Seiriol Davies is a seemingly unstoppable force in British musical theatre. With two musicals currently in the works and one recently produced, the award-winning composer somehow found the time to co-write a children’s musical for Theatr Cymru alongside Mererid Hopwood – author, poet and Archdruid of the Eisteddfod. Theatr Cymru don’t mess around when it comes to quality, and Dosbarth Mrs Prydderch A Lleidr Y Lleisiau, their coproduction with Yr Egin and Cwmni Theatr Arad Goch, shows how much that investment pays off.
Dosbarth Mrs Prydderch A Lleidr Y Lleisiau follows Elen, Gwyn, Sara and Alfred – a group of children trying to work out how they can save their small rural school, having being told the local councillor will close it unless it ‘grows’. The group try to think of ideas that will bring people into the local area. Their new teacher, Mrs Prydderch, has other ideas for the children though – and after being taken to a magical forest where the thief of voices is stealing people’s right to speak, the children learn that they need to have the courage to speak up against unfairness if they want to see real change.
Funny, emotionally charged and poignant, Dosbarth Mrs Prydderch… is a real joy to watch. We went to a mid-morning schools showing, and the children watching were absolutely mesmerised, until a raucous response at the end. it’s testament to the value of investing in quality when you take theatre to young audiences: a lot of those children will never have been, and many of them will want to go again.
One of the key reasons children in the audience responded so well is the brilliant cast of child actors. Each brings a different energy that young minds can relate to – especially important to the show’s message that all young people should have hope and use their voices to challenge unfairness. Jed O’Reilly is joyously chaotic as Gwyn, a mischievous young boy from a farming family. It’s also nice to see some agricultural representation in the show, given the importance of the industry to many Welsh-speaking communities.
Ariadne Koursarou brings a gleeful, pixie-like energy as Sara, and Elis Myers-Sleight (Alfred) and Kellie-Gwen Morgan (Elen) do a brilliant job of carrying the emotional weight of the show while also staying approachable and funny to young viewers. Alfred has lost his father, and the show deftly handles his journey to being less afraid of taking risks, weaving that into the wider narrative.
My only misgiving relates to the show’s focus on the two villains: Lleidr Y Lleisiau, a hyper-controlling snake, and Mr Cnoc, a magpie-like bird obsessed with shiny objects. Although Victoria Pugh and Carwyn Jones were both excellent in the roles, and the characters effectively reflected their ‘real-world’ counterparts (a power-hungry counsellor and an overly permissive teacher), too much attention was given to them – while the silenced animals of the forest, who were central to the story’s theme, remained largely offstage and underdeveloped. As a result, the message about not letting others silence you felt slightly undermined, as the animals that were silenced didn’t really have a chance to empower themselves.
Overall, though, the show is great. If you have a chance to take your child to see it, I definitely would, and you should be very excited for them if their school is taking them along. A lifelong passion for theatre starts with seeing good productions at a young age, so it’s great to see Theatr Cymru investing in quality programming for kids.
Dosbarth Mrs Prydderch A Lleidr Y Lleisiau, Sherman Theatre, Cardiff, Fri 12 June
Touring Wales from Tue 16 June-Sat 4 July. Info: here
words HARI BERROW photos KIRSTEN MCTERNAN
