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!
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
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.
Nos Fercher 16 Hydref 2024, Canolfan y Celfyddydau Aberystwyth ~ Music Theatre Wales mewn cydweithrediad ag Aberration yn cyflwyno:
Bwystfilod Aflan / Unclean Beasts + The Land of Might Have Been
Perfformiadau newydd i ddathlu canmlwyddiant Edward Prosser Rhys yn ennill Coron yr Eisteddfod ym 1924 – a’r adlach yn erbyn ei gerdd, ‘Atgof’, a ddarluniai ddyhead am fenywod a gwrywod fel ei gilydd.
Tocynnau >>Dewiswch 'Aelod Aberration' am ddisgownt!
Cyflwynir y noson mewn dwy ran (gydag egwyl) ac ar draws dau leoliad:
6.30pm – 7.30pm, Neuadd Fawr – The Land of Might Have Been
Cyflwynir gan Aberration, cwmni celfyddydau LGBTQ+ Canolbarth Cymru. Agorwch ddrysau drych ein cwpwrdd coctels i gael eich ysgwyd a’ch cynhyrfu wrth i ni fynd i mewn i’r Land of Might Have Been rhyfeddol. Dyma’r 1920au: cyfnod o wrthdroadau ac androgynedd, fflyrtio a phosibiliadau diddiwedd. Pa ddoethineb y gallai ein hynafiaid Cymreig cwiar ei drosglwyddo i Edward Prosser Rhys a’i gylch agos o ffrindiau? Mae’r atebion yn dod i’r amlwg trwy eiriau, cerddoriaeth ac ychydig o syllu ar sêr.
Gyda Music Theatre Wales yn cyflwyno, mae Bwystfilod Aflan / Unclean Beasts yn herio normau cymdeithasol trwy opera, dawns a ffilm, gan amlygu’r gwrthdaro rhwng traddodiad a’r angen am newid. Mae Eddie Ladd yn cynnig ei dehongliad ei hun a’i myfyrdod personol ar y gerdd wreiddiol mewn symudiad, gyda monolog operatig newydd gan Conor Mitchell yn dilyn, a berfformir gan y tenor Elgan Llŷr Thomas. Wedi’i greu a’i gyfarwyddo gan Jac Ifan Moore, dyma gomisiwn yr Eisteddfod Genedlaethol gyda Music Theatre Wales a Chanolfan Gerdd Prifysgol Aberystwyth, a berfformir gyda Sinfonia Cymru.
Perfformir yn y Gymraeg gyda chapsiynau yn Saesneg.
Aberration returns to the Bank Vault bar in Aberystwyth on the evening of Thursday 14 November.
Kaan K (formerly Yas Necati) will perform poems from their brilliant new collection If I Were Erol (published by Fourteen Poems). Plus surprise guest. A magical queer night of deep and moving words… plus some funny bits. More details coming soon.
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 >>
Saturday 27 July 11am to 3pm Llyfrgell Genedlaethol Cymru / National Library of Wales, Aberystwyth: Creative writing workshop hosted by Sian Howys of Academi Heddwch Cymru, with historian Norena Shopland and Aberration’s own Jane Hoy, inspired by the Welsh Women’s Peace Petition of 1923-24. Scroll down for details and booking link.
You may have heard of the Welsh Women’s Peace Petition, which was signed by nearly 400,000 women from across the country, sent in a huge chest to the USA a century ago; and has recently returned to Cymru. But who were the women who signed this petition? We will hear the stories behind some of these women, and have the opportunity to write our own stories, poems or other writing in response to their lives.
Images of some of the women who signed, provided by their relatives
Details
Welsh Women’s Peace Appeal 1923/24 Peace of Writing Creative Workshop – free of charge!
Education Room, National Library of Wales, Aberystwyth Saturday July 27 11 am – 3 pm
Refreshments: Tea and coffee will be provided and Pendinas cafe will be open for light refreshments.
With Norena Shopland (Women and LGBTQ+ Historian) and Jane Hoy (Queer Tales from Wales and Aberration). You will be guided to produce short pieces of creative writing – poems, stories or other – inspired by the hidden histories of the women who signed the Welsh Women’s Peace Petition 1923/24.
M.G. (Gladys) Thomas; Mary Elizabeth Ellis; Annie Jane Hughes-Griffiths; Elined Prys (Gwefan Llyfrgell Genedlaethol / National Library of Wales website)
You can present your work in Welsh or English. With your permission, the Petitioning Peace project would like to consider including any finalised pieces within the project’s collection of creative work.
