Wales Feed

Welcome to 2015

2015-01-05T08:00:00+00:00

Happy New Year!

There’s much in store for what promises to be a very busy 2015, starting this week with a trip to see the BBC National Orchestra of Wales.

Three years ago, BBC NOW provided a day long soundtrack for Radio Wales. It was so much fun, we’ve decided to do it all again this Friday. Our latest day with the orchestra sees Jason Mohammad and Wynne Evans find out more about the BBC’s Ten Pieces and get their hands dirty as the orchestra plays some listeners’ favourites.

There’s still plenty of time to be part of the day at Hoddinott Hall in Cardiff Bay. Free tickets are available via the Wales Millennium Centre on 02920 63 64 64.

Jamie Owen tries out conducting BBC National Orchestra of Wales and Louise Elliott plays the bell while they spend the morning with the Orchestra at Hoddinott Hall in January 2012.

Our coverage of World War One continues with a new three part series: Doves and Hawks sees Aled Eurig presents a history of Wales and the pacifism movement during the First World War.

Tackling in the War in a completely different way, meet The Greatest Welshman Never Heard Of - aka hapless Great War correspondent Aneurin Davies. He’s the subject of our Friday night comedy through January. Check out episode one online now.

A century ago, Caradoc Evans wrote a collection of short stories called ‘My People’, which caused such a storm he became known as ‘the most hated man in Wales’. Rachel Trezise takes up the story in a special edition of the Radio Wales Arts Show on Wednesday at 6.30.

Llandudno’s Courteous Thief have the honour of becoming the first Radio Wales Artist of the Week of 2015. You can hear their new song, Red Ribbons, across the station this week. They’ll be live in session with Eleri on Wednesday. On Thursday Eleri speaks to our very own Elis James about his new BBC Three comedy Crims.

This external content is available at its source: BBC Three 'Crims' teaser

And talking of comedy, Ross Noble joins Lynn Bowles as she returns after her Christmas break on Sunday at 2.

So that’s week 1 of 2015. The other 51 will include a General Election, a Rugby World Cup, Cardiff Singer of the World, obviously another Grand Slam and - it goes without saying - qualification to a major football tournament for the first time in my lifetime!

I’m off to the bookies.

Steve

Producing Passing On - BBC Radio Wales' new sitcom

2014-07-24T07:15:14+00:00

Pyle Industrial Estate is an industrial estate par excellence. Distinguished in the world of industrial estates, it is known the world over as a white-hot forge of small-to-medium sized enterprises, where the toil that greases the gears of 21st century capitalism coats every surface.

It boasts more speed bumps per square mile than anywhere else on earth, and curiously, on the right when you drive in is a genuine Spitfire.

Imagine then my great pleasure in finding myself at the industrial estate for a week back in June. Had I finally got the job of a lifetime at an air-conditioning distribution warehouse? Had I got lost in the estate's labyrinth of very slow roads and decided to cut my losses and live out the rest of my days among the corrugated iron cathedrals of commerce?

No. It turns out that among the vast sofa barns and burger vans, the industrial estate plays host to a recording studio, a studio I hired to record BBC Radio Wales' most recent sitcom, Passing On by Gareth Gwynn.

Passing On: Behind the Scenes of our new comedy series

Passing On is a sitcom about two very different brothers, forced to spend time together by a clause in their mother's will. Unless they meet once a month, passing her ashes back and forth between each other, all of her money will be burned in a bin. Unbelievably, this is based on an idea that Gareth's mother actually had, although we're unsure as to whether she's going to follow through on it. Either way, we've got a bin ready.

As the producer, it was my job to hire the studio. While south Wales' other offerings all had their redeeming features, very few of them were within 500 metres of a fighter jet that saved Britain from fascist domination, which has long been my top criterion.

Once the studio is booked, a radio sitcom producer's job mainly involves working on the script with the writer, making sure they don't go insane or drink too many fizzy drinks, auditioning and casting actors, being bossy, buying apples and making sure everyone is having a nice time. It's like being a party host but at the end of the party you have to have produced a sitcom.

Highlights of the week included lunching at the local garden centre, simulating the acoustics of a car by building a cardboard fort in the studio, and one of the actors telling us about when he was in EastEnders and a magazine offered him money to photograph his wedding as long as Wolf from Gladiators was his best man.

