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The Green, Green Grass of Home: Mr Jones An Aberfan Story - Finborough Theatre

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A life of hope and promise, interrupted, lies at the heart of Mr Jones: an Aberfan Story. The play follows two young people in Aberfan before and after the disaster that killed 144 people, including 116 children. It’s an emotional coming-of-age tale of intersecting lives, family, love, and the shock of tragedy. With two vivid performances and strong characterisations, you feel immersed in 1960s Welsh small-town life. It’s now running at the Finborough Theatre , after performances at the Edinburgh Festival and across Wales.  The Aberfan disaster is well known in the UK but perhaps less so elsewhere. The facts of the tragedy are confined to the programme notes rather than in the piece. On 21 October 1966, the catastrophic collapse of a colliery spoil tip on a mountain above Aberfan engulfed a local school, killing many. The play avoids the causes and negligence, instead focusing on those working and building lives in the town.  Writer-performer Liam Holmes plays Stephen Jones, a...

Smoking previews: Aaron Kasmin, Lucky Strike @sims_reed


Opening Sims Reed Gallery’s 2016 programme is an exhibition of chalk pencil drawings by artist Aaron Yasmin.

Known for his abstract paintings and elegant colour pencil drawings, in Lucky Strike Yasmin takes inspiration from American cultural history to create a series of striking images.

Taking inspiration from Lion Match Company’s mid-twentieth century feature matchbooks, these drawings reflect the rise of America’s consumer culture and how small matchbooks were used as tools to influence purchasing habits.

The drawings evoke a glitzy bygone era... When smoking was so glamorous.


Aaron Kasmin was born in London in 1963 and studied at Chelsea School of Art. Known for his still-life drawings and abstract paintings, Kasmin is intrigued by the concepts of composition, scale, size and colour.

The exhibiton runs at Sims Reed Gallery through to 5 February.




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