WJEC brings translated plays to a global audience

WJEC is pleased to announce that a new suite of texts commissioned by WJEC to support our GCSE and GCE specifications will include translations by leading Welsh playwright Daf James. They include a Welsh-language translation of his own innovative play Heritage, as well as his translation of Alison Carr’s play, Tuesday.

Both texts were commissioned and edited by WJEC’s team, working closely alongside Daf James to enable students to study these plays through the medium of Welsh and English.

This work reflects the ongoing commitment of WJEC to invest in the provision of bilingual materials to all secondary schools and colleges in Wales. In all, over 30 Welsh-language adaptations of classical and modern plays by playwrights such as Brecht, Chekhov, Dennis Potter and David Hare have been commissioned over recent years leading to digital and print publications. In addition, WJEC is pleased to announce that global publisher, Nick Hern Books, is managing the print publication of Tuesday, which will be published as a single publication in both languages, as with previous collaborations with prominent publishers Faber and Faber and Methuen Bloomsbury, offering the Welsh translations a platform to a global market.

Commenting on this significant project is Mari Watkin, Editorial Manager at WJEC: ‘It’s been such a privilege to work closely with someone of Daf James’ calibre. These projects with mainstream authors and publishers really are a feather in WJEC’s cap. Knowing that the Welsh language will be available to readers worldwide within the same covers as the English play as a result of WJEC’s support and funding, is a great source of pride.’

Daf James, Welsh playwright shared his enthusiasm on this project: ‘'I’m so pleased that WJEC had the vision to commission these translations. I’m grateful that ‘Heritage’, which was originally written in English for National Theatre Connections, is now available in the Welsh language; but also to have had the opportunity to work on Alison Carr’s brilliant play, ‘Tuesday’. As a passionate advocate of Welsh-language drama as well as work for young people, it is politically significant to me that this text is now available globally.’

These texts, alongside 13 additional plays, will enable students to tackle a wide range of themes, including LGBTQ+ and ethnicity and many more, through the medium of Welsh and English.

For further information, please contact Jonathan Thomas, PR Manager at WJEC: Jonathan.thomas@wjec.co.uk and 029 2026 5102.

Play synopsis

Heritage by Daf James
The play was commissioned as part of the 2014 National Theatre Connections programme. It is May Day in the village of Northbridge, and a group of children gathers in an open enclosure, but surrounded by an electric fence and security system. Ostensibly they are there to rehearse their performance of the village anthem while, out of sight, the adults participate in the traditional, if dubious-sounding, May Day festivities (the 'Dance of the Horned Goat'). It gradually becomes clear, however, that this group of misfits has been corralled for very different reasons.

Tuesday by Alison Carr
An ordinary Tuesday turns really, really weird when the sky over the school playground suddenly rips open. Pupils and teachers are sucked up to a parallel universe, whilst a new set of people start raining down from above. ‘Us’ and ‘Them’ must come together to work out what is going on, and how they can  get things back to how they were.