians in the Eisteddfod Pavilion?

Well, you’re about to hear it again as the Welsh fourth channel S4C broadcasts a special comedy gala night staged at the 2012 Vale of Glamorgan National Eisteddfod.

The gala night was billed at the time as ‘the biggest night in Welsh language comedy history’.

Now, ‘Gala Comedi’ is being show on TV for the first time (9pm Saturday, July 6) as the highlight of S4C’s Comedy Week.

The comedy night represented a major breakthrough for the comedians taking part and a bold move by National Eisteddfod organisers.

Daniel Glyn was one of the organisers and performers at the gala.

He said, “It used to be said that the National Eisteddfod was not the place for stand-up comedy – it didn’t appeal to the traditional audience. But, we always doubted whether that was true.”

The theory was put to the test by comedians Tudur Owen, Ifan Tregaron, Gary Slaymaker, Dewi Pws Morris, Phil Evans, Daniel Glyn, Dean ap Johnson and Arthur Picton.

Phil Evans, who has performed stand-up for 20 years is a familiar face on the Welsh clubs and theatres circuit, and one of the country’s busiest ‘after dinner’ speakers. He recently took his bilingual show, ‘The Dragon has Three Tongues’ on tour to the US and Canada.

He said: “It was a very bold move by the Eisteddfod organisers to see the merit of putting on a comedy show in the iconic Pavilion at the 2012 Eisteddfod.

“We are all looking forward to seeing the finished result in the programme on Saturday and we hope that it helps bring the wealth of talent that is out there in comedy in Wales to a bigger audience.”

The comedians are also preparing for the next ‘biggest night in Welsh language comedy history’ – another comedy gala at Comedy Gala at the Denbighshire and District National Eisteddfod this August.

Evans added: “It’s a great idea to have a comedy gala, and it creates a new and vibrant stage for Welsh comedians. It’ll be a fantastic experience to appear with so many other performers, and I am delighted that the Eisteddfod has organised a comedy evening again this year. I hope that it will be a great success, and that we’ll see more comedy nights at the Eisteddfod in the future.”

Daniel Glyn recalled the experience of playing at the Pavilion in 2012.

“We were very nervous. The Pavilion is a very, very big room to play but once we got started everything fell into place. I think audience members were nervous, too, wondering if it was going to work, but it’s obvious that everyone enjoyed themselves and that it was a success.

“At this summer’s Eisteddfod we’ll be ‘polluting’ the Literary Pavilion! It makes me laugh a lot to think of us bringing stand-up to the home of Welsh literary heritage.

“The National Eisteddfod has been supportive from the start. They took a risk in allowing us to do the stand-up night at the Vale of Glamorgan Eisteddfod, and without them it would never have happened.”

Performing in August will be Gary Slaymaker, Daniel Glyn, Rhian ‘Madam Rygbi’ Davies, Phil Evans, Beth Angell and Steffan Alun.

The ‘gang’ are on tour at the moment, perfecting and polishing their jokes ready for the Eisteddfod – a process which makes Daniel feel like a professional stand up!

“When I was little, that’s what I wanted to be – a professional stand-up comedian. The 2012 Gala has really boosted comedy in Wales and we are getting calls every day asking us to perform at comedy events. We’re 20 years behind everyone else, but Welsh stand-up is finally here!”