Carmarthen’s Elis James heads S4C’s festive comedy offerings

Elis James yn un o Dri Gŵr doeth i’ch ddiddanu dros yr Ŵyl

Bydd tri gŵr doeth yn ein diddanu yn ystod yr wythnosau nesa, yn rhan o gyfres gomedi STAND YP ar S4C.

Bu’r digrifwyr Phil Cooper, Elis James a Dan Thomas yn perfformio ar lwyfan Theatr Richard Burton yng Ngholeg Brenhinol Cerdd a Drama Cymru, a bydd y gyfres yn dangos eu setiau nhw, un ar y tro, mewn rhaglenni awr o hyd.

Y cyntaf i’r llwyfan, ar nos Iau, 21 Rhagfyr fydd y dyn digrif o’r Rhondda, Phil Cooper. Wythnos yn ddiweddarach cawn weld set Elis James, ar nos Iau, 28 Rhagfyr, cyn i’r gŵr o Abertawe, Dan Thomas ddod a’r gyfres i ben ar nos Iau, 4 Ionawr.

Cyn perfformio’i sioe o flaen camerâu S4C yn y Brifddinas, bu Elis James ar daith gomedi o amgylch Cymru i arbrofi ar gynulleidfaoedd ledled y wlad, a cafodd sioc nad oedd pawb yn gweld yr ochr ddoniol o’r Eisteddfod fel yr oedd ef.

“Nes i sgwennu’r _routine_ dros yr haf ar ôl gwylio’r Eisteddfod ar y teli a meddwl mod i wedi cael ambell i syniad doniol. Ond pan wnes i’r gigs mi oedd pobl yn mynd yn ypset am fy mod i’n dweud pethau pechadurus am yr Eisteddfod.

“Y tro gyntaf i mi ddweud y stwff yna, ym Mhontypridd, roedd ‘na _pantomime gasp_! Ac wedyn fe ddigwyddodd yr un peth yn Llanelli, ac eto yn Abertawe, ac wedyn nes i sylwi fod pobl yn dwli ar yr Eisteddfod a fi oedd yn y lleiafrif, nid y mwyafrif. Felly, roedd rhaid i mi ail-sgwennu’r routine wedyn!”

Ym mis Awst eleni, daeth newyddion trist am farwolaeth Gethin Thomas, cynhyrchydd y gyfres hon, a chefnogwr cadarn o comedi Cymraeg. Roedd Gethin yn un o arloeswyr blaenllaw’r sîn _stand-up_ Gymraeg wreiddiol yn y 1990au, ac fe gynhyrchodd sioe_ stand-up_ gyntaf Elis yn y Gymraeg, Rhacs Jibidêrs, yn 2015, yn ogystal â’r gyfres STAND YP ar S4C.

Gethin Thomas

Mae Elis yn talu teyrnged i Gethin, a fu mor gefnogol o’i yrfa: “Fe oedd y pensaer comedi yng Nghymru. Roedd e’n ddyn talentog dros ben ac roedd gweithio ‘da Geth yn bleser. Geth, Gary Slaymaker, Daniel Glyn, Noel James ac ambell i un arall – nhw wnaeth y gwaith caled. Nhw oedd yn troi lan i glybiau rygbi yn y 90au cynnar a ‘neud stand up mewn llefydd sy’n anodd iawn i berfformio.

“Gethin wnaeth gynhyrchu’r sioe Rhacs Jibidêrs, ac roedd e’n grêt bod mewn stafell ‘da Geth. Roedd e’n meddwl am jôcs mewn ffordd gryno iawn ac roedd e wastad yn meddwl am frawddegau doniol. Roedd e’n wych gyda _toppers_, sef y jôc ar ôl y _punchline _sy’n rili hela pobl i chwerthin. Mae e’n golled fawr. Roedd Geth yn gwybod ei stwff, roedd e wrth ei fodd gyda chomedi. Roedd e’n gwybod fwy am gomedi ‘na fyddaf i fyth yn ei ddeall!”

Stand Yp

Yn dechrau Nos Iau, 21 Rhagfyr, 9.30, S4C Isdeitlau Saesneg Ar gael ar alw ar s4c.cymru, iPlayer a llwyfannau eraill Gyd gynhyrchiad Zeitgeist a Phil McIntyre Television ar gyfer S4C

Elis James one of three wise men bring S4C the gift of laughter

Three wise men come bearing gifts of happiness, hilarity and laughter in a new stand-up comedy series on S4C this Festive period.

Comedians Phil Cooper, Elis James and Dan Thomas all performed at the Richard Burton Theatre at the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama, for the new series STAND YP, with each of their sets to be shown one-by-one in hour long episodes.

First up to the mic is Rhondda comedian Phil Cooper on Thursday, 21 December. Up next, a week later on Thursday 28 December, is Elis James, with Swansea’s own Dan Thomas closing the series on 4 January.

Before his show for the S4C cameras in the capital, Elis James tried out his set on audiences across Wales, and was left surprised that not everyone saw the funny side of the Eisteddfod.

“I wrote the routine over the summer after watching some of the Eisteddfod on the telly and it gave me a couple of ideas. But when it came to the shows, people were getting upset that I was making light of the Eisteddfod!

“The first time I used this material, was in Pontypridd, and it was met by a pantomime gasp! And then the same thing happened in Llanelli, and again in Swansea, and I realised that people treasure the Eisteddfod and take it very seriously, and that I was in the minority, not the majority. So I had to re-write the routine!”

Gethin Thomas

In August this year came the sad news about the death of the producer, and comedian Gethin Thomas, from Bridgend. Gethin was one of the pioneers of the inaugural Welsh language stand up scene in the 1990s and as well as the STAND YP TV series, Gethin also produced Elis’ first Welsh language stand-up show, Rhacs Jibidêrs, in 2015.

In tribute to Gethin, and his support for his career, Elis said: “He was the architect of Welsh comedy. He was hugely talented and working with Geth was a real pleasure. Geth, Gary Slaymaker, Daniel Glyn and Noel James were the ones who did the hard work and paved the way for the rest of us. They were the ones who turned up to rugby clubs during the early 90’s to perform stand-up, in places where it’s very difficult to perform.

“He produced my show Rhacs Jibidêrs, and it was great just to be in the same room as him. He would think of jokes in a very economical way and was always coming up with very funny lines. He was brilliant with toppers, which is the joke that comes after the punchline, which really gets people laughing. His death is a huge loss. Geth knew his stuff and he loved comedy. He knew more about comedy that I ever will.”

Stand Yp

Starts Thursday night, 21 December, 9.30pm, S4C English subtitles Available to watch on-demand at s4c.cymru, iPlayer and other platforms A Zeitgeist and Phil McIntyre Television co-production for S4C