The Passing On cast in rehearsal

It was a week spent messing around, laughing, working hard with talented people and going fast over the speed bumps in my car. In Wales'premier industrial park. It was embarrassing how much I enjoyed myself. When the week came to an end I drove home with a heavy heart and wrecked suspension.

Since then I've been editing the recordings and creating the final episodes. It's a solitary task and sometimes when I've had enough, I get in my car, drive up the M4, indicate, turn off at junction 37, trundle past the Spitfire, clatter over the speed bumps and sit in the glow of the estate. I'm home.

Passing On begins at 6.30pm on 25 July, on Radio Wales. It is repeated on 26 July at 1pm.

Browse a behind-the-scenes gallery of photos from the recordings.

Venue Cymru to host Wales’ first comedy writing conference

2014-01-29T12:19:14+00:00

Next month sees Wales’ first-ever comedy writing conference aimed at inspiring the next generation of creators to pen more hilarious hits like Peep Show, Miranda and Fresh Meat.

The event takes place at Venue Cymru in Llandudno and there’s a whole host of experienced speakers lined up. Organisers hope to entice those keen to break into the business as well as people already writing who need an extra boost.

The line-up includes Caroline Raphael (commissioning editor of comedy and fiction for BBC Radio 4), David Nobbs (writer of The Fall and Rise of Reginald Perrin), Andrea Mann (editor of Huffington Post Comedy UK), Ged Parsons (writer on Have I Got News for You) and Huw Marshall (digital editor of S4C and actor/comedian).

Horrible Histories

There will also be appearances from Colin Anderson (producer of The Now Show, BBC Radio 4), John Finnemore (writer/performer on Cabin Pressure and John Finnemore’s Souvenir Programme), Sioned Wiliam (producer of Yonderland, Sky 1 and former head of comedy at ITV), Steve Connelly (director of Yonderland, Horrible Histories and Smack the Pony) and Kate Haldane (comedy agent, PBJ North).

Conference organiser and general manager of Venue Cymru Sarah Ecob told me that she and fellow organiser Steve Doherty came up with the idea after a pilot hosted as part of the venue’s annual Giddy Goat comedy festival proved popular.

She said: “Last year we held a comedy writing session to delve a bit deeper into how comedy is put together and it went really well.

“We had some fantastic speakers and Steve and I really felt there was a gap in the market for a bigger event of this kind as people seemed to really benefit from it and enjoy it.

“The idea is that the audience get to hear from people in the know about how comedy works, they can ask advice in a friendly environment and even enjoy a networking lunch to make helpful contacts for the future.”

David Nobbs

The closing session of the conference at 6pm on the Saturday evening will be a screening of David Nobbs’ favourite episode of Reginald Perrin, followed by an episode of a ‘mystery’ sitcom that David admires. During the talk David will discuss these shows and his career and take questions from the audience.

This event is open to the public and tickets for this can be bought by those not attending the full conference for £5.

Conference director, Steve Doherty, who produces shows for BBC Radio 4 and previously produced Have I Got News for You and Never Mind the Buzzcocks, said: “Every time someone has laughed at a sitcom or listened to a stand-up comedian’s set – those jokes have been thought up and written down by a comedy writer.

Have I Got News for You

“If you’ve ever thought ‘I could do better than that…’ then this conference is a way for you to find out how.”

Sarah added: “It’s aimed at fledgling writers and students who hope to work within the comedy industry but also writers who want to know a bit more about writing comedy.

“Among those taking part are Professor Ian Gregson, director of creative writing at Bangor University and Lisa Moore, pathway leader for comedy practices at the University of Salford.

“We hope to make it an annual event and we really want people to go away feeling inspired, with a deeper understanding of comedy, new comedy writing skills and useful contacts.”

For ticket prices and details visit www.venuecymru.co.uk or telephone 01492 872000.

Boutique comedy festival promises laughter in sweetshops and on steam trains

2013-04-29T09:15:35+00:00

Now in its fourth year, the Machynlleth Comedy Festival is the little success story which has well and truly put mid-Wales on the comedy circuit.

Founded in a bid to bring comedians out of the bigger cities like Cardiff, Swansea and Newport and right into the heart of Wales, it prides itself on staging gigs in intimate settings with the cream of live comedy talent from the here and now.

Hollywood-style sign in Machynlleth. Photo: Ed Moore

This year headline acts include Isy Suttie, Pappy's, Stewart Lee, Bridget Christie, Mark Thomas, Sarah Millican, Joe Lycett and Holly Walsh.

