An Extraordinary Female Affection: The Life and Love of the Ladies of Llangollen
*CANCELLED BY VENUE*
Our most thrilling show is our promenade performance as the Ladies of Llangollen in the grounds of Plas Newydd, where the ladies lived 200 years ago! We performed this show in 2024 to a very appreciative audience and now we’re delighted to be back again on 21 June 2025.
3.30pm tea followed by 4 to 5pm (approx) live show.
NOTE: Wear stout shoes and bring a brolly just in case. This event is outside and contains uneven ground and steep sections.
Tickets include afternoon tea. A fabulous day out. Devised and presented by Queer Tales from Wales – Jane Hoy and Helen Sandler. And next day Jane and Helen will run a creative zine-making workshop about the Ladies!
This is part of a week of celebrations of the legacy of the Ladies of Llangollen which also includes a talk by Norena Shopland on 18 June about her unique collection of memorabilia and antiques.
Scroll down for all the amazing events being brought to you by Aberration, Queer Tales from Wales and our partners at Gayberystwyth Books this summer!
Friday 13 June: Queer Lit Quarterly returns to Aberystwyth Arts Centre with four fascinating authors. Arranged by Gayberystwyth Books and supported by Aberration, this is the LGBTQ+ night for all you book lovers! Doors open 6.30pm.INFO>>
Sat 14 June: 12 noon to 2pm, Machynlleth: Queer Tales from Wales run their first-everzine-making workshop on the theme of ‘The Ladies of Llangollen Appreciation Society’. INFO>>
Friday 20 June: Gayberystwyth Books presents… in the bookshop / market hall, Aberystwyth: Mike Parker and Norena Shopland launch a new edition of Summer Flood by Goronwy Rees. INFO>>
== Please note: Plas Newydd have unfortunately CANCELLED the Queer Tales from Wales show and workshop advertised for Sat 21 June & Sun 22 June. They may be rescheduled ==
Friday 11 July 6.30pm Aberration presents OUT OF THE FRAME: Queer Responses to the Exhibition ‘No Welsh Art’, National Library, Aberystwyth. An exciting evening where we take over the gallery and hear from LGBTQ+ artists and writers.INFO>>
What happens when a stroppy Irish feminist writer falls for a quiet Welsh woman sculptor in Bella Roma?
Find out in this delightful show about Frances Power Cobbe and her ‘wifie’ Mary Charlotte Lloyd of Llanelltyd – and their amazing friends; Ours is the old, old story of every uprising race or class or order.
The work of elevation must be wrought by ourselves or not at all.’ Frances Power Cobbe, The Duties of Women (1882). From the duo who brought you the Ladies of Llangollen: Jane Hoy and Helen Sandler of Queer Tales From Wales
What the audience said about previous shows:
‘Such a treat! Such a polished performance and wonderful script… I feel enriched by having had the opportunity to watch this.’ ‘A deeply moving and funny animation of these inspiring women’s stories. Hope many others have the chance to see/ hear this.’ ‘Forgotten women resurrected – wonderful.’
Friday 11 April 7pm (doors open 6pm), Round Studio, Aberystwyth Arts Centre
Hosted by Gayberystwyth Books and supported by Aberration Cymru, Queer Lit Quarterly brings together writers and readers for a packed evening of readings, discussion and appreciation of LGBTQ+ literature.
Launching in style on 11 April, this first event will star four brilliant authors of fiction and non-fiction: Mike Parker (On the Red Hill), Norena Shopland (Forbidden Lives), JJ Lambert (Found Wanting) and Anthony Shapland (A Room Above a Shop). They will be giving talks, taking questions and signing books! If you love LGBTQ+ books and stories, this is the ultimate event for you.
Director: Ray Yeung Hong Kong (S.A.R of China), 2024, 93′ minutes, Cantonese with English subtitles
Angie and Pat are two women who have shared a life of love and resilience in Hong Kong for over four decades. When Pat suddenly passes away, Angie’s world is upended. Faced with mounting pressure from an unsympathetic extended family, she must navigate her grief and fight to hold on to the home that holds their cherished memories.
With poignant performances by Patra Au Ga Man, Maggie Li Lin Lin, and Tai Bo, ‘All Shall Be Well’ is a tender, heart-wrenching exploration of love, loss, and the quiet strength required to claim one’s place in the world.
This screening is co-hosted by Aberration (LGBTQ+ arts and community events in Aberystwyth). After the film there will be a short panel discussion chaired by Helen Sandler with Fran Jackson and Steph Jones and Q&A – a chance to reflect on the movie and its themes.
We are delighted to bring Aberration back to the magnificent Ceredigion Museum in Aberystwyth with ‘Crossing the Line’, programmed especially for LGBTQ+ History Month.
We’ve put together an amazing evening of stories and film, facts and fabulousness for you all. Programme below. Edrych ymlaen!
Aberration presentsCrossing The Line
An evening for LGBTQ+ History Month, Friday 28 February, Amgueddfa Ceredigion Museum, Aberystwyth. Doors open 6.30pm, starts 7pm. Tickets: £8 early bird (plus booking fee) or £10 on the door.
