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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...

One hundred people’s ninth favourite thing: [title of show] @swkplay


[title of show] takes you back to a time before the fast paced social media where word of mouth for a positive show came from chat boards, video diaries or (god forbid) blogs. A simple staging makes it an ideal (and economical piece to stage), but it’s sweet and earnest take on just putting on a show, and putting it out there and taking a chance gives this show its heart. With a strong and energetic cast and endless musical theatre references, it’s hard to resist and it’s currently playing at the Southwark Playhouse. 

It opens with Hunter (Jacob Fowler) and Jeff (Thomas Oxley) as struggling young writers in New York City. An upcoming New York Musical Theatre festival, inspires them to write an original musical within three weeks to make the deadline. As they discuss ideas, writers block, distractions and endless other good and bad musicals, an idea for a show emerges. Which is about writing a show for a musical theatre festival. 


Their friends Heidi (Abbie Budden) and Susan (Mary Moore) are enlisted to help with ideas, songs and struggles. Heidi is a broadway actress who missed out on an understudy role as she was too small for the lead’s costume. Susan has taken an office job as the opportunities in theatre were passing her by.

As the show makes it to the festival and goes on to off-Broadway and then Broadway the struggles for their creative team. What do they need to change, do they need to get a star to cast. It’s low stakes stuff and dramatically feels a bit lightweight. But the likability of the leads and the ingenious simplicity of the piece - with a little more than four chairs and a piano on stage - holds interest. And also because it charts the real-life struggles of the creative team behind the original idea. 

There’s a song about the team wanting to be nine people’s favourite thing rather than one hundred people’s ninth favourite thing. I’m probably with the hundred people but given there’s a lot of theatre out there to see... that’s not a bad feat either.

Directed by Christopher D Clegg and music direction on the piano  by Tom Chippendale, [title of show] is at the Southwark Playhouse until 30 November. 

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Photos by Danny Kaan




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