Mrs Reynolds a’r Cena Bach, which is produced in partnership with Cwmni’r Frân Wen and Galeri Caernarfon, will be touring Wales in April and May 2016, and is directed by Ffion Haf Jones. Mrs Reynolds a’r Cena Bach is a new translation by Meic Povey of Gary Owen’s acclaimed contemporary play Mrs Reynolds and the Ruffian which was first performed at Watford Palace Theatre in 2010. This will be the first time that the play will be staged in Wales.

Siw Hughes (Gwaith Cartref, and winner of BAFTA Cymru for best actress for her role as Kath Jones on Pobol y Cwm) will be playing the role of Mrs Reynolds. Siôn Emyr (Rownd a Rownd) will be playing the role of the ‘ruffian’, Jay. Completing the cast are Leah Gaffey, Rhian Green and Iwan Fôn. The production will open at Galeri, Caernarfon on the 13th of April before touring Wales during April and May 2016.

When Mrs Reynolds’ lovingly tended garden is vandalised, Jay, the guilty and troubled youth, is sent back by the authorities to help her fix it. Two generations locked in battle; little old Mrs Reynolds with her traditional values and “nice little life” vs. the textbook hoodie demanding respect but offering little in return. Just as they think they have the measure of each other, something is revealed and they are both shocked by what they find out.

This contemporary drama by the award winning Gary Owen – one of our most audacious playwrights – offers new insights, witty and positive, into human nature and the relationship between two generations and two social classes in Wales today.

Gary Owen, author of Mrs Reynolds and the Ruffian said;
“I’m so grateful to Theatr Genedlaethol Cymru for bringing Mrs Reynolds home. I couldn’t believe that an author as talented as Meic Povey was ready to translate my work, and it’s been a real pleasure to re-visit my characters, all of them who now speak with new voices, thanks to Meic. I also can’t wait to see Siw Hughes’s performance, an actress I have admired for years.”

Meic Povey, who has translated the play, said;
“Gary Owen is a hugely renowned playwright as his successes prove, both here in Wales and further afield. It was a great pleasure to be given the opportunity to translate Mrs Reynolds and the Ruffian to Welsh, and place it in a Welsh context. This is a play about the chasm between the old and the young, about betrayal and forgiveness – and in the end maybe, about love. I’m certain that Welsh audiences will have the same joy seeing it performed as I had working on it.”

Arwel Gruffydd, Artistic Director of Theatr Genedlaethol Cymru said;
“It’s a pleasure for us to be announcing this exciting news today. I have been a great admirer of Gary Owen’s work for years. He’s one of our foremost playwrights, and he has had enormous success at theatres such as the Royal Court and the National Theatre, as well as at home here in Wales. It’s a privilege to bring two such huge names together in one production, with Meic Povey too being one of Wales’s most loved and talented writers. And we have a strong cast too, led by the extremely talented Siw Hughes. It’s a pleasure to welcome her back to work with us again. But this is the first time for others in the cast to be working with the company, and it’s a pleasure , as always, to welcome new actors to us and some of the next crop of Welsh theatre talent.”

For further information contact Lowri Johnston, Theatr Genedlaethol Cymru’s Head of Marketing and Communication, lowri.johnston@theatr.com / 01267 245617 / 07903842617.

Cast
Siw Hughes
Siôn Emyr
Leah Gaffey
Rhian Green
Iwan Fôn

Dates

Galeri, Caernarfon
13-15 April 7:30pm
galericaernarfon.com | 01286 685222
Tickets not yet on sale

Sherman Theatre, Cardiff
19 – 20 April 7:30pm
www.shermancymru.co.uk | 029 2084 6900
Ticket not yet on sale

Gwyn Hall, Neath
22 April 7:30pm
www.gwynhall.com / 0300 365 66 77
Tickets not yet on sale

Lyric, Carmarthen
26 April 7:30pm
theatrausirgar.co.uk | 0845 2263510
Tickets: https://carmarthenshirelyrictheatre.ticketsolve.com/shows/873544205/events?locale=cy-CY

Theatr Y Gromlech
28 – 29 April 7:30pm
01239 831455
Tickets not yet on sale

Aberystwyth Arts Centre
3 – 4 May 7:30pm
www.aberystwythartscentre.co.uk | 01970 623232

Theatr Alaw, Bodedern
6 May 7:30pm

Theatr Clwyd
10 – 11 May 7:30pm
theatrclwyd.com | 01352 701521
Tickets not yet on sale

Theatr Hafren
13 May 7:30pm
thehafren.co.uk | 01686 614555
Tickets not yet on sale