Merthyr Express column

12 Feb 09
Open Mike Literature
Next week’s Open Mike Literature Night, on Thursday, 19th February, will give a prize for the nights best reading, judged by the guest author; Hilary Llewellyn-Williams, who will join other readers. Hilary is a poet, born and brought up in rural England, who moved to Wales in 1982. She was winner of Cardiff Literature Festival Competition 1987; Arts Council of Wales Young Writers Prize 1988; joint 3rd Prize Arvon/Observer Poetry Competition 1994. A freelance tutor of creative writing for adults and schools, Hilary teaches on the Creative Writing MA programme at Cardiff University. Her work appears regularly in various magazines, and has featured in many anthologies, including The Bright Field (Carcanet), Twentieth–Century Anglo–Welsh Poetry, Love from Wales, Drawing Down the Moon, Burning the Bracken (Seren), Exchanges (Honno), The Third Day (Gomer) and others. She has three collections of poetry published by Seren, and in 1999 was awarded an Arts Council bursary to complete a new poetic translation of the I Ching. Open Mike Nights are free entry, all are welcome to come and read their poetry and short story extracts. For further details, please contact arts@merthyr.gov.uk or 01685 725382.

Myfanwy Theatre
The Myfanwy Theatre continues its series of Rock Nights tomorrow night (Friday 13th February) at 7pm. Tickets cost £5 (£4 with NUS card). Then Radio Cymru bring their national C2 Battle of the Bands competition to Merthyr the following Friday (20th February), in the Myfanwy Theatre, at 7.30pm. For details and tickets contact Myfanwy Theatre on: 01685 726000 or visit www.myfanwytheatre.co.uk

Drama Website
The new website for Red Button is now up and running. Red Button is the new theatre and film co-operative lead by playwright, artist and author; Merthyr’s very own Alan Osborne. Alan was born in Merthyr Tydfil and educated at Quakers Yard Grammar school. He taught art and architecture in Oxford and London, returning to Wales in 1975 to teach at Afon Taf. His dramatic work began with Plans for The Great Trapeze Act and was followed by Terraces, Johnny Darkie and his first major work Bull, Rock and Nut which won the Play for Wales competition in 1981 and began his long association with the Made in Wales stage company. In Sunshine and In Shadow followed in 1985 with performances in Wales and London. Redemption Song, the final play in The Merthyr Trilogy was first performed in 1987. He has also written a number of successful television dramas including The Whistling Boy (1994) and The Beach Inspector (1996). A full retrospective of his work was staged by Made in Wales and performed at the Sherman Theatre in 1993. Alan has composed music scores to many of his plays and Give Us the Flowers Now for the BBC Symphony Orchestra and a choral libretto, Spirit of Our Distant Fathers in Wales which toured with Brecon High School in the United States. His art work has also received numerous exhibitions and is held in many private and public collections. Alan’s new production This Is The Day, his eighth operatic work, is sheduled for the Myfanwy Theatre, Merthyr College, on Wednesday, 18th March. For further information visit the Red Button website on www.redbuttontheatre.co.uk or the Myfanwy Theatre for tickets on: 01685 726000 or visit www.myfanwytheatre.co.uk