ON THE SEA to Screen at Storyhouse With Director Q&A

Chester cinema fans are being invited to hear from the director of a poignant and tender new film set on the North Wales coast at a special Q&A screening at Storyhouse next month.

On the Sea's director Helen Walsh and one of its stars, Celyn Jones, are set to appear at the Chester cultural centre on Sunday 9 August for the screening which will be followed by a Q&A hosted by Empire's Jordan King.

Tickets cost from £8.90 for Storyhouse Members.

On the Sea is a profound and moving exploration of masculinity, identity, desire and belonging set in a remote yet savagely beautiful North Wales fishing community.

Jack has been married to Maggie for over half his life. He works as a hand raker on the mussel beds alongside younger brother Dyfan and Dyfan's three sons. Jack has always assumed his own boy Tom will join the family business on leaving school, but Tom's resistance to following in his footsteps creates familial tension.

Tensions are further inflamed by the arrival of an itinerant deckhand, Daniel, who makes known his feelings for Jack. In this remote, rural community where life revolves around the Church and fishery, Jack is faced with an impossible dilemma.

Written and directed by award-winning novelist and screenwriter Helen Walsh (The Violators, The Gathering – Channel 4) and filmed on location on Ynys Môn (Anglesey) and in North Wales, On the Sea has been hailed by critics as “a masterclass in powerful storytelling”, “a stirring, windblown romance” and “frank, sensitive and shot throughout with genuine feeling”.

The cast includes Barry Ward as Jack, Lorne MacFadyen as Daniel and Henry Lawfull as Tom, along with Liz White as Maggie, Danny Webb as Bernie and Celyn Jones – who returns to Storyhouse after visiting with his directing debut Madfabulous last month - as Dyfan.

Storyhouse Head of Cinema Nicky Beaumont says: “Storyhouse is delighted to welcome Helen Walsh for a Q&A. Helen's first feature, The Violators, was screened here in the year we opened so it's great for her to be here with her second film.”