To receive further information about the workshop and to book your free place please email: post@academiheddwch.cymru
Saturday 3 August 3.30pm Plas Newydd, Llangollen: Queer Tales from Wales present ‘An Extraordinary Female Affection: The life and love of the Ladies of Llangollen’. An entertaining promenade performance in the grounds of the very house where the ladies lived two hundred years ago. Performed in English.
Tickets are £22.50 (plus booking fee), to include tea and cake with the Ladies and entry to the House during the day.
Perfformiad chwareus lle mae Sarah Ponsonby ac Eleanor Butler yn mynd â chi ar daith o diroedd eu cartref, Plas Newydd. Atgynhyrchiad bywiog o’u 50 mlynedd gyda’i gilydd, gyda help y gynulleidfa, gwartheg anwes, hel straeon enllibus ac ymweliadau gan ferched sy’n eu hedmygu, gan gynnwys Anne Lister. Wedi’i gyflwyno gan Jane Hoy a Helen Sandler mewn hetiau befar.
Pris tocynnau yw £22.50, gan gynnwys te a chacen gyda’r Merched a mynediad i’r Tŷ yn ystod y dydd.
A playful promenade performance in which Sarah Ponsonby and Eleanor Butler take you on a tour of the grounds of their home Plas Newydd. A lively re-imagining of their 50 years together helped along by the audience, pet cows, scurrilous gossip and visits from their women admirers including Anne Lister. Presented by Jane Hoy and Helen Sandler in beaver hats.
Tickets are £22.50, to include tea and cake with the Ladies and entry to the House during the day.
Friday 26 July 6pm Amgueddfa Ceredigion Museum Exhibition visit, artist talks, film and discussion around the exhibition ‘For the Curious and Interested’, led by Voices from the Edge. With Rose Thorn and Abid Hussain. Read more >>
and the next day… Saturday 27 July 11am to 3pm Llyfrgell Genedlaethol Cymru / National Library of Wales ‘Peace of Writing’ – Creative writing workshop led by historian Norena Shopland and our own Jane Hoy, inspired by the Welsh Women’s Peace Petition of 1923-24. Details >>
Friday 16 August Aberystwyth South Beach Picnic after work – bring your own food and drink to this fun social event. Don’t forget a rug or folding chair to sit on too.
September: We’re taking a break – no event.
Wed 16 October Aberystwyth Arts Centre A new operetta marks the centenary of Edward Prosser Rhys winning the Crown at the National Eisteddfod with his poem ‘Atgof’. And Aberration will host an intervention that turns a queer gaze on the poet and his circle.
Thurs 14 November Surprise event at Bank Vault!
Details of all above events to be announced soon on our website and socials!
www.aberration.org.uk @aberrationcymru
SPONSOR
We are grateful to Prifysgol Aberystwyth University for financial support for Aberration.
[PAST EVENT] Thursday 20 June 2024: Aberration presents queer folk duo Lucy and Hazel, with special guest Cerys Hafana, at Bank Vault, Aberystwyth – 6pm doors for 7pm start
A wonderful evening of inspiring music! Lucy and Hazel combine a love of groove, soulful raw harmonies and passionate songwriting to bring you hope and rage in these strange times. Mid Wales’ own Cerys Hafana will open the night with spellbinding tunes that blend innovation with tradition. Come on down! Edrych ymlaen!
Entry: £7 full price / £5 for concessions. Pay on the door.
Lucy and Hazel
Sheffield-based duo Lucy and Hazel write songs on feminism, politics, climate, land rights, swamp monsters, lawns and anything that gets their goat. Playing guitar, uke, melodeon, clarinet and blending voices in harmony, they draw influences from multiple musical traditions from Europe, and the comings and goings of Hazel’s brain.
Two of the Aberration team met Lucy Huzzard and Hazel Thompson when they were visiting Mid Wales – and when they sang harmonies in the back of our car we immediately invited them to play Aberration. We were delighted when they said a big YES! We can’t wait for you to hear them!
‘Surely the queens of the new tribe of British folk emerging from the radical activist left. Folk music just got very exciting.’ Sam Lee, singer
‘Poignant and witty, Lucy & Hazel will make you laugh and cry. Absolutely brilliant!’ Tamsin Elliott, musician (Solana)
Don’t miss this special performance. With inspirations spanning from Joni Mitchell and Ivor Cutler, to stories of resistance, Lucy and Hazel are a powerful and entertaining duo.
Cerys Hafana is a composer and multi-instrumentalist who mangles, mutates, and transforms traditional music. She explores the creative possibilities and unique qualities of the triple harp, and is also interested in found sounds, archival materials and electronic processing. Cerys comes from Machynlleth, where rivers and roads meet on the way to the sea.
