THIS year, T. Llew Jones, arguably Wales's best children's author, celebrates his 90th birthday, and his work is as relevant as ever. Testimony to this is the fact that Arad Goch Theatre Company have chosen to adapt one of his books - Lleuad yn Olau (One Moonlit Night) for their summer show and which visits the Torch Theatre, Milford Haven, on June 21. The show, which is specifically aimed at seven to 11-year-olds, is directed by Jeremy Turner and the cast will be familiar faces to audiences who have seen previous shows by Arad Goch - Ffion Wyn Bowen, Rhiannon Morgan, Owain Llyr Edwards, Eifion Dafydd and Iwan Charles. Without doubt, T. Llew is an excellent stor- teller and Lleuad yn Olau is full of great tales that will delight both children and adults. There are fairies and giants, witches and magic, and people too. Some of the stories are unique to Wales, others are similar to stories from other cultures and countries, but all are part of our inheritance and our consciousness. With all these ingredients, it is little wonder these stories have stood the test of time. Four stories will feature in the production - 'Clustiau March' (The King's Secret), 'Y Fuwch ar y To' (The Cow on the Roof), 'Sion a'r Pastwn Hud' (The Bee, the Club and the Music-Box) and the story that gives the book its title - 'Lleuad yn Olau' (One Moonlit Night). Lleuad yn Olau is a story about dancing with fairies. It is the story of Guto, the tailor, who, walking home to Llandysul one moonlit night a very long time ago, comes across the large standing stone at Banc-y-Ffordd which makes him very happy as he knows, having reached this point, he will soon be home - or so he thinks. His journey in fact takes him a whole century! And why? Because he ventured into the fairies' secret circle... When he recovers, the world has changed, and he has changed too. When he danced with the fairies he was a young man of 20, now he is old with a long white beard. The people he knew in Llandysul have long gone, and the village has grown and changed. There is almost no one left who still believes in the 'little people', but Guto stands on Llandysul bridge gazing into the water and tells his strange tale to anyone prepared to stop and listen. You can join T. Llew Jones's magical world on Midsummer's Eve in a performance at the Torch Theatre, Milford Haven, on Tuesday, June 21, at 1.30 pm. Tickets (£3.50) are available from the theatre's box office on 01646 695267.
