Tudur Owen's Welsh-language play Huw Fyw (translated as 'Huw Alive') offers an unashamedly heartfelt exploration of a Second World War veteran's struggle with PTSD and generational trauma. Set primarily in the protagonist's grimy living room, the narrative follows a curmudgeonly veteran, an unexpected windfall, a clogged toilet, and a village trip to London in 1994.
Owen, a popular Welsh comedian and broadcaster, stars as Huw, delivering a performance that subverts expectations of ironic humour. The play, directed by Steffan Donnelly, resists easy punchlines, instead embracing sincerity and sentimentality as a survival strategy against delayed horrors. The set design by Elin Steele and lighting by Elanor Higgins create a compact, persuasive atmosphere.
The cast of four delivers strong performances, with Leah Gaffey narrating and grounding the action, Owen Alun quietly devastating in dual roles, and Dafydd Emyr shifting seamlessly from a pensioner to a giddy teenager. The play's double nostalgia—harking back to both the 1940s and the 1990s—adds an uncanny layer.
Huw Fyw runs at Dance House, Cardiff until 18 April, then tours until 8 May.
