MR JONES Comes to the Union Theatre in London

Mr Jones, a brand new play is coming to the Union Theatre in January!

Stephen Jones, the self-proclaimed rugby prodigy of Aberfan, has just made the kick of his life. As he boasts to local nurse Angharad, 150,000 tonnes of coal are careening down the hillside, towards Pantglas Junior School.

Forged from stories that have rarely slipped through the cracks of the South Wales valleys, Mr Jones is a brand-new piece of theatre from Welsh playwright and actor Liam Holmes. Set around the 1966 spoil tip collapse in the small Welsh village Aberfan, this one-act play utilises poetry, verbatim and first-hand accounts of the disaster to memorialise the individuals whose lives were transformed by this harrowing event.

The everlasting effects of the catastrophe have not been duly observed, says writer Liam. Even in his home village of Nelson, only six miles from Aberfan, he explains that the disaster was generally absent from the school curriculum aside from a brief annual acknowledgement. His understanding was largely built on sporadic recollections from his elders, which he admits as a child were difficult to comprehend:

"It wasn't dwelt upon. I couldn't quite grasp the magnitude of it. But when revisiting these conversations, it dawned on me that every single family in that community would have experienced a significant loss that day, yet there remained an expectation to seamlessly adapt to normal life and carry those wounds in silence."

It was essential then, Liam explains, that Mr Jones be built upon those real experiences of a community irrevocably damaged. From these accounts came the characters of Stephen Jones and Angharad Price.

Liam is joined by Welsh-American co-star Tanwen Stokes in bringing them to life for a contemporary audience: “I was immediately on board when Liam approached me for the project. The script was layered, refreshing and youthful.” Tanwen remarks that Mr Jones not only sweeps away the cobwebs and revives the story of this some-what forgotten tragedy, but that the characters “embody something more ubiquitous in their yearning for a home that no longer exists. They are both comforted and trapped by each other's irreconcilable grief.”

Despite its sensitive material, director Michael Neri credits the play's vivacity: “I'm excited to be working with such a lively script. The characters are spirited—they jump off the page.” Having already directed an array of productions both regionally and in London, Neri is now “humbled to be trusted with such a poignant character piece”.

Originally performed with great reception as students at the Guildford School of Acting, Mr Jones will be touring Wales from March 2024. The new adaptation will debut at the Union Theatre in London on January 10th and 11th.

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