As well as the comedy line-up the small Scottish record label Fence Records has put together an impressive programme of musical events and there is also plenty on offer for families and children.

Each year the organisers try to extend the reach of the festival around the town and for 2013 they will be hosting gigs on a new woodland stage, on a steam train and in a sweetshop, where the guests will have to purchase chocolate bars in advance and can only gain entry if they are in possession of a golden ticket.

Bridget Christie at the Machynlleth Comedy Festival. Photo: Ed Moore

I chatted to one of the festival directors, Henry Widdicombe, about what's in store this year.

He said: "It's significantly bigger this year and we are using a couple of new and exciting small spaces in the town as gig venues.

"One of them is the Royal House, a basement in a 15th century building, which is very atmospheric and behind the oldest building in the town. It's great to be able to grow into more and more venues.

"Last year we had a gig on the estuary and this year we are doing a gig on a steam train in the engine shed and we've got a few at the rugby club.

"Life drawing is also coming back with Tom Parry the comedian from Pappy's baring all, and we've got Mary Bijou in the cabaret tent."

With such an action-packed schedule of events and an impressive line-up of comedians, it's not hard to see why tickets always sell like hot cakes for the Mach Fest.

John-Luke Roberts performing at the 2012 Machynlleth Comedy Festival. Photo: Ed Moore

Henry admits he is still surprised by the event's success just four years after it started.

He said: "The growth has been phenomenal - it seems to double year on year.

"Although we knew when we started out there was an appetite for this sort of comedy event and the town has so many special venues and a great community, we never imagined it would be so successful.

"We purposefully pick mainly an alternative comedy line-up because we want to keep it a certain size as we are fans of smaller festivals.

"I never imagined we'd have the sort of guests we had even in year one - some of my true heroes like Tony Law and Pappy's.

"I was shocked and really pleased at how much positivity there has been in the comedy community for this festival."

The Machynlleth Comedy Festival runs from Friday 3 May to Sunday 5 May. For more information visit machcomedyfest.co.uk.

Newport ready for third comedy festival

2012-10-05T13:10:55+00:00

An eclectic mix of talent will descend on Newport next week as the annual Comedy Port festival gets underway.

Headliner Al Murray is already sold out, but for those wanting to sample fresh talent, there will be a collection of new comics straight from the Edinburgh Festival, as well as local acts and musical comedy.

Events will be centred on The Riverfront Theatre and at a pop-up venue at URBAN in John Frost Square and run from next Monday 8 October until Saturday 13 October.

The festival will be launched by Tin Shed Theatre, who have transformed the URBAN venue - an empty shop - into a submarine, which will be known as the Launchpad throughout the week. The closing party will also take place in this deep sea setting.

Tin Shed consists of three performance artists - Justin Cliffe, Antonio Rimola and Georgina Harris - and they have devised a programme showcasing local comedy talent. But thirsty punters throughout the festival will be able to seek succour in the submarine, where a bar will be manned by seafarers and underwater characters.

Also appearing are The Silky Pair, comedy duo Kathryn Bond and Lorna Shaw, who have been likened to the hilarious Flight of the Conchords.

Edinburgh Comedy Award winning stand-up comic and poet Tim Key will present his show Masterslut, while there are also performances from Highwayman Guy D'amnfine, award-winning magician Paul Dabek and Merthyr Tydfil's very own Dangerous Ryan.

Tim Key promotional image

Other highlights include One Day In The Life Of Lloyd Owen Langford, a show about one Welshman's difficulty navigating his way through the world, and Dan Mitchell's Beak, the tale of the world's first stand-up seagull.

Bridget Christie, who has proved popular at Edinburgh in recent years, will also present War Donkey in her first performance in Newport while there will be a script-held performance of Moist as part of the On The Edge series of plays.

Organisers promise a whole host of family events with a comedy club for kids and screenings of various funnies at the Launchpad.

It's the third time Comedy Port has been held in Newport and the team behind it are hoping to build on the success of the past two years.

Full Comedy Port listings and tickets are available at newport.gov.uk/comedyport. A Comedy Port Fringe Launch-pass allows access to all 7 Launchpad shows at URBAN for £15.

Comedy Festival to take place in Llandudno this weekend

2012-09-13T10:12:49+00:00

Comedians Phill Jupitus, Arthur Smith, Marcus Brigstocke, Stephen K Amos and David Sedaris are just some of the acts taking part in a charity comedy festival in north Wales.