Aberration will be taking a journey around Ceredigion and beyond, including queer and trans Celtic history and mythology and some of the characters and events on our Ceredigion LGBTQ+ timeline. We are also proud to be hosting the Wales launch of a new book, 3000 Lesbians Go to York, about a much-loved national arts festival. The evening ends with a new film celebrating Aberration’s own contribution to Welsh LBGTQ+ culture and arts over more than ten years.
PROGRAMME
6.30 Doors open: Come and have a look at the Ceredigion Timeline and add your stories.
RAFFLE: Bring cash for raffle tickets in aid of All Out – lots of great prizes from local businesses and friends of Aberration including Bottle & Barrel, Medina cafe-bar, Aberystwyth Arts Centre, and our authors!
7pm Welcome from your Aberration hosts, Helen Sandler, Jane Hoy and Ruth Fowler
Cheryl Morgan: In Search of Trans Celts
Cheryl will look at evidence from archaeology, Roman writers, and Arthurian legend, to see what we can tell about how our ancestors saw gender.
7.30pm Queering the Fourth Branch of the Mabinogi: power, resistance, and desire
This talk by Colin Audigé-Soutter, based on his MA thesis, illuminates the potential queer undercurrents pulsing through one of Celtic literature’s most enigmatic narratives.
8pm INTERVAL Refreshments and Bar, Raffle for All Out with amazing prizes, and another opportunity to add your story to the Ceredigion Timeline.
8.30 The Ceredigion Timeline: an interactive journey
Jane (L) and Norena
Norena Shopland describes the background to the Timeline – a project to record the LGBTQ+ history of every county in Cymru. Jane Hoy introduces some of Ceredigion’s queer characters and events, with friends of Aberration reading their words.
9pm 3000 Lesbians Go To York
Jane Traies will launch her lavishly illustrated new book, 3000 Lesbians Go to York (Tollington, 2025) about the arts festivals that drew massive crowds in the Noughties. Aberration’s own Helen Sandler, publisher of the book, will introduce Jane’s talk about the legendary weekender.
9.30 Aberration: a celebration
FILM PREMIERE! Ruth, Helen and Jane of Aberration will screen Amy Daniel’s new short film about Aberration’s fabulous first decade.
Aberration returns to the Bank Vault bar in Aberystwyth on the evening of Thursday 14 November. Doors 6pm, onstage 7pm. £6 on the door (cash / card / phone)
Kaan K will perform spoken word from their brilliant collectionIf I Were Erol(published by Fourteen Poems) AND a brand new book just out (see below)! We are delighted that Kaan, who had a short slot at last year’s talent night, will tonight take you on a journey through their moving work. Books available to buy on the night, with author signings.
Sharing the stage is Aitch, the comedian alter ego of your regular host Helen Sandler. Aitch will perform new material especially written for tonight. She’s even been on a course!
A magical queer night! Drinks available from the well-stocked bar including a range of craft beers. No pressure to drink alcohol, as there are lots of great soft drinks on sale too. Please support our friendly venue.
KAAN’S FIRST FULL-LENGTH POETRY COLLECTION
Rosewater
Raw, sexy, vulnerable and challenging, Rosewater asks what it means to embody a border.
‘The land isn’t binary and neither am I’ Kaan K dives deep into their Cypriot heritage, pondering their connection to an island with the world’s only divided capital city. They reflect on the divisions in their personal life – cultural, spiritual, sexual.
Rosewater is a homage to trans tenderness, a cry for connection and a search for hope, joy and change. Follow Kaan on Instagram @dream.with.kaan
AITCH’S FIRST PROPER COMEDY OUTING
Tales of the Village
Come with Aitch on a journey. Around the village and back. Perhaps she’ll get a nice little part-time job along the way. What could possibly go wrong?
ENGLISH: New performances mark the centenary of Edward Prosser Rhys winning the 1924 Eisteddfod Crown – and the backlash against his poem, ‘Atgof’, which depicted desire for both women and men.
Tickets
TICKETS from Aberystwyth Arts Centre here >> Discount if you select ‘Aberration Member’ from price list, after choosing your seats. Yes, if you are reading this you are an honorary Aberration member!
10% off food in cafe with your ticket. Special 1920s-themed martinis and gins in bar.
