Tickets go on sale for new Ladies of Llangollen play

Tickets go on sale tomorrow for a new play based on the true story of the Ladies of Llangollen to be staged at Theatr Clwyd in Mold this summer.

And the director says that at least a couple of people from Llangollen could be in the community cast that will help bring this stylish new work to life.

Celebrated Virgins, written by Katie Elin-Salt and directed by Eleri B. Jones, tells the story of Lady Eleanor Butler and Miss Sarah Ponsonby who famously lived at Plas Newydd in Llangollen.

* Director Eleri B.Jones.

When the two women found each other, they defied convention, fleeing their homes and families, cast out by a society who did not understand their love.

Starting a new life in Llangollen, they became celebrities of the day, forced to witness their own lives re-told by those who weren’t there. 

In this new play they are back, ready to reclaim the story that’s rightfully theirs, and this time, it’s on their terms.

The community ensemble, who will be fully involved in the show and an integral part of the company, has been recruited in a series of workshops and auditions held over the past few weeks.

They’ll be working with the cast of five professional actors – four women and one man whose names are yet to be announced - in rehearsals and will be involved in the show’s movement, text and visual language to help tell the story.

Eleri B.Jones, herself an actor who trained as a director at Theatr Cwlyd, said: “Celebrated Virgins has been in development for two years, starting just before the pandemic began, and is based on an idea I had after hearing stories about the ladies as a child.

“At the end of my trainee directorship at Mold the director asked me what I wanted to do for a show. The ladies were so well-known and loved that I wanted to do something about them.

“I also started my own career in local am-dram and love working with the community, which is how we came up with the idea of recruiting a community cast.

“I’m co-directing the show with a really talented, emerging playwright from South Wales, Katie Elin-Salt, and we are really thrilled with the way things have been going.”

Eleri, whose mum is Llangollen’s former deputy mayor Issy Richards, added: “The auditions for the community cast went very well and we now have two separate teams of eight people from across the area.

“There are both men and women and their ages range from 18 to their mid-70s.

“Both teams will take part in the Theatr Clwyd performances from May 20-June 4, which includes a couple of matinee performances, and then one of the teams will continue with the play to Cardiff where it will be staged at the Chapter Arts Centre from June 9-11.

“Although we’ve not quite yet decided the final composition of the teams we are hoping that at least a couple of the people will come from Llangollen.”

* Tickets are on sale from tomorrow (Tuesday March 22) and are priced from £10. They are available from the Theatr Clwyd box office at: https://www.theatrclwyd.com/event/celebrated-virgins or call the box office on 01352 344101.