MR JONES: An Aberfan Story to Have London Premiere at Finborough Theatre
Performances will run from Tuesday, 28 October 2025.
Direct from a run at the Edinburgh Festival and a Welsh tour, Mr Jones, a new play about the Aberfan disaster, will open at the Finborough Theatre for a four-week limited run in London!
Aberfan, South Wales, 21 October 1966. One of Wales’s darkest days. Self-proclaimed rugby prodigy Mr Jones has just made the kick of his life. As he boasts to local nurse Angharad Price, 150,000 tonnes of coal slide down the hillside towards Pantglas Junior School…
Blending drama, poetry, verbatim, and first-hand accounts, Mr Jones revisits the harrowing events when a coal waste tip engulfed the village of Aberfan, claiming the lives of 144 people – including 116 children.
Combining a tender love story, rich Valleys humour, and the haunting presence of what was lost, Mr Jones is a poignant and honest portrait of a community irrevocably changed by tragedy, in a universal tale of resilience, heartbreak, and hope.
Mr Jones is the debut work of Welsh actor and playwright Liam Holmes, who was born and raised just a few miles from Aberfan. He said:
“As a writer and actor who grew up near Aberfan, I witnessed first-hand the generational trauma carried by those affected. The impact of the disaster is still deeply rooted in the town. I felt compelled to tell the often-forgotten stories of my community.”
Playwright and Performer Liam Holmes trained at the Guildford School of Acting. Theatre includes Sense and Sensibility (Jane Austen’s House) and producing the inaugural Nu’Pen Festival in London, alongside Michael Neri. Film includes Seconds Out, Claude, Freya, and Last Night. Mr Jones is his first play.
Performer Mabli Gwynne trained at Mountview. Theatre includes Dr. Strangelove (Noël Coward Theatre). Television includes a recurring role on the long-running soap Pobol y Cwm and The Green Hollow, a poignant reflection on the Aberfan disaster, broadcast on its 50th anniversary.
Director Michael Neri has directed Rent (The Old Rep, Birmingham), Bayside: The Saved by the Bell Musical (The Other Palace), and was Associate Director for Cinderella (Roses Theatre). Writing includes Wet Feet, which was nominated for an OffWestEnd Award (Union Theatre). Producing includes the inaugural Nu’Pen Festival in London alongside Liam Holmes.
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