The Keep by Gwyn Thomas

Gwyn Thomas' play "The Keep" has been described as "probably the greatest play to come out of Wales since Under Milk Wood" and was rightly hailed as a triumphant success when it premiered in London's Royal Court Theatre in 1961. 

Glyn Houston as Gwyn Thomas

In the 1980's, the Welsh actor Glyn Houston performed a hilarious one man show about the writer and broadcaster Gwyn Thomas. Using Gwyn's own words, Glyn Houston delivers a masterful performance that is still remembered with great affection by those fortunate enough to see it. This is a true Welsh masterpeice of comedy theatre, and a treat not to be missed.

Laughing Lhursday*

In 1975 Gwyn Thomas appeared on the Kane at Christmas programme. As these few brief excerpts show, it was a hilarious performance that is still fondly remembered by many to this day. Listen again to the great talker as he explains the dangers of Rugby, the funeral of Cliff Davies, the legend of the buried city of Kenfig, stolen false teeth,the problem with singing and the perils of adultery.

* [For first time visitors]:

Typo in the title?
Nah.
It's just that I would not let a tiny T spoil an avantgardistic alliteration.

Gwyn Thomas interviewed

The great Wesh writer, talker and broadcaster Gwyn Thomas appeared on the Michael Parkinson show in the early 1970's. In the first part of the intervew he explains why he has his own signal at Paddington station, how he broke his toe defending pacifism, and the impact of the Welsh religious revival on the productivity of pit ponies underground.



In Part Two of the interview, Michael Parkinson asks Gwyn Thomas about the time he spent at Oxford University, growing up in the Rhondda and his experiences of working on the Brains Trust. Gwyn explains how Welsh people have a theatrical nature, why he is always being mistaken for someone else and the unfortunate consequences of learning to smoke at a very early age



In the third part of his interview on the Parkinson show, Gwyn Thomas explains Dr Bronowski's greatest challenge, why he eventually gave up teaching and his unfortunate early experience of being miscast as an actor. Later, with actress Sarah Miles they discuss fox hunting, the secret of a happy marriage and the madness of Hollywood.

Welsh Greats – Gwyn Thomas

The Truth of his Joy

In the 1960's writer and broadcaster Gwyn Thomas made a series of programmes for TWW in which he visited different parts of Wales. In this programme, Gwyn visits Laugharne and pays tribute to the literary genius Dylan Thomas, a man who Gwyn had known well.

Although the original audio of this particular broadcast has not survived , the script that Gwyn Thomas wrote for the programme has. His timeless words are read here by the superb actor Glyn Houston.

Please note that the copyright of this video belongs to ITV Cymru Wales / National Library of Wales. They have very kindly given permission for it to be shown here. Please show them your appreciation and visit their YouTube channel to see more fantastic archive recordings from Wales.