The Emyr and Elwyn Story Episode 06
1983 – 1985
The Response to the First Series and Future Plans
The series was broadcast on S4C at 8 o'clock every Monday night from January 31st until March 7th, 1983. The reaction of the press was mixed, The Welsh language weekly, “The Welshman” (Y Cymro) thought it was great, however, “The Banner” (Y Faner) thought it was disappointing. S4C's response was favourable, we received a phone call from Euryn Ogwen-Williams, the controller of Programmes, inviting us to submit a budget for a second series.
Encouraged by the popularity of the first series of “Galw Gari”, we decided to release an album containing all six parodies, the “Galw Gari” theme and a selection of the stand-up routines.
The scheduling of the film segments of “Galw Gari 2”, continued throughout the spring of 1983. The filming began during the summer months. The autumn was particularly busy because S4C had also asked us to produce a Christmas show.
1984
A Series 3 Parody: "The Scotsman"
During the summer of 1984, several meetings were held with the S4C commissioners. On July 3rd, a number of ideas were discussed, including another series of Galw Gari, a new series similar to "Candid Camera" or, "Game for a Laugh", and a series of programs similar to the Christmas show intended to be shown on celebrations holidays in Wales such as St David's Day, St Dwynwen's Day and Easter Monday.
The decisions on what Cwmni'r Castell would produce in 1985 came surprisingly quickly following that meeting. Galw Gari 4 was not going to happen but they liked the idea of the celebration shows, so three would happen in 1985, Easter Monday, Christmas Day, New Year's Eve and one for St Dwynwen Day in 1986. It was a mix of good and bad news. Emyr was disappointed about the decision not to commission a fourth series of Galw Gari but he was fairly happy about the celebration shows. But, within a week, news came through from Bangor to cheer up Emyr and me, the Arts Council of Wales wanted another Welsh pantomime. We were both asked to attend a meeting in Bangor, with Gruff Jones, Mari Gwilym, Susan Waters. and Gwynfryn Davies.
It was nice to see familiar faces from the early days of the pantos again. Gwynfryn and Susan were appointed Production Managers for the company created by the Arts Council of Wales, "Panto 85". Gruff, Emyr and Mari were responsible for the script of the panto and I had the job of writing the music. Once again, Theatr Clwyd would take care of the administration and salaries. The deadline for submitting the script and booking the actors was mid to late September. Emyr and I collaborated on the songs throughout August. It was a busy month because we were also working on the parodies for "Galw Gari 3".
Our priorities changed in September because we needed to record and film the parodies before recording the multi-camera pieces with a live audience at Aberconwy Centre, Llandudno. In the first two series of "Galw Gari" the parodies were performed in front of the live audience. For series 3, Emyr decided that the songs would appear stronger if they were shot on location.
The guest artists for "Galw Gari 3" had also been selected. They were a refreshing mix of talented singers including the duo, "Traedwadin" (Dylan and Neville), Caryl Parry-Jones, Marged Esli, Marian Roberts, Sian Thomas, Rene Griffith (from Patagonia), Rosalind and Myrddin.
The weekly duet with the guest artist was introduced in the second series and Emyr wanted this to continue in "Galw Gari 3". An entertaining mix of contemporary songs was suggested by the guests and Emyr. Among them, are "Save Your Love" with Marged Esli, and "Baby it's Cold Outside" with Sian Thomas, the presenter of the Weather. We recorded the parodies at the beginning of October and filmed them the following week starting October 8th. All the songs had been recorded by the end of October. This left enough time for us to finish writing the songs for Panto 85 during the first two weeks of November before recording the live material in front of an audience at Aberconwy Centre, Llandudno during the week starting November 19th.
Of the three "Galw Gari" series, the third was the most ambitious and possibly the most successful. The selection of guests brought a fresh feel to each weekly episode and the duos also enabled Emyr to cut down on the "stand-up", the element that was most difficult to maintain quality.
On Monday, 26th November, while Elwyn started working on editing "Galw Gari 3", Emyr and I started rehearsals on Panto 85, which by now had the title, "Rwj Raj". The script was completed and the songs were written. The actors were also cast. And they were an interesting and varied bunch. Gari and Mari were the main characters, they were supported by John Pierce Jones as Twm Dic, a local farmer. Olwen Medi was Mari the Nurse. The lovers were Tom Richmond (Dafydd Dafis) and Betsan Llwyd and the two evil characters were Sian Wheldon as the Blue Witch and Wyn Bowen Harries as Tony Twyll, his servant.
The rehearsals went well, the actors developed their characters and learned the songs very quickly. The technical run took place just before Christmas and the panto opened on December 27th. It always amazes me how much influence the audience has on a pantomime performance. The audience's reaction draws something extra out of the actor. And not only the individual but also the relationship between the actors. This happened with Emyr and John. Over the course of the tour their understanding and comedic timing developed so well, it was a pleasure to see them working together and with the audience. A similar relationship also developed between Wyn Bowen Harries and Sian Wheldon.