For the second year running the Giddy Goat festival is being organised to raise funds for St David’s Hospice in Llandudno.

From Friday to Sunday a raft of events will be raising chortles and splitting sides at Venue Cymru in Llandudno and at Theatr Colwyn in Colwyn Bay.

The weekend features a gala night, a day-long conference on all aspects of comedy, as well as appearances and readings from various popular TV comedians.

Arthur Smith

It has been made possible through the hard work of Steve Doherty, an income generation manager at the hospice who was previously a producer on shows including Never Mind The Buzzcocks and Have I Got News For You.

He has teamed up with the management at Venue Cymru and volunteers Lynne Jones and Paul Sampson to publicise and organise the festival.

The hospice provides palliative care to adult patients across north west Wales and offers support to their families at a devastating time in their lives.

Steve says he is indebted to Lynne and Paul, who between them set up the Giddy Goat website and designed all the printed material free of charge.

He said: "I don't know how we could have afforded the professional help we got from Paul and Lynne. They have been absolutely brilliant in their support for this venture.

"Paul is a great designer and photographer, the brochure and printed material is all down to him. Lynne is fantastic with a keyboard and mouse – she brought some real style to giddygoat.org."

The weekend kicks off with Friday's gala night at Venue Cymru, compered by Stephen K Amos and with appearances from Arthur Smith, Barry from Watford, Matt Rees, Iain Stirling and Francesca Martinez.

On Saturday from 11am-2pm, those wanting a deeper insight into all aspects of life as a comedy writer, actor or stand-up can attend the Craft of Comedy Conference, also at Venue Cymru.

Audiences are invited to take part in discussions with five people involved in the industry. They are: comedian and writer Dan Tetsell; Jon Rolph, former BBC Comedy commissioner who is now MD of Retort, the label which makes the IT Crowd and Phoneshop; comedy agent Kate Haldane; radio director Dirk Maggs, who wrote the popular radio play Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy; and former editor of Marvel Comics, Tim Quinn.

After the conference at 3pm Buzzcocks favourite and popular stand-up comedian Phill Jupitus will take part in an improv event with students from Bangor University's comedy society.

Following this he will do a performance of his new show from the Edinburgh Festival - You're Probably Wondering Why I've Asked You Here.

Then on Saturday evening the American Grammy-nominated writer and satirist David Sedaris reads from a selection of his best-selling books.

Saturday's big headline event at Venue Cymru is an appearance by Marcus Brigstocke, introducing his new show The Brig Society.

On Sunday comedian Andy Hamilton, the co-writer and director of the hit BBC One show Outnumbered, will be at Theatr Colwyn in Colwyn Bay.

He will present a screening of two of his favourite-ever episodes of the show before being interviewed publicly and taking part in a Q&A session with the audience.

Giddy Goat comedy festival flyer

Tickets for the Giddy Goat comedy festival, including VIP and weekend and weekend passes, are still on sale now via venuecymru.co.uk or 01492 872000.

For the complete festival listings visit giddygoat.org and you can also follow on Twitter @GiddyGoatComedy and on Facebook.

Bennett Arron - Wales' Kosher Comedian

2012-08-14T14:00:24+00:00

Bennett Arron is the only Welsh/Jewish comedian on the comedy circuit. (At least it says so on his website.)

The stand-up comedian from Port Talbot stars in a new four-part series, starting on BBC One Wales tonight, called New Wales.

Bennett Arron

In the first episode, New Wales: The Kosher Comedian, Arron focuses on his dual heritage and tries to discover why the Jewish community in Wales, once a thriving population, has dwindled to a small number of families.

During the programme he also learns more about his own family, such as his grandfather who arrived from Kovno in Lithuania to find work in the then-booming steelworks of Port Talbot in 1913, and about the anti-Semitism which existed in previous centuries in Wales.

Watch a preview clip from tonight’s show:

Bennett Arron return to Port Talbot where he was born to find his roots.

Bennett, who is also a trained actor and has recently supported Ricky Gervais on tour, talked to Radio Wales’ Roy Noble about the programme on Friday's show – listen to the interview on BBC iPlayer.

Watch New Wales: The Kosher Comedian at 10.35pm tonight, Tuesday 14 August, on BBC One Wales.

To find out more about Bennett, visit his website bennettarron.co.uk.

