All-female Cast Bring Custer Play To Pembrokeshire

THE story of the only Welshman who fought at Custer’s Last Stand comes to Theatr Gwaun on September 22nd at 6:30pm with an all-female cast and atmospheric soundscape.

‘The Ghost Rider from Dinas Cross’ relates the story of Will James, who was among 210 cavalrymen overwhelmed by thousands of Native Americans at the Battle of the Little Bighorn in 1876.

The play – which opens Fishguard’s Ar Ymyl y Tir 2023 On Land’s Edge Festival – is adapted from the novel ‘If God Will Spare My Life…’ by Cardigan author Mike Lewis.

Lead actor Ceri Ashe says she relates to the part of Will and the hiraeth he feels for his homeland. Also a writer and artistic director of Popty Ping Productions theatre company, the Maenclochog native recently appeared at Theatr Gwaun in ‘Ferry Tales’ and ‘Bipolar Me’.

As a writer Ceri has been commissioned by SPAN arts, Theatre Clwyd and The Sherman Theatre.

Fellow Pembrokeshire actors Teresa Hennessy, Anna Monro and Jane Harries complete the cast. Jane, who grew up in Dinas in a Welsh-speaking family, began acting at Sunday school in her home village, so the story grabbed her emotionally.

Teresa grew up locally and has a degree from the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama. She has written six plays; five of them performed at the Edinburgh Fringe, and one premiered at Theatr Gwaun in 2013.

Anna was a keen actress in her youth, travelling to the Czech Republic and the USA. She has since performed with Cardigan Theatre Group, the Abbey Shakespeare Players, Span Arts/Dirty Protest, Pint-Sized Plays, and in various local historical plays.

‘Ghost Rider’ depicts James riding out of Fort Lincoln under General Custer.
An early morning mist makes it appear the bluecoats are riding up into the sky.
Ahead of them, the Sioux and Cheyenne tribes are massing for one last desperate battle to defend their homelands.
On the doomed march to Little Bighorn, James slowly comes to the realisation he is as much a fugitive as the enemy he is pursuing.
But the one thing a man can never escape is himself…
The play was adapted for the stage by writer Anne Garside in collaboration with producer Patrick Thomas.

Tickets available here: https://theatrgwaun.com/production/ar-ymyl-y-tir-2023-on-lands-edge-ghost-rider/