{"id":431489,"date":"2025-09-17T15:49:12","date_gmt":"2025-09-17T15:49:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/431489\/"},"modified":"2025-09-17T15:49:12","modified_gmt":"2025-09-17T15:49:12","slug":"edinburgh-fringe-award-winning-play-cyn-comes-to-caerphilly","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/431489\/","title":{"rendered":"Edinburgh Fringe award winning play Cyn comes to Caerphilly"},"content":{"rendered":"

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\"\"Seren Davies, centre, with the team behind Cyn<\/p>\n

A play that started as a university dissertation before winning an award at this year\u2019s Edinburgh Fringe Festival is returning to its roots this weekend \u2013 with a performance at Caerphilly Miners\u2019 Centre.<\/p>\n

Cyn, co-created by director and writer Seren Davies from Caerphilly, tells the story of life in the South Wales Valleys after the decline of the coal industry. <\/p>\n

Set in a valleys pub in 1995, Cyn \u2013 which is Welsh for \u2018before\u2019 \u2013 combines live music, audience participation, and poignant storytelling to explore the impact of pit closures on Welsh communities.<\/p>\n

Seren told Caerphilly Observer<\/a>: \u201cIt started as our dissertation piece and then it went to Edinburgh, and now we\u2019re bringing it back to the valleys \u2013 the place that inspired its creation.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think it\u2019ll be really heartfelt here, because people can really relate to the story and see the effects in person around these areas.\u201d<\/p>\n

The English-language performance will be held on Sunday September 21, with the first show starting at 3pm, and the second at 7pm<\/p>\n

\"SerenSeren Davies in Edinburgh during the Fringe FestivalFrom classroom project to Fringe award<\/strong><\/p>\n

Seren, who studied English and Theatre at the University of Warwick, worked with writer Sam Rees, from Seven Sisters in the Dulais Valley \u2013 and musical director Jed Kain, from South Africa \u2013 to create the play.<\/p>\n

\u201cSam and I both wanted to do something Welsh right off the cuff, because we were the only two Welsh people in our year group.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe both had separate ideas that we brought together, and they were both coincidentally about the mining communities in the valleys \u2013 so we brought them together.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sam and Jed star in the play alongside fellow performer Charlie Muskett, while Seren plays a barmaid.<\/p>\n

The show includes live music performed by trumpeter Ethan Delcroix and cellist Caitlyn Bailey.<\/p>\n

Also involved in the performance is tech operator Freya Bradshaw and marketing designer Ellyn Kendall.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe all met together at Warwick,\u201d Seren explained. \u201cThree of us worked together to do it as a dissertation piece, and then the others were students that we pulled in from different places. We pulled in the musicians from the folk society bands.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re all from different year groups in Warwick, so some of us have graduated, but some of us are going back.\u201d<\/p>\n

Cyn centres on Emyr, a 24-year-old grappling with the legacy of the closure of the mines in his community.<\/p>\n

\"CynCyn will be performed at Caerphilly Miners\u2019 Centre on September 21<\/p>\n

As part of their writing, Seren and her group interviewed people who experienced the Miners\u2019 Strike and spoke to them about how their communities changed following the pit closures.<\/p>\n

Originally an hour-and-a-half piece, Cyn was adapted to fit the shorter one-hour slots at the Edinburgh Fringe. However, audiences in Caerphilly will be treated to the full 90-minute performance.<\/p>\n

Performing in a 40-seat venue at the Fringe Festival, the production played to full audiences \u2013 and their hard work was recognised when the play went on to win the Fringe Theatre Award.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn the first performance, we were all shaking, but it went really well,\u201d Seren said. \u201cThen as the week went on, we got into the swing of things. By the end, we were all really excited and we had reviewers come in and review the show, and we managed to get loads of four-star reviews, which was great.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

The show features covers of songs from Max Boyce, who personally gave permission for his music to be used.<\/p>\n

\"TheThe stars of the show in Edinburgh during the Fringe FestivalHomecoming<\/strong><\/p>\n

After successful runs in Warwick and Edinburgh, the play is embarking on a short Welsh tour. Following a sold-out performance in Onllwyn, near Seven Sisters, this Saturday, Cyn will be staged at Caerphilly Miners\u2019 Centre on Sunday.<\/p>\n

Seren believes the show will resonate strongly with local audiences.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe play is about this grief for the loss of community and the loss of the environment that once was in the valleys,\u201d she said. \u201cIt\u2019s just beautiful to see how the audience can be a collective in this play. They\u2019re united as an audience watching this play, and that\u2019s what we aim to do.\u201d<\/p>\n

With further plans to tour across south Wales in November \u2013 and the possibility of a bigger UK tour next year \u2013 Cyn looks set to continue growing. But for Seren, this homecoming show carries a special significance.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve sold out 180 seats in Onllwyn already,\u201d she said. \u201cI really hope Caerphilly turns out too.\u201d<\/p>\n

Visit Eventbrite<\/a> to get tickets for performance in Caerphilly. <\/p>\n

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Become a member today<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

Seren Davies<\/p>\n

Seren Davies<\/p>\n

Seren Davies<\/p>\n

Seren Davies<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Support quality, independent, local journalism\u2026that mattersFrom just \u00a31 a month you can help fund our work \u2013 and…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":431490,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8816],"tags":[748,69752,146813,146814,1102,4884,85081,712,2764,16,15],"class_list":{"0":"post-431489","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-edinburgh","8":"tag-britain","9":"tag-caerphilly","10":"tag-caerphilly-miners-centre","11":"tag-cyn","12":"tag-edinburgh","13":"tag-great-britain","14":"tag-miners-strike","15":"tag-scotland","16":"tag-theatre","17":"tag-uk","18":"tag-united-kingdom"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/115220434335813350","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/431489","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=431489"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/431489\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/431490"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=431489"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=431489"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=431489"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}