Elis James: "Mach Festival is one of my favourite things in the world"

2012-05-03T11:39:55+00:00

Comedian Elis James is one of the most promising emerging acts on the Welsh comedy scene at the moment - although 'emerging' may be the wrong adjective, as he's become such a familiar voice on BBC Radio Wales of late.

Elis has enjoyed recent success with Pantheon Of Heroes, a mixture of sketch show and stand-up that was co-written with fellow comedian Ben Partridge. He also regularly collaborates with Chris Corcoran for the theatre show The Committee Meeting and on Social Club FM, again for Radio Wales.

I caught up with Elis ahead of his stints at the Machynlleth Comedy Festival this weekend, and the forthcoming Edinburgh Fringe, and threw a couple of questions his way.

Elis James at the 2011 Machynlleth Comedy Festival. Photo: Ed Moore, Edshots

How is life at The Social Club?

The Social Club currently has one customer, who is drinking tap water and using the radiators to dry his anorak but Rex used to babysit him in the 40s so he doesn't mind.

Rex is very well - he's just finished cleaning out the lines and is about the change the gearbox on the club minibus, before tarmacking the drive and duplicating some ledger books from 1967 "just in case".

How did 2011 go for you? Highlights and lowlights?

The highlight was getting Pantheon Of Heroes and Social Club FM commissioned by Radio Wales and being asked to go on Eight Out Of Ten Cats, the lowlights were having my body described as "laughable" when I took my top off on a stag do in Liverpool and getting a new coat stolen from a nightclub.

Elis James with Pantheon of Heroes collaborators Ben Partridge and Nadia Kamil

You'll be making a return to the Edinburgh Festival this summer. Do you feel like part of the furniture?

I've actually taken shows to Edinburgh every year since 2008, but with 2,500 shows at the festival and over 20,000 performers, it would be very difficult to describe myself as part of the furniture. I do know Edinburgh very well though; it's one of the few cities that I would recognize instantly if I woke up there having been kicked out of the back of a Transit van.

General plans for Edinburgh?

Chris Corcoran and I are performing The Committee Meeting every day at the Underbelly at 1.30pm, and then I'm doing a solo stand up show at The Baby Grand in the Pleasance at 7pm.

My general plan is to not gain too much weight by drinking real ale at four in the morning - I have a wedding to go to a few weeks after the festival finishes and I won't be able to afford a new suit.

With such a successful presence on BBC Wales, is it extra work being a London-based comic, performing in Wales as well to a different audience?

A huge amount of travel is a part of what I do, so in the main living in London is slightly more convenient, although working so closely with Chris means I'm in Cardiff all the time anyway.

I loved writing for Radio Wales and they're programmes I'm immensely proud of, but the best thing about writing is that you can do it anywhere. My favourite writing session for Pantheons was in Ben Partridge's parents' house, where the session was bookended by us laughing at photos of Ben as a child while his mum made us toast and tried to explain some of his haircuts.

You'll be performing in Swansea on May 18. Do you enjoy coming "home" to perform?

I love performing gigs in south Wales, especially south west Wales, but not Carmarthen - the last time I did that the venue was flooded with my aunties and uncles which I found very weird.

Swansea is perfect because I can still talk about the area I grew up in but it's just far enough from home to stop any second cousins turning up and threatening to dob me in for swearing. That's the first time I've used the phrase 'dob me in' since 1989. It felt good.

You are performing at the Mach Comedy Festival this weekend. Tell us a bit about the festival and what we can expect from you.

The Machynlleth Comedy Festival is one of my favourite things in the world - it's a truly wonderful line up and the organisers should be proud of it.

Elis James performing at Machynlleth in 2011. Photo: Ed Moore, Edshots

The atmosphere's great and the audiences are lovely; they understand that most of the comics are gearing up for Edinburgh so don't mind if you take a sneaky peek at your notebook halfway through the performance.

My parents went last year and my mum described it as "the best weekend of her life," so you can't say any more than that. Thankfully my girlfriend is more organized than me and has sorted us a B&B, because otherwise I'd be sleeping in the car. I'm about as suited to camping as Hermann Göring was to HR.

Henry Widdicombe on the 2012 Machynlleth Comedy Festival

2012-05-03T08:30:00+00:00

The Machynlleth Comedy Festival may only be in its third year but its popularity among comedians and visitors alike is already well established.

Henry Widdicombe at the 2011 festival

Described recently on Twitter as a "boutique comedy weekend", the Mach festival has attracted some of the most high-profile performers over the last couple of years. Perhaps surprisingly, given the size of the small but perfectly formed mid-Wales town.

