TRINITY PLAYERS Return To New York For Wales Week 2009

The Trinity Players, 27 talented performers from Trinity College in Carmarthen, Wales, are once again visiting the Big Apple to be part of the city's Wales Week celebrations.  The young players will appear in two original productions - the drama Lonesome Valley,  and the musical Clymau - for two performances each, February 28-March 2 at the Producer's Club, 358 West 44 Street.

"Lonesome Valley" will be performed on Saturday February 28 at 3 PM & 8 PM. "Clymau" A New Musical will be performed on Sunday March 1 at 3 PM and Monday March 2 at 8 PM at the Producer's Club, 358 West 44th Street,  (The Grand Theater). Tickets cost $15. For reservations call:  Smarttix at 212/868-4444 or visit www.smarttix.com.
 
Lonesome Valley chronicles when D. Brooks Jones, noted producer/director/arts consultant, passed away in 2008, he left behind a series of short stories titled "Lonesome Valley."   His writings were a carefully crafted collection of memories of early years in his hometown of Jackson, Ohio in the 1940's and his subsequent travels around the world.  The son of a prominent Welsh family in a community with a significant Welsh heritage, Brooks captures the spirited humor and cultural uniqueness of the diverse characters found in the small town located in the foothills of Appalachia as it adjusted to life after World War II.   This loving and poignant reflection of the place that shaped his perspective on life is both entertaining and enriching. 
 
The show is directed by Gregory A. Miller, Ph.D, Professor of Fine and Performing Arts and Director of the Graduate Program at the University of Rio Grande, Ohio, which has a longtime exchange program with Trinity College in Carmarthen.
 
Performers are Lucy Thomas, Lynwen Harris, Huw Bryant, Lowri Jos, Lowri Fflur Davies, Lisa Jones, Elliw Alwen, Steffan Parry, Elin Wyn Hughes, Lynwen Haf Roberts, and Osian Llewelyn Edwards.
 
Clymau  - A New Musical is the story of Siwan - the illegitimate daughter of King John of England, given as a teenage bride to the aging Welsh prince Llywelyn Fawr (Llywelyn the Great) in the 13th Century - is a familiar one to Welsh audiences.   The dramatic consequences of her adulterous affair with Gwilym Brewys (William de Braose) were portrayed most notably by Wales' most eminent playwright, Saunders Lewis, in his 1955 play.
 
Eilir Owen Griffiths, composer, and Ceri Elen, librettist, have created a retelling of the story with a sharp focus on the court of Llywelyn.   They allow us to witness not only the predicaments of the royals and the nobility, but also the trials and tribulations of the servants in his court.  Theirs is a story of desperation, hope, and love.
 
Clymau, which has recently been toured throughout Wales, features Martina Davies, Sian Price, Rhian Elin Jones, Rheon Llugwy Jones, Han Gwilym-Jones, Lisa Marged, Gareth Wyn Roberts, Nia Scourfield, Eleri Fflur Roberts, Einir Dafydd, Gwydion Rhys, Dylan Rhys, Mared Haf Roberts, Sara Eleri Owen.   Musicians are Aled Owen, Daniel Lloyd, Owain Dafydd; Euros Rhys Evans is Musical Director.
 
Trinity College/Carmarthen is committed to its links with the U.S.   The Welsh American Academy has recently been developed to celebrate these links.  For more information: www.welshamericanacademy.org.
 
Each year Trinity College welcomes many U.S. students on Study Abroad.  For more information this program, contact International Officer, Kathleen Adnum at k.adnum@trinity-cm.ac.uk.