From acclaimed Welsh playwright Owen Thomas, writer of the award-winning Grav, comes a digitally streamed version of the stage play originally written to commemorate the centenary of the end of World War I. Inspired by a true story.
Having previously toured to packed out theatres across Wales in 2018, The Torch Theatre Production Company’s The Wood is a powerful, moving piece of theatre that lends itself beautifully to the screen.
The streamed version reunites the original cast that toured in 2018; Ifan Huw Dafydd as ‘Dan’ and Gwydion Rhys as ‘Billy’, alongside the original creative team; Director Peter Doran and Designer Sean Crowley.
It is July 1916, and as the Battle of the Somme rages, Mametz Wood echoes to the sounds of war as the 38th Welsh Division face the ferocity of the German army…
Dan and Billy, two young soldiers, forge a friendship in the heat of the build-up to the infamous battle. When Billy is killed in Mametz Wood, he leaves behind a devastated friend and, back home, a heartbroken and pregnant wife.
Altered by his experiences on the Western Front, Dan returns home to step into his friend’s shoes, ultimately marrying Billy’s widow and raising their baby son as his own. Fifty years later, in a clearing in the wood, Dan has returned to lay a ghost to rest.
The Wood will be commencing on a virtual tour of Wales from Tuesday 22 June to Saturday 3 July. Tickets are available from the Torch Theatre’s Box Office based on a pay-what-you-can price. Tickets are issued to one stream per household and can be watched as many times as you like for 48 hours from the screening date.
