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Robin Soans

• Publisher: Oberon Books
• Year: 2015
• Print ISBN: 9781783192106
• eBook ISBN: 9781783197095
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Media & Performing Arts
• Subtopic: British Drama

On the eve of one of the most important games of his career, Welsh rugby legend Gareth Thomas received a warning: The Sun newspaper was going to 'out' him as gay.This is the story of two Welsh names bruised, but not beaten, by media speculation: Gareth 'Alfie' Thomas,100 caps for Wales, now one of the world's most prominent gay sportsmen; and his hometown,Bridgend, itself a victim of tabloid intrusion following the deaths ofseveral young residents.Working with Alfie himself, and young people in Bridgend, Robin Soans joins forces with some of the UK's most exciting theatre companies to tell a great story about sport, politics, secrets, life and learning to be yourself.

PART ONE

ALFIE. He has a rugby ball.

ALFIE: I fucking breathe the fact I’m from Bridgend. I’m more proud of that than anything else in my life. It’s what forged me…made me what I’ve become… I always say if you cut my arm, I’ll have blue blood coming out, cos it’s the colours of Bridgend Rugby Club. If I go round the world and people say, ‘Where are you from?’ and I say, ‘Bridgend’, they say, ‘Where’s it near?’ and I say, ‘It’s in Wales’, and they say, ‘Is Wales near London?’, and I say, ‘No, it’s not fucking near London.’

The lights come up. The CAST sing…

CAST: ‘Joyful all ye nations rise, join the triumph of the skies, with the heavenly host proclaim, Christ is born in Bethlehem. Hark the herald angels sing, glory to the new born king.’

Morning assembly. The HEAD TEACHER and MISS BREAM on stage behind a table.

HEAD: A final reminder that entries for this year’s Celia Jones prize for Poetry should be submitted to Miss Bream by the end of next term…and that leaves me only to say Happy Christmas on behalf of myself and all the staff, and on your way out of the hall, you will find Mrs Hodges seated at a table by the door and she will give you each a chocolate Santa. However before you go…while we are here together as a school community… I want to say something to you about the press reports concerning recent events in Bridgend…and, as you know, our school has been affected. I want to make it abundantly clear that there are counselling sessions available here, if and when you want them. Never think anything too trivial…please I urge you…come and talk it over. Moreover, there are counselling buses which will be touring the Borough throughout the Christmas break, where you can get any advice and help that you might need. When you leave the school today you will find a number of press people on the pavement…please don’t say anything to them. If you have anything you want to say, come and say it to me, or your form teacher, or one of the counsellors. I’ve had a number of reports of pupils being pushed and jostled by reporters, so I’ve asked the staff to make sure you leave without any trouble.

And now finally, could I ask you to bow your heads again please, and take a moment of silence to think of those no longer with us. (Silence.) Our father, please look with mercy upon those people who have been affected, and bring comfort to the bereaved families, Amen.’

The HEAD TEACHER and MISS BREAM go.

MERYL: Christmas always stands out, cos the whole family got together…usually at my nan’s house…as many as seventeen of us…

DARCEY: They wanted me to be an angel in the nativity play, and I said, ‘It’s Mary or I’m not doing it.’ You can hear me saying that, can’t you?

MERYL: Yeah.

DARCEY: I wore a blue sheet of my nan’s with her leather belt to hold it together. I had to say, ‘And here’s my baby son Jesus.’ My mam cried which was embarrassing. All my nan said was, ‘That blue sheet come up lovely.’

MERYL: Four tables put together.

DARCEY: The other big thing at Christmas was the local derby against…

MERYL: Against Maesteg. My mam and dad went to the rugby most Saturdays, but on Boxing Day the whole family went down the Brewery Field. I was wrapped up in scarves, and I was really really bored. When the whistle went for half-time I would turn to my dad and say, ‘Can we go home now?’

DARCEY: I went with my mam. She’s been playing for Pencoed Women for years… Pencoed Phoenix they’re called… I used to go along and help out in the bar…mostly stuffing my face with cake and crisps before the match was over.