I spoke to one of the festival directors, Henry Widdicombe, about this year's festival which begins tomorrow.

Half past four on a dreary afternoon was, I grant you, not an ideal time for an interview chat but Widdicombe's enthusiasm for the festival, and for Machynlleth in particular, shone through.

"We've achieved something quite special, I think," he said. "The main thing for us is that we've achieved what we wanted - to create somewhere where comics actually want to play, to come and spend time.

"When you're at the festival you see the performers arriving on the Friday and some of them are still around when we're doing our wrap-up meeting with all the volunteers on the Monday!"

Many faces on the 2012 line-up will be familiar to previous audiences, with the likes of Elis James, Josie Long, Isy Suttie and Jon Richardson all having performed before at the festival.

Widdicombe said: "We do have a lot of returning people, with new shows, but I think we represent what we feel is exciting right now on the live comedy circuit and it would be a shame not to bring them back."

Josie Long, who returns to Machynlleth this weekend, performing at the 2011 festival. Photo: Ed Moore, Edshots

The Machynlleth Comedy Festival was born out of a desire to give comedy in Wales a wider base outside of the major cities of Cardiff, Swansea and Newport.

"We started running gigs in Brecon, Hay-on-Wye, Abergavenny in around 2008," said Widdicombe. "We wanted to do things outside of the cities, in rural areas, and I've been in love with Machynlleth for a long time; I love the mix of population in the community there. I'd always be there looking at the venue spaces they have in this tiny town, and I felt that something was waiting to happen there as it's such a glorious place.

"We looked at festivals we liked such as Green Man, Hay, Brecon Jazz - all of the small Welsh market towns. We got a small grant from Powys County Council in 2010, which meant that we had to pick a town in Powys but I would have picked it anyway! The plan was always for Machynlleth."

The festival enjoys a good relationship with the local businesses in the town, which Widdicombe calls 'a hidden gem' countless times during our chat.

As people buy individual tickets to the shows there's no accurate way of working out the official visiting figures, but he estimates that about 500 people turned up for the first event, 1,000 attended last year's festival and they're expecting 2,000 visitors this year. To put that into perspective, that's near enough the resident population of the town.

"Our stats do show that 50% have come from over 100 miles away, whereas a quarter have come from within 10 miles, so it's a nice mix of us bringing people into the area while also having the locals come to the show."

With its growing popularity you could easily envisage the festival losing the 'boutique' element and community feel, should the organisers choose to cash in with hiked ticket prices and more events crammed into the days. However, this doesn't register anywhere near Widdicombe's radar.

"What we've tried to do from the beginning is disassociate the process from the money. It's far more important for us to create something that's special, that people go to and feel that they've stumbled across something really amazing.

"I don't think we'll go beyond a certain number; we've no intention as a festival to keep putting tents in field and growing it to a massive scale, it's more about maintaining what is so good about it."

Elis James in 2011. Photo: Ed Moore, Edshots

Festival organisers are keen to start developing the family and children's events at the festival. This year they include a clown called George Orange with his show Man On The Moon plus James Acaster Babysits, a "festival highlight" according to Widdicombe.

I asked him for more for his festival highlights: "I look at the Saturday night line-up and you've got Isy Suttie, Jon Richardson, Jarred Christmas - you could go to any of those and have a wonderful time. But for me it's always about the really exciting acts that are breaking through that you might not have heard of yet. They're always the ones worth seeing.

"There's a sketch show called Sheeps who are incredible, James Acaster's new material has just blown me away and then there's people like David Trent and Nathaniel Metcalfe that are exciting emerging acts who are going to Edinburgh for their first year.

"I think it's far more exciting going away from a festival having found someone that you can get on board with early and watch their careers flourish."

The 2012 Machynlleth Comedy Festival runs this weekend, from Friday 4 May to Sunday 6 May. Visit machcomedyfest.co.uk for more details and for the latest ticket availability.

BBC Radio will be broadcasting from the event, with Radio Wales' Jamie and Louise live from the festival on Friday 4 May and Radio 4 Extra's Comedy Club also broadcasting from the festival.

Comics join forces for 'Comedy and Cwtshes' evening

2012-01-23T09:30:00+00:00

Wednesday sees St Dwynwen's Day in Wales, when the country's patron saint of lovers is honoured and people make their romantic intentions, requited or otherwise, known to one another.

