The National Eisteddfod Pavilion will host the largest Welsh language comedy evening ever, as the festival’s first Comedy Gala is held on Tuesday 7 August, as part of the evening line-up at the Vale of Glamorgan National Eisteddfod.
Tudur Owen, Ifan Tregaron, Gary Slaymaker, Daniel Glyn, Dewi Pws, Phil Evans, Mr Phormula, Dean ap Johnson and Arthur Picton will entertain the crowd on the night, and this exciting mix of performers will appeal to audiences fromall over Wales.
This is the first time the National Eisteddfod has held a comedy night, and Chief Executive, Elfed Roberts, says, “Comedy has become increasingly popular over the past few years, with many performers playing at larger venues like theatres and arenas all over the country. Our aim is to turn the Pavilion into a comedy arena for one night only in the Vale of Glamorgan, building on the important work done by Maes C to promote Welsh language comedy over the past few years.
“We hope that the Comedy Gala is an evening which will appeal to traditional Eisteddfod supporters and also to an audience new to the Eisteddfod Pavilion and to our evening concerts, but who may well have enjoyed Maes C activities in the past. Tickets for the evening start at £10 and are already available, so order now.”
Comedian, Daniel Glyn, is one of the organisers, and is also part of the comedy line-up. He says, “This will be the largest comedy event in the Welsh language in history. The fact that we’ve managed to attract so many comedians from all over Wales shows that Welsh stand-up is alive and well. Buy your tickets immediately!”
The Comedy Gala is suitable for over 14s.only.
Tickets for the evening are available now, either online – www.eisteddfod.org.uk – or by ringing the ticketline on 0845 4090 800. This year, customers using the online facility will be able to choose their seats for the concerts, with the Eisteddfod’s revised e-ticketing system, which gives the customer far more freedom than before, allowing people to choose exactly where they sit.
The Comedy Gala is one of the series of evening events taking place in the Pavilion during this year’s Eisteddfod. Only Men Aloud, Only Boys Aloud and a new children’s choir, especially created for the Eisteddfod, Only Vale Kids Aloud, are the stars of this year’s opening concert. Karl Jenkins conducts the UK premiere of his latest work, ‘Bards of Wales’ with soloists Dennis O’Neill and Rebecca Evans with the Eisteddfod Choir on Saturday evening. The traditional Cymanfa Ganu (congregational singing) takes place on Sunday evening, with Euros Rhys Evans conducting and Robert Nicholls on the organ.
On Monday evening, we celebrate Dafydd Iwan’s fifty years in showbusiness, entertaining audiences across Wales, at a special concert, The Decades of Dafydd Iwan, chronicling his career over the past half a century. On Thursday, Caryl Parry Jones, one of our best loved entertainers, hosts an evening of music and comedy in the Pavilion, with a chance to get to know some of her most popular characters a little better during the evening.
There’s competing in the Pavilion on Wednesday and Friday evenings.
Simultaneous translation facilities from Welsh to English are available free of charge for the opening concert, the congregational singing and the two evening competing sessions. Go to the translation stand close to the Pavilion before the evening starts to pick up your headphones.
The Vale of Glamorgan National Eisteddfod is held on the old airfield at Llandow near Cowbridge and Llantwit Major from 4-11 August. For more information go to www.eisteddfod.org.uk.
