Theatrau Sir Gâr’s (Carmarthenshire Theatres) first ever theatre production is coming to Gwynedd and Ceredigion.

Golygfeydd o’r Pla Du, by former Aberystwyth University student Chris Harris, is set in the forgotten and lawless village of Pentreufargirec, 1348. It’s a dark and mischievous black (death) comedy about crisis and corruption and promises to be unlike anything you’ve seen (or smelt) before!

Theatrau Sir Gâr has now announced the brave and fearless cast members who’ll be stepping into the characters’ tattered shoes.

Berwyn Pearce, originally from Pontypridd, known for his role in Sherman Cymru’s Woof and from his TV role in Pobol y Cwm, plays Twm – a medieval con-artist, so audience members should keep their eyes on this one!

Actress Alis Wyn Davies is excited to return home to Carmarthenshire to work, leaving the streets of London behind for a while. Having recently appeared alongside Sir Ian McKellen in The Theatre Royal Windsor’s production of Hamlet, Alis will be ditching the glitz and glamour and stepping into the mucky shoes of Mari Anni, a revolutionary manure seller with dreams of freedom!

Iwan Charles, originally from Dyffryn Clwyd but now based in Gwynedd, is well known in the theatre scene in Wales having performed in many plays by Theatr Bara Caws including Dawel Nos, and in S4C TV dramas like Y Goleudy. This time round, he’s the most awful character in the play, the Tax Collector! Everyone hates him and he’s desperately seeking love!

Ffani Anni completes this gruesome foursome, a hopeless romantic who’s really, really ill and longing for her long-lost love! Played by Anni Dafydd from rural Ceredigion, who recently appeared in Arad Goch’s Clera.

This Welsh language comedy is written and directed by former Aber student Chris, and is the recipient of The Richard Carne Playwriting Award, 2011 and a Peggy Ramsay Foundation grant.

Chris is currently developing new work with several other companies including Theatr Bara Caws, Awen Cultural Trust and the Blackwood Miners Institute.

Chris said: “I’m very excited to be presenting a dark comedy with a subtle underbelly rooted in our changing behaviour during the pandemic. But the key argument must not be lost– that when crisis calls, there are individuals that gain from the misfortune of others. The play will speak to audiences – figuratively and literally!

“We will give the audience an outrageous experience - one that takes them to a completely different world in order to reflect – as well as laugh – at ourselves and our changing behaviour over the past two years.”

Chris began writing the play in a pub in Amsterdam when there were whispers of a ‘plague’ making the rounds.

“The next day, governments began to lockdown countries and I was being shipped home on a plane. It wasn’t long after that Covid-19 came a’callin’. And we all know how that story goes. No spoilers there.

“The play that exists now was born out of the devastations and struggles of the pandemic. Audiences in Wales are in need of a good laugh. To be able to do this in an 80 minute, bold and ambitious new play is an exciting new chapter for Welsh language theatre. My aim is to entertain, provoke and reflect in a hilarious and mischievous manner. We don’t see this very often in the Welsh language on our stages.”

Performances, for those aged 14+, will take place at Bangor’s Pontio on 23 May; Neuadd Dwyfor, Pwllheli on 24 May; and Cardigan’s Mwldan on 25 May.