Following that theme, on Friday comedian Phil Evans is hosting a night of stand-up involving seven other artists at the Pontardawe Arts Centre.

Comedian Phil Evans

The event is to raise money for the Follow Your Dreams charity, and support their work with children with learning disabilities throughout south Wales.

The charity raises awareness and helps young people with learning disabilities to realise their full potential or special dream within sport, art, music, drama and ICT. As they grow older, they are also helped on the road to a career and learn to prepare themselves for adulthood, with the aim of living independently and securing employment.

"It's a great cause and a great occasion," said Phil, who is a warm-up comedian for TV shows on BBC, S4C and ITV.

"St Dwynwen's Day is on 25 January, so we may be a couple of days later celebrating it, but better late than never. I've hand-picked a team of seven other Welsh comedians for this show, so laughs are guaranteed."

Joining him on stage will be other BBC names including reviewer and presenter Gary Slaymaker, BBC Radio Cymru presenter Daniel Glyn and actress and writer Eirlys Bellin.

Alan Wightman, Matt Steel, Geraint Evans and Ignacio Lopez will also bring their unique blends of comedy to the fore on the night.

The theme of the evening is 'relationships' which follows on from St Dwynwen's Day and it has a parental advisory of "mature content" so children under 16 will not be admitted.

Evans is adamant that the Welsh for hug should always be spelled cwtsh rather than cwtch.

The word is said to be one of the nation's favourites and has been adopted by many in the cross-over language of Wenglish, particularly popular in the south Wales valleys.

Comedy and Cwtshes is on Friday 27 January, 7pm to 9.30pm at the Pontardawe Arts Centre, Herbert Street, Pontardawe, Swansea.

Tickets are £10 and can be bought via boxoffice.npt.gov.uk.

Elis James' Pantheon of Heroes on BBC Radio Wales

2012-01-12T16:44:12+00:00

Welsh comedian Elis James hosts a brand new comedy show on BBC Radio Wales that examines some of Wales' forgotten historic heroes.

The premise of Elis James' Pantheon of Heroes, which starts tomorrow evening, is that Elis has been given a dubious grant - and a very hypothetical one at that - to populate a garden of heroes with granite statues of figures from Welsh history.

Each show in the series works out which Welsh hero should be immortalised, through a mixture of comedy sketches and stand-up material. Every programme will examine a number of candidates from Welsh history in a given topic area and, at the end, decide which will gain a coveted place in the garden.

Pantheon of Heroes is written by Gareth Gwynn, Elis James and Benjamin Partridge. Co-writers Elis and Ben star alongside fellow comedian Nadia Kamil in each show.

Pantheon of Heroes contributors Ben Partridge, Elis James and Nadia Kamil

In the first episode of the series Elis, Ben and Nadia consider legendary Welsh seafarers, including Prince Madoc, Swansea Jack and Jemima Nicholas.

Elis James' Pantheon of Heroes starts on Friday 13 January at 7pm on BBC Radio Wales, with a repeat on Saturday at 6.30pm. And if you miss both of those, you can also catch up on BBC iPlayer.

Plus tune in to the Jamie and Louise show tomorrow morning on Radio Wales as Elis joins the pair to give them an insight in to what the series has in store.

BBC Two pays tribute to John Howard Davies

2012-01-06T14:29:00+00:00

Acclaimed television executive John Howard Davies is being profiled in a special tribute on BBC Two tomorrow evening. John Howard Davies: A Life in Comedy will be followed by a night of programming dedicated to some of his best-loved works.

Davies first found fame as a child actor, landing the lead in David Lean's 1948 film Oliver Twist, before briefly pursuing a career as an actor. It was later, having completed military service and while working as a comedy producer and director, that he had a hand in some of the most well-loved and iconic British sitcoms, including Only Fools And Horses, The Goodies, Fawlty Towers, Monty Python, Yes Minister and Mr Bean.

John Howard Davies, pictured in 1983

Davies' comedy hits are well-known, but less so was his enthusiasm for his Welsh heritage. An accomplished rifle shooter, he had represented Wales and captained the national shooting team.

Although born in London, in an interview with Aled Jones for BBC Radio Wales he expressed his deep affection for Wales: "The whole lot of my family were Welsh... we were from north Wales but I was born in Paddington, so I can hardly call myself a proper Welshman in one sense, but I feel very Welsh when I go to Wales."

