From Swansea to the Senedd: Lloyd George show marches on

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Swansea University Professor D.J.Britton’s acclaimed stage play The Wizard the Goat and the Man Who Won the War is to be given a special performance at the Senedd in Cardiff Bay to mark the centenary of David Lloyd George becoming the first Welsh Prime Minister of the United Kingdom.

The Wizard the Goat and the Man Who won the War It will be presented to an invited audience at the Senedd on January 11, following other memorial performances at the Lloyd George museum in Llanystumdwy, Gwynedd, and at the National Liberal Club in London.

However, south Wales audiences have an opportunity to see the show before then, with public performances at the Taliesin Arts Centre, Swansea University, on November 10 and at Gartholwg community theatre on November 11.

The play features BAFTA-winning actor Richard Elfyn as Lloyd George (left). Since his first performance in the role, Elfyn has made a speciality of playing major political figures. Richard has just finished playing acid-tongued Welsh First Minister Meirion Llywelyn, in the second series of the S4C political drama Byw Celwydd, and his return to portraying Lloyd George comes during a break in filming the much-heralded Netflix production The Crown, in which he plays Conservative Chancellor of the Exchequer Selwyn Lloyd.

His performance, and the show itself, have had glowing reviews throughout the country.

The South Wales Evening Post described it as: “The most intelligent, absorbing and moving piece of theatre I have seen for years, thanks to a superb script and an electrifying performance.” Whilst the Western Mail commented: “Elfyn’s performance is a veritable tour de force, managing to capture the essence of the man in a wholly convincing and persuasive manner….Punctuated with moments of poignancy and eloquence, this is a well-paced and wholly involving work in which Elfyn lends a mercurial quality to the figure of Lloyd George.”

The script, production and the research process through which it was developed was also a major contributor to the success of Swansea University’s English and Creative Writing programme in the 2014 Research Excellency Framework ratings. The Wizard project helped Swansea to gain the highest possible rating for research impact in English and Creative Writing.

For tickets to the Taliesin Arts Centre performance on November 10, click here.