It’s 1955, the age of the new NHS, but the workhouse still stands and some of its residents have been prisoners of poverty for more than half a century. Two women from completely different backgrounds come face to face, one carrying tradition and the other hoping to preserve that tradition. But while singing, recording and discussing folk songs, a hidden history is revealed.

LEDI’R WYRCWS was performed three times in January 2025, with evening performances in Galeri and Neuadd Dwyfor (Pwllheli) nearly selling out. The reception was excellent; for example, one member of the audience who saw it in Galeri said this about it: ‘a completely brilliant play – enjoyed it greatly – subtle, slick, sad, powerful and many more things – this must be taken on tour!’ And here is the opinion of a reviewer who saw it in Neuadd Dwyfor: ‘This is a play to experience several times, as the layers in it reveal their meanings anew each time. A play to prompt and provoke us, and one to challenge the base assumptions of our dire age. A historical play which is completely contemporary at the same time. As there’s so much in this play, it’s difficult to know where to begin discussing it.’

The cast: Morfudd Hughes, Owen Arwyn and Judith Humphreys

Production: Galeri, Caernarfon.