Iphigenia yn Sblot, Branwen Cennard’s new Welsh-language adaptation of Gary Owen’s Iphigenia in Splott, will tour 11 venues across Wales in August and September this year, premiering at the National Eisteddfod in Pontypridd before a run of performances at Sherman Theatre.
Seren Hamilton will take the title role in her first major performance while completing her final year in Acting at Rose Bruford College of Performing Arts. Alice Eklund will direct this new production nearly a decade after it first became an international smash-hit.
One-woman play Iphigenia in Splott is a furious analysis of our society and the hard-bitten lives it bears. Since its premiere at Sherman Theatre in 2015, it has won the James Tait Black Prize for Drama 2016 and the Best New Play Award at the UK Theatre Awards 2015. The original production toured to the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, across Wales and the UK and as far as New York and Berlin. In 2022, the play was re-staged by Lyric Hammersmith to great acclaim. It has been translated into and performed in several languages the world over.
The Welsh-language production will be captioned in English, making it suitable for non-Welsh speakers, learners and fluent Welsh speakers alike.
Gary Owen said: “Over the past nine years, Iphigenia in Splott has been seen all over the world. I’m so grateful to the Sherman for bringing the show home to Wales. And as someone who’s learned Welsh, it’s a huge honour to be part of the National Eisteddfod. I can’t wait to see Alice and Seren create a brand new Effie from Branwen’s translation.”
Alice Eklund said: “Iphigenia in Splott played a huge part in my introduction to new writing and I can’t wait to see Effie’s story come to life in Welsh. Doing this play in this way feels so timely, so relevant and so needed right now. Gary’s writing with Branwen’s translation are a perfect match, and hearing it out loud gave me the same energised, fiery feeling that I got all those years ago. This play is at the forefront of new writing in Wales, building a new world around Effie, taking us on the journey with her, here and now.”
Iphigenia yn Sblot is funded by the Arts Council of Wales.
Tour details:
5-9 August 2024
National Eisteddfod, Pontypridd
29 August-7 September 2024
Sherman Theatre, Cardiff
10-11 September 2024
Swansea Grand Theatre, Swansea
12 September 2024
The Met Theatre, Abertillery
13 September 2024
Ffwrnes, Llanelli
14 September 2024
Awel-y-Môr, Porthcawl
17 September 2024
Theatr Mwldan, Cardigan
18 September 2024
Torch Theatre, Milford Haven
19-20 September 2024
Theatr Soar, Merthyr Tydfil
24 September 2024
Theatr Brycheiniog, Brecon
25 September 2024
Aberystwyth Arts Centre
26 September 2024
Neuadd Dwyfor, Pwllheli
28 September 2024
Galeri Caernarfon