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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...

Death becomes her: A Brief List Of Everyone Who Died @finborough


For a natural process, death is not a topic that comes up naturally for people. We ask how people are doing but expect the response to be “I’m great”, not “I’m not dead yet”. And so for the main character in A Brief List of Everyone Who Died, Graciela has a death issue. Starting with when she was five and found out only after the matter that her parents had her beloved dog euthanised. So Graciela decides that nobody she loves will die from then on. And so this piece becomes a fruitless attempt at how she spends her life trying to avoid death while it is all around her. It’s currently having its world premiere  at the Finborough Theatre.


As the play title suggests, it is a brief list of life moments where death and life intervene for the main character, from the passing of relatives, cancer, suicides, accidents and the loss of parents. Playwright Jacob Marx Rice plots the critical moments of the lives of these characters through their passing or the passing of those around them. However, it’s done with touches of humour and tenderness. Over 90 minutes, the fragments come together as a thoughtful, if at times, emotional journey. 

The cast is particularly engaging as they move between playing family members, lovers and other characters in the life of Graciela. Vivia Font, as Graciela, is lively and engaging as she captures the different life stages of our main character. Siphiwo Mahlentle stands out as two characters - first, her lost best friend, and later her wise adopted son.

Exploring the inevitable stage of life may not be for everyone’s taste. There was even an audience member letting out a death-rattling scene which I initially mistook for being part of the show since members of the cast sit in the audience. However, it is a reflective and thoughtful exploration of life and death. Although it might even be a tad optimistic about the longevity of the characters given current life expectancy rates.

A Brief List of Everyone Who Died is directed by Alex Howarth at the Finborough Theatre until 10 June. Check the website for post show discussions on 3 and 8 June as well.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️


Photos by Philm



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