Yesterday (Tuesday, 28 May), it was announced that Alys Hedd Jones from Cardiff is the winner of the 2024 Eisteddfod yr Urdd Maldwyn Drama Medal.
This year the competitors were required to write a play or monologue suitable for performance for any medium for no more than two actors, and no longer than 15 minutes. According to the judges, Angharad Lee and Sarah Bickerton, tens of plays were received, with “each one having potential” and choosing the top three “a very difficult task.”
Alys is 17 years old and studying Literature, Drama, Sociology and French A-Levels at Ysgol Gyfun Gymraeg Bro Edern. She has a strong interest in theatre and music, and she enjoys writing, acting, singing and composing. Here winning drama ‘Amserlen’ is a story about two friends who have fallen out, and about a decision that would change their lives forever.
The judges said: “This is an intimate play that encouraged us to keep reading from the very beginning. The dialogue is catchy, brilliant with a simple but theatrical concept that manages to capture the pain and the impossible task of letting go of the past. It explores something so complex in an intimate and heartfelt way.”
Second in the competition was Annell Dyfri from Llangynnwr, and Alaw Jones from Llanbedr Pont Steffan in third place.
Alys will be given the opportunity to spend some time with Theatr Genedlaethol Cymru and receive further training with the BBC.
Alys received a special medal created by jeweller Rhiannon from Tregaron. The drama Medal has been donated by Menna and family in memory of Meinir Wyn Jones, former Urdd Maldwyn organiser.
Alys’s work will be published by Cyhoeddiadau’r Stamp Publications immediately after the ceremony. It will be available to buy in pamphlet format at the Eisteddfod or from local bookshops across Wales. Annell and Alaw’s plays along with the full adjudication will be published on the Urdd’s website by the end of the day.