Edyf is her second album, released in 2022, and was selected as one of The Guardian’s Top Ten folk albums of 2022. In January 2023, Cerys was also featured on Cerys Matthews’ BBC 6 Music ‘Highlights of 2022’ New Year show.
‘Mae gan Cerys Hafana amser: amser i fynegi ei syniadau trwy gyfrwng ei hofferyn, amser i greu awyrgylch, amser i ddilyn ei dychymyg, ond yn bwysicach na hyn oll, amser i wneud i’r gerddoriaeth anadlu.’ Tomos Williams, O’r Pedwar Gwynt
‘Hafana explores resonances from the past that connect with the modern day in a contemporary, creative way. On her second album, Edyf (meaning “thread”) she uses her harp as a percussive, jagged-toothed tool… Hafana also sings movingly, her high voice like an indie-pop soprano shorn of its sweetness.’ Jude Rogers, Folk Album of the Month, The Guardian
Aberration is a series of exciting events with an LGBTQ+ theme. We aim for a friendly community space. Everyone is welcome, including open-minded straight friends and allies of course. Events are very much trans-inclusive as well as highlighting gay, bi and lesbian lives and culture. All under one rainbow! Your friendly hosts are Jane Hoy, Ruth Fowler and Helen Sandler.
The venue is the Bank Vault bar at 1 New Street, Aberystwyth SY23 2AT. A supportive venue where we are made very welcome. Please buy drinks to return the support! There is a range of craft beers, ciders, wine, spirits and soft drinks on offer.
We are grateful to Prifysgol Aberystwyth University for financial support for Aberration.
Thursday9 May 2024 at Bank Vault Bar, Aberystwyth. Doors 6pm, onstage 7pm. Tickets on the door, £7 / £5.
Lou C brings their new one-person show Packed House to Aberration in the intimate venue of the Bank Vault.
Packed House is a sexy, honest and gut-punching exposé from poet Lou C where body politics gets queerly personal. In a cocksure and impassioned delivery, Packed House refuses the dangerous absurdity of the binary and flags up how transness ushers in liberation for all.
‘A captivating literary voyage of witty, profound, and life-altering experiences.’ – Radio Summerhall Arts – Full review here>>
Audacious new writing that finds personal survival in collective healing through joy and protest, Packed House is an emboldened response to the mundane violence of the everyday straight world.
Performed at the Edinburgh Free Fringe 2023 where audiences found it ‘Profoundly moving. Rhythmic, inspiring, spiritual poetry about our universal relationships with our bodies and each other. … Superbly written. Super talented!’
Lou C’s previous Fringe shows are critically acclaimed, earning them the title “the literary lovechild of Allen Ginsberg and Jeanette Winterson”.
AUDIENCE PRAISE:
An extraordinary spoken word piece – a torrent of powerful poetry, language and queer creativity. Thank you!
This was wonderful. I didn’t expect to blush or cry so much or to be so understood.
Really powerful, when Lou stepped forward at the end it felt magical.
The perfect show for queers and their allies; or even queers who need a refresher.
Thank you for helping me to be inspired to be myself.
It feels so important to be understood like this by someone with more life experience than me.
About Lou C
Lou C aka Lucy Aphramor is a radical dietitian and spoken word performer – or poetitian!
Lou C’s shows are renowned for connecting disparate themes with immediacy and physicality, captured by a review from the iconic Bar Wotever as “horny and lust-filled” and “heart breaking” and by Scotsgay as “graphic and cuts no corners … a poet of real substance.”
Described as “the literary lovechild of Jeanette Winterson and Allen Ginsberg” (Broadway Baby) and noted for “dizzying eroticism” Lou C has performed across general and LGBT venues and events ranging from Shrewsbury’s Severn Theatre to L Fest and at Manchester and Seattle Pride. And now, Aberration!
About Aberration
Aberration is a series of exciting events with an LGBTQ+ theme. We aim for a friendly community space. Everyone is welcome, including open-minded straight friends and allies of course. Events are very much trans-inclusive as well as highlighting gay, bi and lesbian lives and culture. All under one rainbow!
Your friendly hosts are Jane Hoy, Ruth Fowler and Helen Sandler (pictured above with D-M Withers and canine pal at one of our first Bank Vault events).
Tickets are £7 full price, £5 concessions (including low waged). Pay by card or cash on the door.
The venue is the Bank Vault bar at 1 New Street, Aberystwyth SY23 2AT. A supportive venue where we are made very welcome. Please buy drinks to return the support! There is a range of craft beers, ciders, wine, spirits and soft drinks on offer.
We collect for our favourite charity, All Out, so bring some cash for the collection.
We are grateful to Prifysgol Aberystwyth University for financial support for Aberration.
