Liam Holmes’s debut play Mr Jones has a run at the Finborough Theatre later this month, direct from a critically-acclaimed run at the Edinburgh Fringe.
“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.”
Where: Finborough Theatre
When: 28 Oct – 22 Nov
Ticket link: https://finboroughtheatre.co.uk/production/mr-jones/
It’s 60 years in 2026 since the Aberfan disaster. What inspired you to write Mr Jones?
I grew up in Nelson, a small village just six miles from Aberfan.
The disaster was something that quietly hovered in the background of my childhood.
It was mentioned in school, marked each year in a kind of respectful silence, but never really talked about in depth.
My real understanding came later, through the stories and hushed conversations of older generations.
People who’d lived through it but rarely spoke openly about it.
As I got older, I began to realise the depth of that silence.
Every family in the area had felt some form of loss, yet there was this quiet expectation to just keep going.
That kind of collective grief, carried privately and without recognition, really stayed with me.
Mr Jones grew from that – wanting to explore the weight of memory, the resilience of community, and the stories that were left unspoken for far too long.
You use verbatim accounts of that day as well as drama. Was it always a conscious decision to blend the two?
Absolutely. From the beginning, it felt important that the play was rooted in truth.
The real voices of those affected by the disaster needed to be heard alongside the imagined ones.
Verbatim testimony allowed me to ground the story in authenticity; to honour those who were there, while the dramatic narrative helped explore the emotional landscape that facts alone can’t always capture.
Characters like Stephen Jones and Angharad Price are inspired by real people, but they also represent the wider experience of the community: grief, guilt, strength, and survival.
The blend of fact and fiction became a way of giving space to both the historical record and the deeply human stories that came after.
Mr Jones has already received high praise at the Edinburgh Fringe. Why should audiences come along?
Edinburgh was an incredible experience, and the response to Mr Jones there meant a great deal to all of us.
We’ve had the brilliant Mabli Gwynne join the cast, along with a fantastic creative team who have helped us shape a version of the show that feels even more powerful and urgent.
The production at the Finborough will be the first time we’re presenting Mr Jones in an extended run, and it feels like the perfect home for it.
This is an opportunity for audiences to experience a Welsh story that speaks to universal ideas of loss, resilience, and hope.
We’re incredibly proud of what this piece has become and can’t wait to share it.
What are your future plans for the show?
We’re building towards the 60th anniversary of the Aberfan disaster next year, which feels like an important and necessary moment to bring this story to wider audiences.
We’re currently developing plans for a UK tour, with runs in both Wales and London.
It’s an emotional and ambitious journey, but the heart of it remains the same: to tell this story with honesty and care, and to ensure it reaches the communities it belongs to.
We want Mr Jones to stand as both a tribute and a reminder of loss, yes, but also of courage and the enduring spirit of those who lived through one of the darkest days in Welsh history.