MERYL: If we lost against Maesteg…

DARCEY: The whole town was in a bad mood. My mam used to bellow. Her language was quite bad.

MERYL: It didn’t seem possible that anything much was going to change. Life seemed quite settled.

DARCEY: My nan…whenever there was a thunderstorm or it snowed overnight…my nan would draw back the nets and say, ‘This wasn’t forecast. Well this certainly wasn’t forecast.’

They go.

Harvey, the boxer dog, barks. BAZ and VONNIE come on.

BAZ: Don’t mind him.

VONNIE: He’s all noise.

BAZ: He’d like some dinner. I’ll give him some.

BAZ is in and out while he prepares Harvey’s dinner.

BAZ: (Going.) This is rugby heartland.

VONNIE: Don’t give him the tinned… I’ve put some soaked dried food out ready…(To us.)…he’s been a bit dodgy lately. Boxers can be a bit dodgy with their digestion. It’s hard to explain to people who don’t come from here just how much rugby means to a place like this.

BAZ: (Off.) The heartbeat…

VONNIE: The focus of the whole town…

BAZ: (Off.) The whole area…

VONNIE: It’s what bound us all together as a community. There were so many of our friends…you didn’t see them apart from down The Brewery Field…

BAZ: (Back on.) The home crowd stood in The Cowshed… we all had our special places…

VONNIE: Cos of Gareth, we ended up sitting in the stands with the families of the other players.

BAZ: At the final whistle, you’d say ‘Oh it’s a big game next week…see you next Saturday.’

VONNIE: It’s where we had a good gossip.

BAZ: When the side was going well, even for a midweek match you’re talking maybe six thousand…

VONNIE: If the local rugby team’s doing well, the whole town’s buzzing.

BAZ: (Off.) And against one of the big teams, Cardiff, Llanelli…you’d be getting eight, even ten thousand. And it would overspill…

VONNIE: Oh yes, it would overspill into the town. You’ve got the travelling fans…all got to eat somewhere, drink / somewhere…

BAZ: Many of them would stay the night…

VONNIE: And of course, it’s what gave young people their dreams…

BAZ: To wear the raven…the badge of Bridgend Rugby Club.

VONNIE: What they aspired to…

BAZ: You could go down there and see five big stars… ten big stars…

ALFIE: The first match I saw I was about seven I suppose. I think it was against Abertillery…and at that time the big players were J.P.R. of course, J.P.R. Williams…there was Steve Fenwick, Gerald Davies, Gareth Williams…

BAZ: Bridgend were famous for their backs scoring.

ALFIE: Silky, silky movers…

VONNIE: We had no idea at the time it wasn’t going to last.

BAZ: It seemed inconceivable to me that anything would happen to the club.

Harvey barks.

VONNIE: He’s wolfed that down then.

BAZ: He’ll need the toilet.

VONNIE: We’ve just had the gravel done, did you see outside… cos it’s all new he knows he shouldn’t go to the toilet there now.

BAZ: We take him up the common. You coming?

VONNIE: Yes, I’ll come up for a stroll.

ALFIE, BAZ and VONNIE go.

DARCEY and MERYL come back on.

DARCEY: Me, my mam, and auntie Gwen went on camping holidays to Guernsey. We had a big blue tent, and there was a café five minutes away where we ate fish fingers, beans and ‘Smileys’…potato pieces with a smiley face on them….you can still get them in Iceland.

MERYL: We went to this holiday camp in Minehead. We would have these big family rooms and about fourteen of us would go. Mam and dad were getting on fine.

DARCEY: I don’t think I looked great in those days… I was quite blobby with a bright orange face.

MERYL: I was twelve and a half…after school one day… I’d been to your house across the street… ‘Ta-ra’…

DARCEY: ‘Ta-ra’. Meryl and I were...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title Page
• Copyright
• Contents
• Part One
• Part Two