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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...

Film: The Science of Sleep



Thursday evening while trying to get over some weird head cold I picked up this week I caught The Science of Sleep went with Mandy, who also had a cold. It was a bit of a trippy film that we both wondered whether we should have been under the influence of something stronger than pseudoephedrine hydrochloride to enjoy it. At various points we looked at each other in the film and asked whether the characters were on drugs.

Still it was quite an enjoyable and fun tale, with some very imaginative set pieces with the two leads. There was also full frontal nudity of Gael García Bernal which is always good for the punters... I also appreciated his bad haircut and quirky beanies, even if I wasn't convinced that he was supposed to be this timid dreamer (he is too charismatic for that)...

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