Programme
The evening will be presented in two parts (with interval) and across two spaces:
6.30pm to 7.30pm Great Hall – The Land of Might Have Been
Presented by Aberration, the Mid Wales LGBTQ+ arts company. Come with us through the portal into the mysterious Land of Might Have Been. It’s the 1920s: a time of inverts and androgyny, flirtation and endless possibilities. What wisdom might our queer Welsh ancestors have passed on to Edward Prosser Rhys and his intimate circle of friends? The answers wing in through words, music and a touch of star-gazing. Performed mainly in English
Cast: Colin Audigé-Soutter, Jane Hoy, Simon Robson, Helen Sandler Musician: Ruth Gordon Butler: Ruth Fowler Design & Production: Jenny Pearce Written, researched & directed by Jane Hoy with Helen Sandler
Diolch yn fawr: Becky Mitchell (TFTS), Mike Parker, Music Theatre Wales, Music @ Aber, Aberystwyth Arts Centre, Wynnstay Machynlleth
8pm to 9pm Theatr y Werin – Bwystfilod Aflan / Unclean Beasts
Presented by Music Theatre Wales,Bwystfilod Aflan / Unclean Beastschallenges societal norms through music, dance and film, spotlighting the clash between tradition and the need for change. Eddie Ladd offers her own interpretation of the original poem through movement, followed by a new operatic monologue by Conor Mitchell, performed by tenor Elgan Llŷr Thomas. Created and directed by Jac Ifan Moore, this is a National Eisteddfod commission with Music Theatre Wales and Aberystwyth University Music Centre, performed with Sinfonia Cymru.
Picnic on Aberystwyth South Beach near ‘The Hut’ kiosk from about 6pm. Look for our tall rainbow flags. Bring your own food and drink to this fun social event. Don’t forget a rug or folding chair to sit on too. If you don’t know anyone then ask for Ruth, Helen or Jane who will give you a warm welcome!
Insights into the exhibition ‘For the Curious and Interested’
Friday 26 July 6pm to 8.30pm (doors open 5.45pm) £5 at Amgueddfa Ceredigion Museum, Terrace Road, Aberystwyth SY23 2AQ
with Rose Thorn and Abid Hussain
Installation view
Come with us behind the scenes at the museum! This exhibition asks questions about historic objects. We will see the brilliant creative and artistic responses from Voices from the Edge. And we will talk about what people of colour and/or LGBTQ+ (lesbian, gay, bi, trans and queer) people have in common, in museums and galleries where our very existence has been hidden, skewed or exploited for hundreds of years.
Entry:£5 per person. It would help us if you could reserve your place/s in advance from Aberration (not the museum!). Just send an email to aberrationcymru@gmail.com with the subject line 'Exhibition' and the number of people. We will add you to the list and take payment on the door (cash or card). There are also likely to be places available on the night.
Exhibition visit + museum takeover!
Aberration (the LGBTQ+ arts strand) is delighted to host this evening visit to the exhibition ‘For the Curious and Interested’ at Ceredigion Museum, in the centre of Aberystwyth. Yes, we will take over the museum for one night only!
A unique feature of this exhibition is the presence of the responses of Voices from the Edge – a group of creatives from the global majority in Mid and West Wales. They have responded artistically to a selection of artefacts from the collection of Sir Hans Sloane, which were used to found the British Museum in 1753. The contributors vividly express themes of globalisation, ‘being silenced’ and ‘not being heard’, which resonate strongly through the exhibition.
Rose Thorn sewing ‘Wake’‘My Voice is Not Working’ by Abid Hussain
When looking at museum objects and artworks gathered from around the world during a period of colonial expansion and transatlantic slavery, how do we respond?
Rose Thorn and Abid Hussain (from the Voices from the Edge group) will guide us in their process of co-curating and working with a powerful organisation; a unique opportunity to explore the intersections of being from the global majority and LGBTQI+ communities.
Ceredigion Museum Auditorium – former music hall / cinema
We will have exclusive use of the space where you will be able to visit the exhibition in the gallery at the start of the evening. We will then move into the main auditorium for talks and films and to share our responses with each other and the artists. An opportunity to reflect on and respond to these many layered issues and consider the implications for today’s world.
About our guides
Rose Thorn has worked in many roles as a community artist, project coordinator and performer within health, education and voluntary settings; she is passionate about the therapeutic uses of the arts with people who often feel disempowered. She is a Playback Theatre performer and trainer, which honours community stories by instantly ‘playing-back’ what the audience shares. Her interest in the body, breath and mind continues with teaching local yoga classes and facilitating well-being retreats.
Abid Hussain is an emerging artist, based in Wales. “I perceive my art practice as a living and breathing organism which is guiding me in return for nourishment and protection. It lingers ‘outside’ or ‘in-between’ the established boundaries of Sculpture, Performance, Installation and other disciplines.”
About the venue
Amgueddfa Ceredigion Museum is in the old Coliseum Theatre not far from the seafront on Terrace Road in Aberystwyth (next to big Boots!). There are lifts and wheelchair access to the upstairs rooms we are using, and disabled toilets.
Aberration and its partners welcome all open-minded folk to this special evening. If you are from the global majority and/or LGBTQ+ community, or if you are just interested to hear these perspectives first-hand, do come along! Reserve your place by emailing Aberration: aberrationcymru@gmail.com(See grey box above for full entry info.)
Also of interest
Aberration is part of another great event the following day: ‘Peace of Writing‘ on Saturday 27 July. Inspired by the Welsh Women’s Peace Appeal and petition of 1923/24, this fascinating writing workshop takes place up the hill at the National Library of Wales, from 11am to 3pm. Led by Norena Shopland and Jane Hoy, and organised by Academi Heddwch. Find out more about the writing workshop >>
