Mr Jones

Aberfan, South Wales, 21 October 1966. One of Wales’ darkest days.

Self-proclaimed rugby prodigy Mr Jones has just made the kick of his life. As he boasts to local nurse Angharad Price, 150,000 tonnes of coal careen down the hillside towards Pantglas Junior School…

Blending drama, poetry, verbatim and first-hand accounts, Mr Jones revisits the harrowing events of the 1966 disaster, when a coal waste tip engulfed the village of Aberfan, claiming the lives of 144 people – including 116 children.

Combining a tender love story, rich Valleys humour, and the haunting presence of what was lost, Mr Jones is a poignant and honest portrait of a community irrevocably changed by tragedy, in a universal tale of resilience, heartbreak, and hope.

Mr Jones is the debut work of Welsh actor and playwright Liam Holmes. Born and raised just a few miles from Aberfan, “As a writer and actor who grew up near Aberfan, I witnessed first-hand the generational trauma carried by those affected,” says Holmes. “The impact of the disaster is still deeply rooted in the town. I felt compelled to tell the often-forgotten stories of my community.”