The critic, Gwen Jones, agreed in her review in the January 15th edition of "Y Cymro", "The acting was good throughout. At the top of my list was Mari Gwilym who was excellent as Neli, the wizard's wife, and Gari Williams was also funny as Nigel the Wacky Wizard. John Pierce Jones was also particularly good as Twm-Dic the farmer, especially in the parts where he and Gari were together on stage. "The Blue Witch, Sian Wheldon was also extremely effective with her unfaithful servant, Tony Tywyll (Wyn Bowen Harries)".
1985
Another Series 3 Parody: "On a Slow Boat to China"
After a week at Theatr Gwynedd in Bangor, we began a tour of Wales ending in Llanelli on February 22nd. While Emyr and I were on tour, Elwyn had been busy setting up the first of the Band Holiday Specials. This was due to be broadcast on Easter Monday. The first recording sessions were at the Sain Studio on the 11th of March with guests Johnny Tudor, Sonia Jones and the Gregory Brothers. The multi-camera recordings took place with a live audience on Friday and Saturday, the 21st and 22nd of March at Aberconwy Centre, Llandudno.
Returning to Colwyn Bay, I found Elwyn facing a new challenge. S4C had been in touch and wanted us to solve a problem for them. They had commissioned a Welsh language version of the popular Channel 4 programme, "Treasury Hunt". In the program, a team of two must solve clues found in different locations that will ultimately lead them to the treasure. The Welsh version followed the same format apart from one clue, that clue would lead the hunter to a location on the grounds of the Royal Welsh Show in Builth Wells. In the English version, the hunter was Anneka Rice, in the Welsh version, it was Sioned Mair. Although it was a good idea to shoot the sequence live on the grounds of the Royal Welsh Show, the practical logistics had not been thought through. There had to be a camera crew at different locations on the showground every day ready to record the action. That was no problem, just make sure you have a camera crew on the correct site each day of the show. But that would mean having to pay them for a full day's work, even though they were only going to be working for about a quarter of an hour each day. A "Treasure Hunt" helicopter with Sioned on board will arrive at the showground every day at exactly 2:30 in the afternoon, so we will have to find something for the crew to do every morning.
Fortunately, the solution was provided by Elwyn. The idea was to create a series of musical programs featuring popular choirs and individual artists presented by Emyr at the Royal Welsh Show. To the viewer, it will appear that the entire program has been recorded at the show, but only the Emyr's presentations would be recorded there. The performances would be recorded in the autumn in two locations, Theatr Seilo in Caernarfon and Theatr Felinfach near Lampeter. The business of presenting the performances so far in advance was complicated. Decisions on the content of each of the six programs had to be made long before recording. It was also necessary to liaise closely with all the artists.
Emyr's presentations were recorded on the three days of the show on July 22nd, 23rd and 24th. Then in September, Theatr the Siloh items were recorded on the 5th, 6th and 7th and the Theatr Felinfach items on the 20th, 21st and 22nd. Elwyn chose the artists, they were a mixture of soloists such as Tom Bryniog, Eirian Owen and Bob Roberts, Henllan and choral parties such as Hogiau'r Dwylan, Côr Telyn Teilo and Côr Rhianedd Môn. The series was broadcast every Monday night at 6-30 pm from November 4th until December 9th. The viewing figures were very good, we were told that we reached the top of the top ten on several occasions. A happy ending to a very unusual project.
As soon as we completed the work at Theatr Felinfach on Sunday, September 22nd, we were back in Colwyn Bay and "Gari's Bank Holidays". There were three left to complete, the Christmas show, the New Year's celebration and Saint Dwynwen Day. At our first meeting, the priority was to decide on the guest artists. for the Christmas show, Emyr was keen to invite our old friends Tony and Aloma, in addition to the duo, the Ruthin Youth Choir were also guests, For the New Year's Eve programme, the guests were the band, Bwchadanas and an old friend, Sue Roderick.
The program to celebrate Saint Dwynwen presented us with a very special challenge, we needed an item from a husband and wife who had been married for a long time to sing a duet. After quite a bit of thinking, the names of Phyllis Kinney and Meredydd Evans came to my mind, as well as the song, "I Remember It Well", from the film, "GiGi". It's a duet where an elderly couple remember past romantic events but unfortunately, the male partner's memory is poor and the woman has to correct his memory lapses. It's a clever and funny song. I can't remember who wrote the Welsh translation, I might be wrong, but I think it was John Gwilym Jones.
Phyllis Kinney and Meredydd Evans
I called Phyllis and she agreed, as did Mered, of course. The song went down particularly well with the live audience on the night as well as the audience at home on Sunday night, January 26th, 1986, which was the day after the Saint Dwynwen Festival.
Was the series of “Gari’s Bank Holidays” successful? It's hard to be sure. I don't recall seeing any reviews in the press. When we met with the commissioners to discuss 1986, there were some polite references to Christmas and New Year programmes, but no real enthusiasm.
In Episode 07, "The Holiday" "Rargian Fawr" and "Chwedlau Jogars"
