Gwyl Nos - A Mediaeval Tale

About the Show

Gwyl Nos is a semi dramatic piece for 20 instrumentalists and singers including violins, percussion, bass, keyboard and Welsh pipes. It is dramatically narrated by costumed story-teller Cliff Eastabrook who, with me, wrote beautiful alliterative prose to complement the mediaeval text we used. It also features a clog dancer. It was inspired by a passage by the 8^th century monk, the Venerable Bede, in which he likens the span of human life to the flight of a sparrow across a banqueting hall during a mid-winter feast.

The piece operates on four timelines: the brief flight of the bird itself, the evening of feasting and celebration, a human lifespan and the historical period between the 7^th and 8^th centuries in which Christianity was introduced to the early Celts. It is thus about the shortness of life and the importance of dancing in the moment.

Gwyl Nos means both 'Night Festival' in Welsh and also has a pagan meaning, which is a midwinter celebration of the dead and can be loosely translated as 'Day of Lamentations'.

It was first performed in Llandeilo in 2007, and has been performed 5 times since. As a spectacular show it is suitable for festivals, mediaeval pageants and story-telling based events.

A CD is available, please see contacts and links. Fee on request.