Swansea born West End director, Sean Mathias, returns to the city to direct one of his early plays for the 50th anniversary. A Prayer for Wings, set in Swansea, is making its debut city appearance at Volcano Theatre from 9 – 13 July in a co-production with Swansea Grand Theatre.
[aoa id=”1″]Under the direction of Joan Plowright, the play won a Fringe First Award for its debut in Edinburgh in 1985 and earned Mathias a nomination for Most Promising Playwright. Sean has since gone on to become an award winning director of international repute and has recently directed Sir Ian McKellen’s current theatre tour. A Prayer for Wings will be the first time he has directed his own work for more than three decades.[/aoa]
A Prayer For Wings is the story of a mother and daughter, Rita and Mam, who’ve got no other family and live in poverty in a disused church in central Swansea. Mam is suffering from multiple sclerosis and Rita is her daughter, minder, keeper. She’s been her carer since she was ten years old. She dreams of a better life, with a wonderful man, in another country – possibly America, so she starts to give sexual favours in return for cash – and that’s the juxtaposition of the play – this debilitating illness against this girl’s hope.
With an extremely talented all Welsh cast comprising Llinos Daniel, Alis Wyn Davies and Luke Rhodri, A Prayer for Wings, is a compelling piece of theatre and its themes still resonate strongly today. Mathias says;
“South Wales deserves a theatre for itself, as the musicality of the language is unique, and the wit is second to none. The new National theatre of Wales director needs to use more Welsh talent to create more local work that has international appeal and that will attract investment into the country and sustain Swansea’s theatre scene.”
A Prayer for Wings is one of three plays this year to be co-produced by Swansea Grand Theatre to commemorate the city 50th anniversary and celebrate the different facets of City life.
Tickets are £15.00 and are available from Swansea Grand Theatre’s Box Office on 01792 475715 or at www.swanseagrand.co.uk
