Description
Book SynopsisThis is the first book-length study in English of Gwenlyn Parry (1932-91), the Welsh writer best known for his major stage plays, including Saer Doliau, Y Twr, and Panto, as well as his works for television and film, such as the soap opera Pobol y Cwm, the sitcom Fo a Fe, and the cult BBC TV film Grand Slam. Roger Owen takes into consideration the scope and variety of Parry’s work, which often dwells on a despairing and solitary search for meaning in existence. He reveals Parry as a writer whose theatrical vision was both facilitated and impeded by his dedication to the spoken dialect of his native Arfon and whose work mediated between the extremes in his life and work: the personal and private, absurdism and populism.
Trade ReviewThis book is a great success in introducing Gwenlyn Parry to a new audience: an audience which is not conversant with the original plays. One can only regret that it was not available in Welsh first, as there is only one full critical examination of Parry's work available in that language, Dewi Z. Phillips's Gwenlyn Parry. Roger Owen's is the most sophisticated critical guide to Gwenlyn Parry's work in any language, and it should be read by anyone - whether familiar with his work or not. John Rowlands A review from www.gwales.com, with the permission of the Welsh Books Council.
Table of Contents1. 'Llanbabo it is to us and Llanbabo it will remain': Early Life 2. 'God help me, I cannot escape from this': Three Short Plays 3. 'A kind of self-therapy': Saer Doliau 4. 'A revolution ...where one man takes over the empire of the other': Ty ar y Tywod 5. 'A Welsh Tom and Jerry': Fo a Fe and Y Ffin 6. 'In the middle of the seventies experience': Pobol y Cwm and Grand Slam 7. 'They will also argue and fight and talk about their fear of death etc.': Y Twr 8. 'You know who's in the balance?: Sal 9. 'Any bloody fool can play dame': Panto 10. 'Everything will be fine now, you'll see': Later Life
