NEVER SAY DAI
by Arwel Treharne Morgan

Directed by Annabel Leventon

Arwel Treharne Morgan journeys back through the life of a young professional musician in London to his idyllic childhood in a Welsh village, where he spoke Welsh, thought in Welsh, dreamt in Welsh, surrounded by a richly diverse community steeped in gossip, prejudice, poetry, rugby, and love of music – especially singing.

Drawing on his experiences as a pianist and singer and his abiding love for his homeland, Arwel combines exquisite music with sharp observation and a keen eye for the absurd. He takes us on a unique journey from the safety of the village shop and chapel to living in exile over the border – taking in an extraordinary collection of characters on the way: the miner who refuses to accept he’ll never be a singer, Ethel who sabotages the family while working for them, the lady of the manor, the audiences young musicians find themselves entertaining in hospital wards and old people’s homes - and of course the singers themselves.

By turns hilarious, haunting, and lyrical, this show is a tour de force. Add to that Arwel’s dazzling ability, not just as an actor, but also as a pianist and singer, to leap from Dylan Thomas to Chopin, from Bach to Verdi, from Welsh hymns to opera, from cabaret to classical, and it is easy to see why audiences are spellbound.

“Magic in the theatre is rare. Arwel Treharne Morgan is a magician and Never say Dai is a glorious unexpected journey into a magic land- the Wales of his childhood. He can act, sing tell jokes create characters- I laughed, cried and LEARNED. I adored it and could see it over and over.” Miriam Margoyles

“Overwhelming” Sian Phillips

“Hits all the right notes with his comedy, stories and singing – a great evening in the theatre” Terry Jones

“A truly original and exciting talent” Niall Buggy

“Think of crossing Alfred Brendel with Harpo Marx and Dylan Thomas and you will have some notion of the joys of this terrific performer” Ruth Leon

“We were overwhelmed by Arwel’s exquisite tenor voice matched by his virtuoso skills at the piano, the music ranging from opera to Welsh song to cabaret to Chopin studies. He had his audience at once doubled up with laughter and the next in tears with his wonderful, skilful story telling. Expertly directed by Annabel Leventon. A rare treat!” National Welsh American Newspaper

“Charm and outstanding ability” Leighton House

“Brilliant and beguiling evening of comedy and music from a young Welsh prodigy”

“ The most truthful bit of acting I have seen in years” Richard Baker Radio 2

Arwel Treharne Morgan

In 1991 he was awarded a Welsh Arts Council Scholarship to study in the USA and currently works with Dinah Harris and Diane Forlano. In 1993 he completed a Performers’ Programme at the Banff Centre for the Arts, Canada.

He has performed extensively in oratorio throughout the UK and Europe with performances at Chester, Salisbury and Llandaff Cathedrals, the Royal Albert Hall and the European Singing Festival. He has given recitals at the Brangwyn Hall (Swansea), St David’s Hall (Cardiff) and the Purcell Room. He has also sung on BBC Radio and HTV, and at the Thaxted, Lufthansa and Wexford Festivals. His concert work has taken him to the Middle and Far East, the USA and Italy.

Operatic roles include:

•	Count Alaviva (Il Barbiere di Siviglia) – Opera Interludes
•	Ferrando (Cosi fan Tutte) and Ernesto (Don Pasquale) – European Chamber Opera [Ernesto also with Opera Italiana]
•	Agenore (Il Re Pastore) – Aldeburgh Festival
•	Conte Alberto (L’Occasione Fa Il Ladro) – Covent Garden Festival
•	Mr Angel (The Impresario), Basilio (Figaro), Ernesto (Don Pasquale) – Opera Brava
•	Ralph (The Grenadier), Moore (The Dragon of Wantley), Mengone (The Apothecary) – Opera Restor’d
•	Gherardo (Gianni Schicchi) and Un Venditore di Canzonetta (Il Tabarro) – Broomhill Opera

He has appeared with the English Bach Festival at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, and recorded Moon (Pyramus and Thisbe) for Hyperion with Opera Restor’d. In 1994 he performed Jonathan (Saul) in a British Council Tour of Russia and Latvia.

Arwel was a member of Yehudi Menuhin’s Live Music Now! Scheme, and sang at Buckingham Palace on the occasion of Lord Menuhin’s 80th birthday; he has also sung at Government house in Hong Kong.

In 1997 he undertook an extensive tour of the Middle and Far East for Opera and Concert Productions (Worldwide), singing Ernesto(don Pasquale).

Recent work includes: numerous galas with the Hatstand Opera Company; gala performances of Don Giovanni and Die Zauberflote with the European Chamber Opera, including a performance at the Thaxted Festival; Ferrando (Cosi fan Tutte) with Opera and Concert Productions at the Galsworth Festival; Don Pelagio (La Canterina) with Opera Restor’d; and Monostatos (Die Zauberflote) with the European Chamber Opera at the Milan Festival.

Annabel Leventon has combined a distinguished acting and singing career with theatre directing. As a student at Oxford University, she was lead singer with a pop group, played leads in Shakespeare, Turgenev and Brecht at the Oxford Playhouse, at the same time starring in cabaret and revue at the Edinburgh Festival and then at the Establishment Club, London. From there, she trained at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art (where she first directed) and then with the experimental theatre group Café La Mama in New York, from which sprang her first lead as Sheila in the West End in the original production of HAIR! at the Shaftesbury Theatre, for which she was nominated Actress of the Year by the Daily Telegraph.

She then went to Paris to re-direct the French production at the Theatre de la Porte St Martin. Shortly after that her production of Franz-Xavier Kroetz’ MORECAMBE won an Edinburgh Fringe First and transferred to the Hampstead Theatre, London. Her next production FLUX for the American Repertory Theater Company sold out at the Square One Theatre, London and she was invited to New York to redirect it for Joe Papp at the Public Theater.