He descended from a long line of showbiz stock including his father, successful screenwriter Jack Davies, and his great great grandmother who, according to Davies, was the first woman to be shot out of a cannon.

Like so many English-born Welshmen before him, Davies confessed, "as soon as I cross that bridge, I'm afraid, a [Welsh] accent appears from absolutely nowhere," though he admitted it had an unfortunate tendency to "lurch into Pakistani."

Although never a household name, John Howard Davies has been recognised as a towering figure in British sitcom history. Tomorrow night's tribute sees him hailed by writers and performers including John Cleese, Rowan Atkinson and Richard Curtis as one of the masters of television comedy.

Watch John Howard Davies: A Life In Comedy on BBC Two Wales at 7.45pm tomorrow night, Saturday 7 January. Following the tribute there's the chance to watch some examples of his work, with episodes of The Good Life, Steptoe and Son and Fawlty Towers being shown, as well as an episode of Comedy Connections, which tells the inside story of Monty Python's Flying Circus. Browse the BBC Two online schedule for details.

Ask Rhod Gilbert gets a second series

2011-08-19T13:40:05+00:00

Comedy panel show Ask Rhod Gilbert has been recommissioned by the BBC for a second series. What's more, you have the chance of putting forward a question for Rhod and the panel to answer in the new series.

As it states in a post on the BBC Comedy blog:

We're looking for people to pose their questions to Rhod live from our studio audience. All questions are welcome, from the bizarre to the banal. We want questions that are unique to your life... the more original the better (nothing you might find on the internet already!).

Read more on the BBC Comedy blog about how you can pose your teaser to Rhod and the panel. Plus, listen to the Rhod Gilbert show on BBC Radio Wales each Saturday morning from 11am and download the latest podcast.

Aged 15-19? Fancy a free comedy workshop?

2011-07-14T13:58:46+00:00

Shortly after I'd published my last blog post about the Cardiff Comedy Festival, news of some free stand-up workshops for teenagers came our way at BBC Wales Arts towers.

A previous workshop event at the library. Photo: Cardiff Central Library

Photo: Cardiff Central Library

Cardiff Central Library have been in touch about free stand-up comedy skills workshops for 15-19-year-olds that they've organised in conjunction with the festival.

The workshops are running from Monday 18 July to Thursday 21 July, 11am-5pm at the library on The Hayes in the city centre.

It's completely free to join in, all you need to do is book a place on one of the days.

As well as learning essential stand up skills, confidence boosting techniques and comedy writing skills, there will also be the chance to perform to a live audience at a unique comedy show on Friday 22 July at 7pm.

If you're aged 15-19 and this sounds right up your street, contact the library on 029 2038 2116 for more details and to book yourself a place.

Cardiff Comedy Festival is underway

2011-07-14T10:54:00+00:00

The Cardiff Comedy Festival kicked off yesterday, with Ardal O'Hanlon opening the proceedings alongside Welsh stand-up Wes Packer and Matt Price.

Lloyd Langford

As the comedy fest runs until 30 July, in various venues right across the capital, there's still plenty to see.

There's a mixture of big established names as well as emerging talent on the line-up and a whole hatful of Edinburgh Fringe preview shows to choose between.

The likes of Phil Nichol, Rob Deering, Wil Hodgson, Jimmy McGhie and Welsh lads Lloyd Langford and Elis James will be testing their material before their journeys to the Scottish capital later this summer. (If you missed it, Elis blogged for us about his exploits at the Fringe last year.)

Other highlights of the Cardiff Comedy Festival include workshops for up and coming comedians and the Welsh Unsigned Stand-up Award Final. The semi-finals of the competition that aims to sniff out Wales' newest comedian take place this evening and on Friday evening at Nos Da in Riverside.

Elis James

There's also comedy theatre on offer at Chapter Arts Centre, including The Harri-Parris by Llinos Mai and Humanzee by Inkyquill Productions, which is a sequel to last year's successful comedy Death and the Monster.

The festival finale is also likely to impress. For a start it'll be hosted by Canadian stand-up Craig Campbell, who I thought was rather impressive when I saw him in Cardiff last year while he was supporting Frankie Boyle on his national tour. Craig was also wearing shorts at the tail end of October in Cardiff, which is something to be applauded.

The finale will also feature Richard Herring, Jason John Whitehead and Glenn Wool, as well as the winner of the Welsh Unsigned Stand-Up award.

Visit www.cardiffcomedy.co.uk for the latest information and for details on who's on the line-up.